The Fatal Flame

SELECTED FLASH TERMINOLOGY*

ARTICLE. A man. You re a pretty article. A term of contempt.

AUTUMNED. Married.

BAT. A prostitute who walks the streets only at night.

BESS. A pick of a very simple construction.

BLEAK-MORT. A pretty girl.

BOARDINGHOUSE. City prison.

CAVED. Gave up; surrendered.

CHAFF. Humbug.

CHAFFEY. Boisterous; happy; jolly.

CHANT. To talk; to publish; to inform.

CHINK. Money.

COLE. Silver or gold money.

COVE. A man.

CROSS-COVE. A thief; any person that lives in a dishonest way.

CRUMEY. Fat; pockets full; plenty.

DARBIES. Handcuffs; fetters.

DARBY. Cash. Fork over the darby (Hand over the cash).

DIMBER-MORT. A pretty girl; an enchanting girl.

DOXIE. A girl.

DUSTY. Dangerous.

FADGE. It won t do; It won t fadge.

FARMER. An alderman.

FIGNER. A small thief.

FLAM. To humbug.

FLY-COP. A sharp officer; an officer that is well posted; one who understands his business.

GAMMY. Bad.

GIGGER-DUBBER. A turn-key; a prison-keeper.

GRAFT. To work.

GRUEL. Coffee.

GUNNED. Looked at; examined.

HAMLET. A captain of police.

HASH. To vomit.

HATCHES. In distress; in trouble; in debt.

HICKSAM. A countryman; a fool.

HOCKEY. Drunk.

HUSH. To murder.

KATE. A smart, brazen-faced woman.

KEN. A house.

KINCHIN. A young child.

KIP. A bed.

KITE. A letter.

KITTLE. To tickle; to

Lyndsay Faye is the author of three critically acclaimed books: Dust and Shadow,The Gods of Gotham, which was nominated for an Edgar for Best Novel, andSeven for a Secret. Faye, a true New Yorker in the sense she was born elsewhere, lives in Manhattan with her husband, Gabriel.

Praise for The Fatal Flame:

"As always in this series, the research is impeccable and the period ambience dazzling." The New York Times Book Review

Lyndsay Faye s New York trilogy is immersive, compelling, convincing, and yes, thrilling.  Read it today for solid-gold entertainment, but don t be surprised to see it taught in college tomorrow. Lee Child 

"Faye masterfully evokes the turbulence of mid-nineteenth-century New York, with its Tammany Hall politics, burgeoning conflict over abolition, and rising wave of feminism, as Irish girls, fleeing famine, are forced into prostitution or poorly paid labor as seamstresses."   Booklist Starred Review

"As in her previous books, Faye's diligence in researching the period is manifest, and readers will feel transported back to mid-19th-century Manhattan." --Publisher's Weekly Starred Review

Faye s re-creations of mid-19th-century New York [in The Fatal Flame] are rich with exotic sights and smells, as well as delightfully eccentric personalities. J. Kingston Pierce for Kirkus


Praise for Lyndsay Faye:

  [A]tmospheric and exciting . . . [Seven for a Secret] is swift but poignant, full of violent encounters and thrilling escapes. The Wall Street Journal
 
This gripping, beautifully written, chilling, heartbreaking, and exciting novel . . . [Seven for a Secret] is an amazingly rich story, worthy of the word epic . . . definitely one of the finest crime novels of the year. Mystery Scene
 
[Gods of Gotham is a] rollicking historical novel . . . a sensational account. . . .
The New York Times Book Review
 
If your concept of paradise is popping in a DVD of Gangs of New York while rereading Caleb Carr s The Alienist, then put Lyndsay Faye s The Gods of Gotham on your to-buy list.
USA Today