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The White Devil

by Justin Evans (Goodreads Author)

3.36 of 5 stars 3.36 · rating details · 1,052 ratings · 284 reviews

The Harrow School is home to privileged adolescents known as much for their distinctive dress and traditions as for their arrogance and schoolboy cruelty. Seventeen-year-old American Andrew Taylor is enrolled in the esteemed British institution by his father, who hopes that the school's discipline will put some distance between his son and his troubled past in the States.
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ebook, 384 pages

Published May 10th 2011 by HarperCollins e-books (first published January 1st 2011)

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May 23, 2011 karen rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: what-would-byron-do, books-claiming-to-be-just-like-secr

shrug, i have tried to write this review a couple of times now, but this book kinda rolled right offa me like a drunken mistake. once i dispensed with being outraged by inaccuracies (and they were totally minor, but when we're talking byron, i'm paying attention, and when you only list one byron bio in your references, i'm gonna squinty-eye you) let's get one thing straight. byron was never rich. it is misleading to characterize him as a bad boy of privilege - some tucker max prototype. i, too,...more shrug, i have tried to write this review a couple of times now, but this book kinda rolled right offa me like a drunken mistake. once i dispensed with being outraged by inaccuracies (and they were totally minor, but when we're talking byron, i'm paying attention, and when you only list one byron bio in your references, i'm gonna squinty-eye you) let's get one thing straight. byron was never rich. it is misleading to characterize him as a bad boy of privilege - some tucker max prototype. i, too, can borrow a ton of money and spend it but that doesn't make me rich, it just makes me irresponsible. and byron was nothing if not irresponsible. he was a rock star, yes, but a rock star always on the verge of exploding into a supernova situation.there was never any money. he inherited his daddy's debts along with that useless title and when he did start living the byron awwww yeeeeaahhh lifestyle, it was mostly on borrowed dimes and the kindness of women.when he did the whole exile from england thing, yes it was about the incest and sodomy rap, but also less dramatically, for intense debt.

school is over - sorry for the digression.
but his constant classification of byron as wealthy and careless made me crazy. part of what makes byron great is the shambles of his early life with his diabolical mother (has anyone written a book about her??) and his later ability to cadge the cash from his groupies and other people who should have known better. he was not someone born to wealth and idleness, even though poets seem to have that rep.

enough.

the book has an interesting premise - to fill in some of the gaps in byron's life - in this case, the few years after his time spent at a boarding school for boys during which he had an intense relationship with a fellow student.

although this takes place in modern times, with a troubled boy haunted by his own past and suddenly byron's as well, it still has a historical tone to it, which is nice. it is a fun speculative exercise, but it just never gripped me as much as i was hoping it would. there are some strong moments and some good description, but it never picked up enough speed to make me want to devote myself to it.

i want to like this writer - i think that i could really use a dose of good literary horror (like Eutopia: A Novel of Terrible Optimism). i like the idea of the capital-r romantic ghost story, and his first book was okay, too, but for some reason, there is this obstacle between us. there is this "almost there" feeling that is so frustrating, you know what i mean? ladies?

okay, i feel like that is sufficient for a book review. final verdict: good, but not great.

oh, and not one bit like secret history. can't publishers pick another book to compare books to?(less)

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May 11, 2011 April rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: for-review

Methinks my brain has been sanitized by YA, because whenever a penis pops up in an adult books, I’m all WHAT IS THIS?! Boys have more than just kissy-lips? Oh hell naw. Clearly, my brain is awesome. ANYWAYS, I recently read The White Devil by Justin Evans and am a bit unsure of what I think about it. Obviously, I enjoyed it. However, certain elements were hard for me to get used to, like penis in various states of erection. (how many times can I use the word penis in this review?) Also, complex...more

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Jul 19, 2012 Mallory Anne-Marie Forbes rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Paranormal, Horror, Mystery, Literary History

Shelves: march-2012-reads, a-rainbow-of-books

A stunning novel-parts mystery, coming-of-age adolescence, history, English literature, Romantic poets (Lord Byron), ghost story, haunting, English public school subculture, character-in-depth, plotting, budding romance-or not; this novel has everything and more, including a superb writing style that catches and enraptures the reader, making us want to go read everything this author writes. Justin Evans encapsulates the British public school (what we in America would term private schools) equall...more

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Jan 10, 2011 Laura rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011-mt-bookpile

Sometimes I really want the "half-star" option - this deserves a 4.5. Why? Because when a book makes you want to learn more about the source material, that's a good book.

