Antonia Hodgson Books In Order

Publication Order of Tom Hawkins Books

Publication Order of Anthologies

Antonia Hodgson
Antonia Hodgson was born in 1971 in Derby. She went to Littleover Community School where she first studied the time of the early Georgians in A-level History. She graduated with an English Literature degree from Leeds University in the year 1994, and went to work for Harcourt, Brace.

She spent almost twenty years in the publishing business rising to editor-in-chief at Little, Brown before publishing a novel of her own. As an editor she worked with Nora Roberts and Elizabeth Kostova as well as Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne.

The first novel she completed was a Gothic mystery that had multiple narrators, some of which were vampires. It took her five years to finish it. When she began, nobody was writing about vampires. But by the time she finished it, everybody had grown heartily sick of vampires. That’s all well and good, she learned a lot from it and no you cannot read it.

Her first novel, “A Devil in the Marshalsea”, is set during the early Georgian period, as Antonia believes the Georgian period was much more interesting than the Victorian era which is typically thought to be more culturally important. She submitted the novel anonymously to Hodder & Soughton because she was known in the publishing industry.

The book went on to win the Crime Writers Association’s Historical Dagger award and was long listed for a first novel award. It was also shortlisted for a 2015 Theakton’s Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award. “The Silver Collar” was shortlisted for the HWA Gold Crown.

“The Devil in the Marshalsea” is the first novel in the “Tom Hawkins” series and was released in the year 2014. London in 1727. Tom Hawkins is about to fall from his heaven of coffee houses, card games, and brothels into the hell of a debtors’ prison.

The Marshalsea is a brutal world all its own, with some simple rules: those with friends or family that can lend them a bit of money might survive in relative comfort. Those without either are going to starve in disease and squalor. And those that try to escape are going to suffer a gory fate at the hands of the gaol’s merciless governor and his cronies.

Trouble is, Tom Hawkins never was good at following the rules, not even simple ones. And the recent gruesome murder of Captain Roberts, a debtor, has brought further horror to the gaol. As the Captain’s beautiful widow cries out for justice, the finger of suspicion points just one way: the enigmatic, sly figure of Samuel Fleet.

Some refer to Fleet as a devil and a man to avoid at any and all costs. However Tom’s sharing his cell. Before long his choice is an obvious one: get to the truth of this murder, or be the next one to die.

Antonia’s compelling debut novel is dripping with atmosphere and fiendishly plotted out. She delivers a wonderfully convincing portrait of the seedier side of life during the eighteenth century.

“The Last Confession of Thomas Hawkins” is the second novel in the “Tom Hawkins” series and was released in the year 2015. Tom Hawkins is praying for a royal pardon while reliving the underground dealings, murder accusations, and espionage that sent him to the gallows.

London in 1728. Tom’s going to the gallows, being accused of murder. Gentlemen do not hang and Tom is damned if he will be the first. He might not be all that much of a gentleman, however he is innocent. He has this knack of finding his way into a spot of bad luck.

It is tough to really say when his troubles started. He was living happily in sin with Kitty Sparks, his beloved; although his neighbors were definitely less than pleased about that. He probably should not have offered to help out the king’s mistress in her desperate struggles with a vindictive and savage husband. Nor should he have told the most cunning criminal mastermind in all of London he was “looking for adventure and bored”. He certainly should not have trusted the calculating Queen Caroline, who promised him a royal pardon if he holds his tongue, however then again, there’s nothing more silent than a hanged man.

Now Tom’s got to scramble in order to protect those he loves and save his own hide. However while the noose is tightening, his time is running out.

“A Death at Fountains Abbey” is the third novel in the “Tom Hawkins” series and was released in the year 2016. Late spring in 1728 and Thomas Hawkins has left London for the wild beauty of Yorkshire, forced to take a mission he cannot refuse.

John Aislabie, who is one of the wealthiest men in England, has just been threatened with murder. Tom, being blackmailed into investigating, has to hunt down those that are responsible, or lose the woman that he loves forever. Since Aislabie is widely regarded as the architect of the biggest financial swindle ever seen, there isn’t any shortage of suspects.

Far away from the ragged comforts of home, Tom and Sam Fleet (Tom’s ward) enter a world filled with hidden dangers and elegant surfaces. The great estate is haunted by simmering unease and family secrets. Somebody’s determined to punish Aislabie, along with anybody standing in the way. While the violence escalates and some shocking truths are revealed, Tom gets dragged, inexorably, toward the darkest night of his entire life.

“The Silver Collar” is the fourth novel in the “Tom Hawkins” series and was released in the year 2020. Autumn in 1728. Life’s good for Kitty Sparks and Tom Hawkins in their home above the Cocked Pistol, Kitty’s wickedly disreputable bookstore. However when Tom gets attacked by some street gang, he learns that there is a price on his head.

Who could possibly want him dead? And why? For Tom and Kitty this is just the start of their nightmare.

This is a powerful and deeply immersive novel and is both a celebration of friendship and love, as well as a horrifying exploration of evil. Antonia delivers a beautifully written novel, packed with wit, atmosphere, and historical details.