The Blood Doctor

What better to read over the Christmas holidays than one of Barbara Vine's Victorian flavoured novels? This is a book about blood, history and genetics. Martin Nanther, an hereditary peer in the British House of Lords, embarks on writng a biography of his great-grandfather, Dr. Henry Nanther, an expert in blood diseases and a consultant to Queen Victoria. He is also facing the passage of a bill which will end his and other hereditary peers' entitlement to a seat in the House and the prestige that accompanies it. His second wife, Jude, is facing severe challenges in her attempts to conceive. Martin is conflicted about the loss of his inherited peerage and about the possibility of parenthood.
This is a great read although I had to flip back to the family tree at the . I learned a lot about British parliament, hemophilia and the royal family in the time of Queen Victoria. I feel obliged to say, though, that I found the denouement to be a bit of a letdown.