Set at Harrow in the modern day, Andrew is a fish-out-of-water American sent for a "gap year" (aka "an opportunity to clean up your record") by his father. While trying to figure out the social hierarchy and Harrovian slang, he witnesses what he thinks is a murder - except the doctors say it's natural causes and the murderer sim...more

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Apr 21, 2012 Caitlin rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I am always on the lookout for a good college/boarding school story. It's all Donna Tartt's fault that I'm usually disappointed - nothing is ever as good as The Secret History.

I gave The White Devil a try, though - boarding school, murder, the ghost of Lord Byron, various kinds of evildoing - works for me. Except it only sort of worked for me. The beginning was good, then it became sort of okay, and then it pretty much just fell apart.

Mr. Evans is a good writer, but this story just didn't connec...more

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Jan 18, 2013 Jenna King rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I first learned of Justin Evans' The White Devil when reading Stephen King's Top 20 of 2011 on ew.com. Mr. King's one of my favorite writers and he described the story as, 'it gathers you in lovingly, then takes you in a strangler's grip with its escalating horrors.' I was sold - I like a well written scary story and if my man, King, the master of horror, said it was good, then it must be really good.

Not so much. The horrors escalated in the first few chapters - so much that I practically read...more

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Jan 02, 2013 Alyssa rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I started reading The White Devil on the boat from Nantucket to Hyannis on New Years day. I didn't know much about it except that is set in a modern-day exclusive British boarding school, which automatically attracted me because I went to a boarding school in MA, and also a year in university at Royal Halloway, University of London, where my dorm was a Victorian castle (and the town was not too dissimilar from the White Devil's setting, as it turns out). I was so enthralled, I ended up staying u...more I started reading The White Devil on the boat from Nantucket to Hyannis on New Years day. I didn't know much about it except that is set in a modern-day exclusive British boarding school, which automatically attracted me because I went to a boarding school in MA, and also a year in university at Royal Halloway, University of London, where my dorm was a Victorian castle (and the town was not too dissimilar from the White Devil's setting, as it turns out). I was so enthralled, I ended up staying up until 2 AM to finish the book.

The White Devil runs the gamut of all of my favorite things, historical fiction, horror, upper-class British society, and boarding schools. Justin Evans writes a chilling gothic ghost story, and it's couched in the story of Lord Byron's childhood, which I found fascinating, and of which I had been completely unaware. I also was impressed with Evans writing style which is beautiful, lyrical, and completely fitting to the tale. Just a warning, it does get a little down and dirty, sexually-speaking, although that is again consistant with the subject matter.

I went onto Justin Evans website as soon as I got up this morning to find out more. I wanted to know how much of what I read about Byron was true (apparently many of the constructs for the novel were amalgamations of true moments in Byron's life- and according to one Goodreads member his class situation was very different than portrayed here), but I'm not a historical purist, I was just happy to be exposed to some beautiful poetry. I'm still not sure if Byron really attended Harrow. What I did discover, was that Evans read tons of Japanese ghost stories (kwaidan) in an effort to build the character of Harness in the novel, and that makes total sense. I mean this ghost was so thoroughly terrifying, I'm not gonna lie, I kept jumping every time my house settled, and I screamed when the electric heat came on. Man, don't you just love that deliciously awful feeling? Also, Evans writing style is compelling & lyrical even when he's simply writing about his day or his research.

Then, this afternoon I went to the library and borrowed Evan's first book "A Good and Happy Child", and a biography of Byron. As another Goodreads critic mentioned, you know an author has done his job when you are inspired to read source material. So what can I say, go out and read this book.(less)

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Aug 19, 2012 Dark Faerie Tales rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: reviewed-by-michelle

Review courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales

Quick & Dirty: A troubled youth meets another with a vengeful quest in this paranormal thriller.

