History DarthWiki / GoingHome

* MultiethnicName - Latimer originally had the more Germanic name William Lederer, making the assumption that the Empire was mixed enough for many people to have multi-ethnic names quite legitimately, particularly in a large mercantile city like Ludlin. However, to avoid UnfortunateImplications as regards British stereotypes of the Germans, Lederer was anglicised to Latimer fairly early on in the 2011 version.
** Played straight with Maurycy Guenther. Sokolka is in a mixed area and it's more natural for Salvat residents to have Deutsch names.

* StaticCharacter - Moreland. His role in Stevenson's death is controversial, to say the least, and while moderating some of his hardline stances, he still doesn't connect many of the events of the story to his hardline attitudes; nor does he immediately spring to Michal's defence [[spoiler:when he is accused of Janina's murder by Dunn and the militia in Sokolka]] - one could say either he learned no lessons at all, or learned the wrong ones. Nevertheless, some of his attitudes are a relief to those bullied and robbed by Seymour, and he represents a solid future for the institution after Russell's well-intentioned but self-defeating shiftlessness.

* DynamicCharacter - Claudia. From the first time she enters the workhouse, she begins to change her attitudes towards it. In the previous book, she's shown to be a bit of a social butterfly with a rather stuffy private persona. By the end of the book, not only has she [[spoiler:solved a murder]], she's also deepened her awareness of the situation of those in the workhouse and has involved herself in the day-to-day running of the institution. The author envisages her as a bit like Isobel in ''Series/DowntonAbbey'', though going further across the spectrum from right to left.

* BeigeProse - an exploration into just how much this can express. The chapter sections are kept to a rough 1,000-1,500 word limit in an attempt by the author not to clutter the narrative with exposition she'll just have to delete later. This format suits the author so well - it is essentially how PrideAndPrejudice and other books by Jane Austen were written - that the series is now to be written this way, which has necessitated the redrafting of ''{{DarthWiki/Achava}}''.

* BloodSpatteredInnocents - Joshua Green is sent mad by being in the way when Stevenson is killed. [[spoiler:He is exonerated because he ran straight to the Department for Public Works when the incident happened, meaning that Hugo believes that is not the action of a guilty man.]]

* DynamicCharacter - Claudia. From the first time she enters the workhouse, she begins to change her attitudes towards it. In the previous book, she's shown to be a bit of a social butterfly with a rather stuffy private persona. By the end of the book, not only has she [[spoiler:solved a murder]], she's also deepened her awareness of the situation of those in the workhouse and has involved herself in the day-to-day running of the institution. The author envisages her as a bit like Isobel in ''DowntonAbbey'', though going further across the spectrum from right to left.

* TheBechdelTest - passes with Claudia's conversation in the shop in Eversham. Yes, it's the conversation about shawls and shopping, but it does count. Her argument with the Latimer women, however, is a false positive for this test because it's about Mr Latimer - who is a male relative of both Alice and Astrid, though it is more about his behaviour rather than their relationships with him.

* ArcWelding - the Seymour bits. Originally the story was to have taken place after Seymour had been PutOnABus after being sacked from Lowe Road. However, the circumstances of his original opportunistic kidnap of Michal made it impossible for his story just to end abruptly; thus although he does not induce Latimer to kill Stevenson - [[AxCrazy Latimer]] manages that by himself - [[spoiler:he does try and spin the situation to Hugo as Michal's fault and then attempts XanatosRoulette with Dunn]].

* CowboyCop - Montgomery [[spoiler:who lets his friendship with Latimer and his secondhand knowledge of Piech's background and record in the workhouse get the better of him]]. He is known by the communists as [[RabidCop the Beast of Lockley]]. Think Gene Hunt ''without'' the redeeming features; however, he was in the late 2001 draft (named by the author's ex-boyfriend) in his present incarnation and was not just an {{Expy}} of Hunt. Philip Glenister would probably end up playing him in any TV adaptation though, despite his more sympathetic period drama role as Edmund Carter in ''{{Cranford}}''. However, as the narrative progresses, we are given insights into his past which, although never totally whitewashing him, make him slightly more sympathetic - and when confronted with overwhelming evidence [[spoiler:he at least begins to investigate the case seriously instead of simply locking people who disagree with him up]].

** Another instance occurs when Sam Morgan asks Hugo Montgomery what might happen if someone killed one of the paupers. This is probably justified, as Morgan is one of the Department of Public Works clerks, Latimer's whist partner, and [[ElephantsChild a curious novice]].

* FemaleSuccessIsFamily - inverted with Claudia, as she has been exposed to the conditions of the lower classes through Moreland, and takes on a mission of her own [[spoiler:after his arrest]]. Pauline Barker plays this trope straight, though, as we meet her before her husband, but her husband takes over as the one whose opinions count more at the beginning of the book and who acts as a mediator later on when the workhouse administration begins to pursue Latimer.

