Oskar Jensen – författare

Dickensian London is brought to real and vivid life in this Wolfson History Prize-shortlisted portrait by a rising-star historian and New Generation ThinkerUntil now, our view of bustling late Georgian and Victorian London has been filtered through its great chroniclers, who did not themselves come from poverty – Dickens, Mayhew, Gustave Doré. Their visions were dazzling in their way, censorious, often theatrical. Now, for the first time, this innovative social history brilliantly – and radically – shows us the city’s most compelling period (1780–1870) at street level.From beggars and thieves to musicians and missionaries, porters and hawkers to sex workers and street criers, Jensen unites a breadth of original research and first-hand accounts and testimonies to tell their stories in their own words. What emerges is a buzzing, cosmopolitan world of the working classes, diverse in gender, ethnicity, origin, ability and occupation – a world that challenges and fascinates us still.

A thrilling tale of Norse Gods and a terrifying hunt . . . Astrid - a Viking Princess - and Leif (a poet) are on the run, having been banished from Denmark. They are trying to escape to Sweden. But Grimnir, a coldblooded assassin, has been sent to kill them. And that is the least of their worries, for Leif has managed to offend Odin, the king of the Norse Gods, which means the dreaded wild hunt - Odin''s hunt - is after them, and ready to take their lives in revenge . . .An epic tale of battle, bloodshed and the terror of being hunted.

'A glorious debut' - SUNDAY EXPRESS'An affectionate homage to classic murder mysteries' - DAILY MAIL'Recommended reading for a long winter night' - GUARDIANA snowstorm. A country house. Old friends reunited.It's going to be murder...Torben Helle - art historian, Danish expat and owner of several excellent Scandinavian jumpers - has been dragged to a remote snowbound Northumbrian mansion for a ten-year reunion with old university friends. Things start to go sideways when their host, a reclusive and irritating tech entrepreneur, makes some shocking revelations at the dinner table. And when these are followed by an apparent suicide, the group faces a test of their wits... and their trust.Snowed in and cut off, surrounded by enigmatic housekeepers and off-duty police inspectors, not to mention a peculiar last will and testament, suspicion and sarcasm quickly turn to panic. As the temperature drops and the tension mounts, Torben decides to draw upon all the tricks of Golden Age detectives past in order to solve the mystery: how much money would it take to turn one of his old friends into a murderer? But he'd better be quick, or someone else might end up dead...This witty murder mystery puts a modern spin on the classic country house whodunnit. A must-read for fans of Agatha Christie, Richard Osman and Janice Hallett.'A witty repurposing of the Golden Age country house' - FINANCIAL TIMES'An entertaining whodunnit in the classic Christie style' - MAIL ON SUNDAY'A glorious feat that intrigues, surprises and delights' - JANICE HALLETT'A love letter to the classic country house murder mystery' - J.M. HALL

'A glorious debut' - SUNDAY EXPRESS'An affectionate homage to classic murder mysteries' - DAILY MAIL'Recommended reading for a long winter night' - GUARDIANA snowstorm. A country house. Old friends reunited.It's going to be murder...Torben Helle - art historian, Danish expat and owner of several excellent Scandinavian jumpers - has been dragged to a remote Northumbrian mansion for a ten-year reunion with old university friends. But when some shocking revelations from their host, a reclusive and irritating tech entrepreneur, are followed by an apparent suicide, the group faces a test of their wits... and their trust.Surrounded by enigmatic housekeepers and off-duty police inspectors, suspicion and sarcasm quickly turn to panic. Only by drawing upon all the tricks of Golden Age detectives past will Torben be able to solve the mystery: how much money would it take to turn one of his old friends into a murderer? But he'd better be quick, or someone else might end up dead...This witty murder mystery puts a modern spin on the classic country house whodunnit. A must-read for fans of Agatha Christie, Richard Osman and Janice Hallett.'A witty repurposing of the Golden Age country house' - FINANCIAL TIMES'An entertaining whodunnit in the classic Christie style' - MAIL ON SUNDAY'A glorious feat that intrigues, surprises and delights' - JANICE HALLETT'A love letter to the classic country house murder mystery' - J.M. HALL