Opening Sentence: Andrew Taylor stood alone before a gate.

The Review:

I have never read anything by Justin Evans, but when I was given The White Devil, I was definitely intrigued. This genre is outside of my reading comfort zone, but didn’t stop me from admiring the graphically haunting cover. The White Devil was the cause of eerie goosebumps and restless nights,...more

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Aug 13, 2012 Annette Gisby rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: gay-themes, ghosts, horror, literary-fiction

The ghost mystery plot is well done. Who is the ghost? What does he want? Why is he being drawn to Andrew most of all? Why are people getting ill and dying? The reader finds out these things at the same time as Andrew, so we feel drawn into the story and relate to the characters. I also loved finding out more about Lord Bryon too.

I really enjoyed it right up until Persephone Vine appeared. I thought to myself, are you really going to go there? Really, Mr. Evans? To the most clichéd love interes...more

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Aug 03, 2012 Maria rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The 411 by Maria:
Before kids, I was a big fan of Stephen King and read everything by him and authors in the same genre. A Stephen King quote on the cover and I was in! Soooo...I really wanted to like this book.

It took me over two weeks to read which kinda tells me that I wasn't really into it. I like the idea of Andrew, an American being sent to a rich boarding school and I like the idea of a ghost haunting the school but I didn't connect with the story at all.

There were moments when I thought,...more

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Mar 19, 2012 Rae rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

What an engaging and thrilling book! All parts ghost story, love story, historical tale, literary treatise, mystery, psychological thriller, medical crisis, gloomy-homophobic/homoerotic boys’ school story, and coming-of-age tragic triumph. This book is many things and yet manages to weave them together into a story that flows with characters that grab you. This story manages to be sad while keeping the reader engaged enough in both the mystery and the lives of the characters. Part of what makes...more

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Jun 26, 2011 christa rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

In 2008 Justin Evans published "A Good and Happy Child," a debut novel that was not only one of my favorites when I read it a year later, but it included a passage that I loved so much that it remains stuck in a way that classic poetry is supposed to lodge itself. (Well, the gist of it is there. I don't know this verbatim). In describing how the demon child and his family live:

"It was a house halfway between this and that, between upper-middle-class luxuries and absentminded squalor."

For this se...more In 2008 Justin Evans published "A Good and Happy Child," a debut novel that was not only one of my favorites when I read it a year later, but it included a passage that I loved so much that it remains stuck in a way that classic poetry is supposed to lodge itself. (Well, the gist of it is there. I don't know this verbatim). In describing how the demon child and his family live:

"It was a house halfway between this and that, between upper-middle-class luxuries and absentminded squalor."

For this sentence alone, I will always read everything Evans publishes.

Evans has a pretty ambitious premise for his second novel, "The White Devil." A young American kid who has seemingly fallen backward into some bad behavior lands in an English prep school as a last ditch effort. If he can't stay sober, stay straight at Harrow -- a school that once helped shape the young mind of Lord Byron -- his dad is done with him.

Unfortunately, there is something about Andrew Taylor: He looks like Byron. The resemblance stops Persephone, the only girl at the all-boy school, a theater sort who knows that they need a student to play Byron in an upcoming production. He also catches the eye of the resident writer charged with creating the play, Piers Fawkes, a scatterbrained creative who is trying to shake the drink. And, unfortunately, he catches the eye of the Harrow ghost, an anemic-looking soul who seduces Andrew and attacks those he is close to.

Andrew has barely unpacked when the fellow student who showed him around winds up dead in the woods, and the autopsy reveals that he was killed by a pre-existing disease. Although, Andrew is the one who finds his friend dead, and he sees an image of the Harrow ghost atop his new friend, some how hastening the death. And then there are more victims.