* ArcWelding - the Seymour bits. Originally the story was to have taken place after Seymour had been PutOnABus after being sacked from Lowe Road. However, the circumstances of his original opportunistic kidnap of Michal made it impossible for his story just to end abruptly; thus although he does not induce Latimer to kill Stevenson - he manages that by himself - [[spoiler:he does try and spin the situation to Hugo as Michal's fault and then attempts XanatosRoulette with Dunn]].

* AllCrimesAreEqual - [[LawfulStupid Hugo]] uses this as a bullying tactic to get rid of Moreland by arresting him for obstruction and insinuating that covering up that one of the paupers committed the murder is the same as being an accessory or accomplice to it, and thus carrying a capital sentence. The people who do the most good stay away from rushing to the conclusion that Michal or another pauper is innocent, and thus [[spoiler:trick Latimer into betraying himself]].

* OnlyBadGuysCallTheirLawyers - The subversion is played here, with Moreland stalling Hugo several times until he's either spoken to Swaine or Hugo has investigated Latimer properly.

* PointyHairedBoss - in a way, the grossly incompetent [[BunnyEarsLawyer Andrew Russell]]. Although not particularly stupid, he is unable to cope with the incident, displays a criminal detachment from the process to Claudia, and is paralysed more than usual by the way the investigation is conducted ''starting to drink at 7.30 in the morning by the third day after Stevenson's murder''. From Saunders we hear it is not the first time that his mismanagement of the institution has caused trouble involving Latimer, Seymour and Montgomery taking advantage of his good nature. Saunders has had to pick up the pieces once too often [[spoiler:and finally steps in and takes command of Lowe Road before Andrew bungles the entire operation.]]

* StaticCharacter - Moreland. His role in Stevenson's death is controversial, to say the least, and while moderating some of his hardline stances, he still doesn't connect many of the events of the story to his hardline attitudes; nor does he immediately spring to Michal's defence [[spoiler:when he is accused of Janina's murder by Dunn and the militia in Sokolka]] - one could say either he learned no lessons at all, or learned the wrong ones. Nevertheless, some of his attitudes are a relief to those bullied and robbed by Seymour, and he represents a solid future for the institution after Russell's well-intentioned but self-defeating shiftlessness.
* TheBechdelTest - passes with Claudia's conversation in the shop in Eversham. Yes, it's the conversation about shawls and shopping, but it does count. Her argument with the Latimer women, however, is a false positive for this test because it's about Mr Latimer - who is a male relative of both Alice and Astrid, though it is more about his behaviour rather than their relationships with him.

* ThePerfectCrime - since no-one will take any of the paupers seriously, the whole second part of the book is dedicated to trying to unravel the case against Piech and construct a case against Latimer.

* DynamicCharacter - Claudia. From the first time she enters the workhouse, she begins to change her attitudes towards it. In the previous book, she's shown to be a bit of a social butterfly with a rather stuffy private persona. By the end of the book, not only has she [[spoiler:solved a murder]], she's also deepened her awareness of the situation of those in the workhouse and has involved herself in the day-to-day running of the institution. The author envisages her as a bit like Isobel in ''DowntonAbbey'', though going further across the spectrum from right to left.

* BadassBureaucrat - Leo. Prior to his arrest he suffered wrongful imprisonment for fraud due to his support for the communists and handling their strike fund in his spare time. He masters the systems in the Department in his first week in work to try and save people from Latimer's cruelty. At considerable personal risk he leaks the letters to their original senders, telling them nothing has been done. He doggedly pursues the line of enquiry enough to get Proctor on his side, and when Montgomery retaliates [[spoiler:he doesn't flinch as he is almost sent down again for leaking "state secrets"]]. And all this while very likely suffering from some unknown respiratory disease [[spoiler:which isn't explicitly said to be consumption, but is played with enough that it might as well be]].

** Latimer has to explain to Claudia why spirits are just as unreliable as living witnesses. In a world where people believe in the afterlife and communicate with spirits directly and openly through shamans, it had to go in at some point to prevent Hugo just summoning Stevenson and asking him ''whodunnit''.
* BeigeProse - an exploration into just how much this can express. The chapter sections are kept to a rough 1,000-1,500 word limit in an attempt by the author not to clutter the narrative with exposition she'll just have to delete later.

* StandardFemaleGrabArea - used by Hugo on Astrid...to no avail. Barker feigns it with Claudia...and although he's only playing around, it ''still'' doesn't work.

** Echoed by Dunn in Part 3. It is, in some ways, a truncated version of the first murder, with a more quicker resolution but potentially more dangerous for Michal as a bystander.