''A glorious debut'' - SUNDAY EXPRESS''An affectionate homage to classic murder mysteries'' - DAILY MAIL''Recommended reading for a long winter night'' - GUARDIANA snowstorm. A country house. Old friends reunited.It''s going to be murder...Torben Helle - art historian, Danish expat and owner of several excellent Scandinavian jumpers - has been dragged to a remote Northumbrian mansion for a ten-year reunion with old university friends. But when some shocking revelations from their host, a reclusive and irritating tech entrepreneur, are followed by an apparent suicide, the group faces a test of their wits... and their trust.Surrounded by enigmatic housekeepers and off-duty police inspectors, suspicion and sarcasm quickly turn to panic. Only by drawing upon all the tricks of Golden Age detectives past will Torben be able to solve the mystery: how much money would it take to turn one of his old friends into a murderer? But he''d better be quick, or someone else might end up dead...This witty murder mystery puts a modern spin on the classic country house whodunnit. A must-read for fans of Agatha Christie, Richard Osman and Janice Hallett.''A witty repurposing of the Golden Age country house'' - FINANCIAL TIMES''An entertaining whodunnit in the classic Christie style'' - MAIL ON SUNDAY''A glorious feat that intrigues, surprises and delights'' - JANICE HALLETT''A love letter to the classic country house murder mystery'' - J.M. HALL

'A delightful mix of classic crime fiction and Robert Galbraith' - IAN MOORE'Witty, compelling and an intriguing fiendish murder' - J.M. HALL'Brilliantly entertaining and fiendishly fun' - PHILIPPA EASTA dead art historian. Cold War skulduggery.A reluctant Danish sleuth. And an extremely hungry dog.Dame Charlotte Lazerton - eminent art historian and mentor of Danish academic Torben Helle - is dead. And to make things worse, she was found partially eaten by her Irish wolfhound, Mortimer. While the police believe that she died of natural causes, Torben becomes convinced that Charlotte was murdered, although as usual no one pays any attention to him. That is, until he gains the confidence of a policeman who has watched too many Nordic Noir television shows and is ready to listen to any Scandinavian in a fetching woolly jumper.Aided by his old friend Leyla, Torben soon realises that there are plenty of people who might have wanted Dame Charlotte dead, from her competitors for a prestigious academic presidency to old enemies from her time in intelligence during the Cold War. One thing is for sure: Torben Helle is woefully unqualified to catch a killer, and the killer knows it...This witty murder mystery puts a modern spin on the classic Golden Age whodunnit. A must-read for fans of Tom Hindle, Richard Osman and Janice Hallett.

'A delightful mix of classic crime fiction and Robert Galbraith' - IAN MOORE'Witty, compelling and an intriguing fiendish murder' - J.M. HALL'Brilliantly entertaining and fiendishly fun' - PHILIPPA EASTA dead art historian. Cold War skulduggery.A reluctant Danish sleuth. And an extremely hungry dog.Eminent art historian Dame Charlotte Lazerton is dead. Her body was found at the foot of her stairs, guarded by her Irish wolfhound. The police believe that she died of natural causes, but Torben Helle - Danish academic and amateur sleuth - is convinced that his beloved mentor was murdered. After all, Charlotte had a knack for making enemies.Aided by his old friend Leyla, Torben's investigation uncovers plenty of people who might have wanted Charlotte dead, from old adversaries from her time with MI6 to her rivals for a prestigious academic presidency. But Torben is woefully unqualified to catch a killer, and the killer knows it... This witty murder mystery puts a modern spin on the classic Golden Age whodunnit. A must-read for fans of Tom Hindle, Richard Osman and Janice Hallett.

Summer in Venice. A Masquerade ball. And a disappearing corpse.Torben Helle has arrived in the Floating City. Desperate to escape from two looming book deadlines, he is rescued by an invite from his old friend Frances to join her at the Venice Biennale. She promises plenty of Venetian sun, stunning architecture and countless lavish parties, starting with a masquerade ball on a private island.But the party is cut short when Torben stumbles upon the body of controversial artist Vlaho Zuoz - only for it to then mysteriously disappear from behind a locked door. Fortunately Torben has his partner - in love and sleuthing - Leyla Moradi, to help him find both a corpse and a killer. Except that this killer has the upper hand, and Torben may have finally met his match...