Evans novel takes the super scandalous life of Lord Byron and turns it into a supernatural mystery. Mostly: How can Andrew shake this ghost? What is his secret? What does he want? A sort of Scooby Gang of people willing to believe in otherworldly murderers gathers to get to the bottom of it: A librarian, the aforementioned mess of a writer, the sassafrass girlfriend, Andrew and a sidekick. And they have to do all of this without attracting the ire of school officials, who are watching them all very closely.

Evans' first novel also includes a demonic presence in a way that feels like literary intrigue. This one seems to lean more toward a creative approach to genre fiction. In this respect, the set up works. The first half is a page turner, which makes the flat characters tolerable. The second half is groan-y and the seams really show. Queue up the romantic montage starring the young lovers running through the streets! While the reveals are very duh-duh-dah, the fix for the situation isn't very climactic. It serves to plant an "I want to read a book about Lord Byron" seed more than anything else.(less)

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May 31, 2011 Jessica at Book Sake rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Andrew Taylor is sent away to Harrow, a prestigious boarding school in England, after getting into some trouble back home in Connecticut. There, he is haunted by a homosexual ghost because he bears a striking resemblance to the ghost’s former lover, Lord Byron…

That ended the thrilling aspect of The White Devil for me. Maybe it’s just my particular shade of humor, but I couldn’t resist picturing Richard Simmons’ spandex-clad ghost saying, “Honey, if I can’t have you, nobody can have you.” I still...more

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May 10, 2011 Jimmmunchel rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I first realized what a true master of the quiet macabre Mr. Justin Evans was when I read his novel A GOOD AND HAPPY CHILD. Not knowing what to expect from this first time author I was more than pleasantly surprised by his ability to weave a story so simple in it's narrative but what lay underneath the surface was evil personified...
I received an arc (advanced readers copy) of THE WHITE DEVIL from Mr. Evan's publisher and it lay quietly on my nightstand till I had a few hours to dedicate to what...more

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May 03, 2011 Kristin (Beneath Shining Stars, I Read) rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

If you're like me, the first thing that you think when you hear the title is, "Does this involve demons?" The answer to that question is, "Only personal ones." Or rather, that The White Devil is the name of a play by John Webster and it is relevant--and mentioned--in the book. Also, the one who references it is a sort of personal demon--of Lord Byron's named John Harness who happens to be haunting our main character Andrew Taylor (who looks rather a lot like Lord Byron).

Andrew Taylor is an Ameri...more If you're like me, the first thing that you think when you hear the title is, "Does this involve demons?" The answer to that question is, "Only personal ones." Or rather, that The White Devil is the name of a play by John Webster and it is relevant--and mentioned--in the book. Also, the one who references it is a sort of personal demon--of Lord Byron's named John Harness who happens to be haunting our main character Andrew Taylor (who looks rather a lot like Lord Byron).

Andrew Taylor is an American who has been sentenced to Harrow School by his father as his last chance to redeem himself and hopefully get into a good college. By "sentenced," I mean to say that his father had to buy his son's way in and quite frankly, Andrew is less than pleased to be there. Happily, this does change over time and suddenly the boy who was kicked out of his old school for drugs finds himself friends with his housemaster and the school's librarian. And if that wasn't strange enough, he's been seeing the ghost of a very fair haired boy who--as it happens--he witnessed floating over Theo Ryder just before Andrew came upon the corpse of Theo.

That, is pretty much the extent of what I can tell you about the plot without giving you spoilers. I will say that there is a girl (Persephone Vine) who Andrew rather fancies and that she talks him into getting involved in the school play--which causes him to learn more about Lord Byron and thus about the ghost as well. Be warned though, there is some foul language in The White Devil as well as a few scenes that are sexual in nature (and a tad graphic). Because of this, I would not recommend this to readers who strictly prefer Young Adult novels. Yes, the main character in this book is a teenager, but it does contain some strong themes that personally, I wouldn't recommend for teens. This is adult level fiction, do not doubt it.