A Viking tale of myth and magic.All is not well at the Viking court of Jelling. Home to the mysterious Yelling Stones (three witches turned into stone), it''s always been a place of power and a haven for ''the old ways''. But troubling news has reached King Gorm''s court - not that fourteen-year-old princess Astrid is concerned that. She''s far more worried that her family prefers her inside sewing, or planning her marriage, rather than letting her explore the forest or ride her beautiful snow-white horse, Hestur.But Astrid is about to find herself at the heart of a battle that will change her life forever. Leif, an ambitious and talented young poet, arrives at King Gorm''s court with unsettling news. Leif announces he has been sent visions from the witches of the Yelling Stones, saying a dangerous and powerful force is coming - one that will change the face of Denmark - and only Astrid and Leif can stop it. But with danger all around them, including trolls, witches and a terrifying creature called ''The Beast'', can they tell who the real enemy is in time to stop them?Previously published as THE YELLING STONES.

London, 1857: A pair of teenage girls holding a sign that says “Fugitive Slaves” ask for money on the corner of Blackman Street. After a constable accosts them and charges them with begging, they end up in court, where national newspapers pick up their story. Are the girls truly escaped slaves from Kentucky? Or will the city’s dystopian Mendicity Society catch them in a lie, exposing them as born-and-raised Londoners and endangering their safety?With its many accounts of people like these who lived and made their living on the streets, Vagabonds forms a moving picture of London’s most compelling period (1780–1870). Piecing together contemporary sources such as newspaper articles, letters, and journal entries, historian Oskar Jensen follows the harrowing, hopeful journeys of the city’s poor: children, immigrants, street performers, thieves, and sex workers, all diverse in gender, ethnicity, ability, and origin. For the first time, their own voices give us a radical new perspective on this moment in history, with its deep inequality that bears an astonishing resemblance to our own era’s divides.

A thrilling tale of Norse Gods and a terrifying hunt . . . Astrid - a Viking Princess - and Leif (a poet) are on the run, having been banished from Denmark. They are trying to escape to Sweden. But Grimnir, a coldblooded assassin, has been sent to kill them. And that is the least of their worries, for Leif has managed to offend Odin, the king of the Norse Gods, which means the dreaded Wild Hunt - Odin's hunt - is after them, and ready to take their lives in revenge . . .An epic tale of battle, bloodshed and the terror of being hunted.

'A glorious debut' - SUNDAY EXPRESS'An affectionate homage to classic murder mysteries' - DAILY MAIL'Recommended reading for a long winter night' - GUARDIANA snowstorm. A country house. Old friends reunited.It's going to be murder...Torben Helle - art historian, Danish expat and owner of several excellent Scandinavian jumpers - has been dragged to a remote snowbound Northumbrian mansion for a ten-year reunion with old university friends. Things start to go sideways when their host, a reclusive and irritating tech entrepreneur, makes some shocking revelations at the dinner table. And when these are followed by an apparent suicide, the group faces a test of their wits... and their trust.Snowed in and cut off, surrounded by enigmatic housekeepers and off-duty police inspectors, not to mention a peculiar last will and testament, suspicion and sarcasm quickly turn to panic. As the temperature drops and the tension mounts, Torben decides to draw upon all the tricks of Golden Age detectives past in order to solve the mystery: how much money would it take to turn one of his old friends into a murderer? But he'd better be quick, or someone else might end up dead...This witty murder mystery puts a modern spin on the classic country house whodunnit. A must-read for fans of Agatha Christie, Richard Osman and Janice Hallett.'A witty repurposing of the Golden Age country house' - FINANCIAL TIMES'An entertaining whodunnit in the classic Christie style' - MAIL ON SUNDAY'A glorious feat that intrigues, surprises and delights' - JANICE HALLETT'A love letter to the classic country house murder mystery' - J.M. HALL