However, I must confess that I found The White Devil to be somewhat of a slow read. It doesn't precisely grip you in as I felt that it ought and well, the ending is certainly a twist that I didn't see coming. On the other hand, the cast of characters was certainly good--and very human for that matter (and by this, I mean to say flawed). Admittedly the term "cheese lungs" is stuck in my head at the moment due to The White Devil and well, after having health classes in which we watched videos of teens going to morgues to see what lungs look like after lung cancer, ah, well, I'm a bit squeamish about such things. The blood on the other hand did not bother me nearly as much as the lung bit did.

The White Devil was certainly a read and although I regret to say that I did not love it as much as I thought I would, it was certainly interesting--I mean, look at how much I ended up writing about it! If you can deal with some strong scenes and are intrigued by the plot though, then I would recommend that you pick up a copy and I'd personally love to hear what you thought of it.(less)

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May 10, 2011 Jennifer Rayment rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The Good Stuff

* Author really knows how to create mood -- it felt eerie and spooky - almost gothic like
* Wonderfully moody ghost story, which there should have been much more of over the constant mentions of the scholarly politics
* Love the scene between Dr Khan and Andrew in the library
* lots of twists and turns
* Sensitive portrayal of homosexuality
* Interesting characters

The Not so Good Stuff

* The beginning is very slow and a tad confusing at times, but really picks up by Chapter 9 - bu...more

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Mar 30, 2011 Kathy Hiester rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I had never really looked into the background of Lord Byron, but this book will got me up to speed rather quickly. Byron not only left behind a legacy as a poet, we find that he also left behind a ghost. Not his own ghost, but the ghost of his envious homosexual lover, John Harness. Harness spent 200 years or so as a quiet spirit in the basement of Harrow School, doing nothing much more than the sporadic rattling. But when American student Andrew Taylor shows up at the school, he decides that Ta...more

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Feb 26, 2013 Theo rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I loved Justin Evans' A Good And Happy Child - loved it - so I was rather enthused to read this one. Sure, I wasn't too struck on the blurb, but that was true of his other book and that turned out to be great.

This one, not so much.

Part of it is not the fault of the book: I am hypersensitised to errors about Britain made by US authors. However, this was inadvertently hilarious. We begin with a short and threatening prologue which fulfils the role of bad prologues everywhere: making up for the fa...more I loved Justin Evans' A Good And Happy Child - loved it - so I was rather enthused to read this one. Sure, I wasn't too struck on the blurb, but that was true of his other book and that turned out to be great.

This one, not so much.

Part of it is not the fault of the book: I am hypersensitised to errors about Britain made by US authors. However, this was inadvertently hilarious. We begin with a short and threatening prologue which fulfils the role of bad prologues everywhere: making up for the fact little happens in your first chapter.

The White Devil opens proper with American student Andrew getting to grips with the oddity that is Harrow. We get parts of the welcome pack, the glossary - but don't worry if you're not paying attention, it doesn't actually make much difference. Then, Andrew meets Matron, who is cross that he's an American.

Later, he meets the other chaps in the 6th Form, all of whom are astounded to meet an American. They tell him to go f**k himself, he calls them assholes, they're all "Woah, mate, bit aggressive, what? That's how we greet each other in England!" Then there's a conversation in which Andrew doesn't know what a gap year is, or what A levels are. Later one of the English people will be completely confounded by the phrase "rain check" but that's okay because Andrew doesn't know what lager is.

Assuming you haven't thrown the book across the room by this point, you have further delights to come: Harrow admits girls! Oh, no wait, just one girl, and that's for reasons which are completely realistic and would totally happen in real life; just like Harrow offering Agriculture as a subject, and Andrew being the only American in the school, and the only new person in the 6th form, and everybody there being white and English (apart from Andrew, oh and Rhys, the Welsh Agriculture student).

When a location is (as far as I can tell) so important to the plot it can't be remade as an unnamed public school - as in Patrick Gale's Friendly Fire, which is based on Winchester - you'd better, at least, glance at the website.

I gave it till P78, but even when the story had got going my suspension of disbelief was shot and I was questioning everything (would the police have conducted the interview like that, or does Andrew count as a minor?) Andrews motivation was flimsy. The final scene I read - (view spoiler) - pointed too heavily towards public school cliche and, frankly, made me disinclined to read any further.

Terrible. Go and read his other book. That's much better.

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May 13, 2011 Jamie Kline rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: shelf-awareness

If you would like to read more of my reviews, please visit my book review blog Bookerella

Review: I received this book as an ARC through Shelf Awareness. I thought it sounded interesting (I love a good ghost story), but I wasn't prepared for how much I would like this book! It was such a pleasant surprise; a book full mystery, intrigue, romance, and humor. Twists around every corner. Just like I like 'em!

When this book started out I wasn't sure if I would like it or not. The beginning is a little...more If you would like to read more of my reviews, please visit my book review blog Bookerella

Review: I received this book as an ARC through Shelf Awareness. I thought it sounded interesting (I love a good ghost story), but I wasn't prepared for how much I would like this book! It was such a pleasant surprise; a book full mystery, intrigue, romance, and humor. Twists around every corner. Just like I like 'em!

When this book started out I wasn't sure if I would like it or not. The beginning is a little slow, with the main character Andrew getting adjusted to life at the esteemed Harrow school. His parents made him aware that this is his last chance; if he gets in trouble at this school they will cut all ties with him. He's kind of bitter for being sent to Europe, away from everything he knows into a very unfamiliar culture, but he also doesn't want to disappoint his parents so he tries his best. I definitely felt bad for Andrew, I can't imagine being sent overseas to a school where I didn't know anyone and where the things they say and do are very different from her in America. He's definitely singled out right away and some of the guys pick on him. On his tour through the building, he gets a weird feeling in the basement, an eerie feeling of someone else being in there with them. This is not the last time he feels this way throughout the book.

Piers Fawkes is the headmaster for Andrew's house, but is more interested in getting drunk than anything else. He's in process of writing a play about Lord Byron, the poet (who attended Harrow 200 years ago); he gets the shock of his life when he notices that Andrew, the American transfer, is a dead ringer for Lord Byron. Andrew is alerted about the play by the only girl at the all-boy school, Persephone Vine. She doesn't think he'll get the part of Byron, what with his very American accent, but she's intrigued by him because he's different. When one of his fellow housemates dies and Andrew starts seeing a ghost, Fawkes becomes more and more interested in him. With his feelings for Persephone growing along with his fear of the ghost that keeps visiting him, Andrew must find out what the ghost wants before it's too late.

I have to say, I loved the characters. They were very well developed; while the story mainly focused on Andrew's point of few, occasionally it switched to another character (most often Fawkes). Sometimes when books do this it really puts me off and irritates me. I thought it was well done here and the different points of view really enhanced the story. I really loved Persephone, she was such a tough chick. She didn't take any crap from Andrew or anybody else; I guess to be the only girl in an all-boy school you'd have to be tough and be able to take the mostly unwanted admiration and leers from the boys. I thought Fawkes was a great character too. I didn't like him too much at first, but when he became more involved with Andrew (after he confided in him about the ghost) I really started to see another side of him. That he actually was capable of caring about someone else's well-being.

I really liked the mystery of this book. Some of the twists I had figured out, some caught me completely by surprise. The main point is it kept me reading; when the story picked up it really took off and it was impossible to put down! And I'm not a huge fan of history but I liked learning about Lord Byron. I kept wondering how much of it was truth and how much fiction, so I looked him up just to see. It seems as though the part about Byron having relationships with other boys while at Harrow is true. There are also some question as to whether his relationship with his half-sister, Augusta, went beyond just being siblings. If you're interested in learning more about Lord Byron, you can click here. It's very interesting stuff!

The only thing I guess I didn't really like about the book was the ending. It seemed so abrupt that I just sat there thinking "Aww, is that it?" I guess I just expected more from the ending after the huge build-up to it. However, I still really enjoyed this book, more than I ever would have guessed. Even if you're not a huge fan of history (because I'm not), please give this book a chance. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised as well.

My rating: 4/5 stars

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Mar 08, 2013 Christie rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Justin Evans has written an intriguing and creepy novel inspired partly, I’m sure, by the year he spent at Harrow School. That’s right, the Harrow school in The White Devil is a real place situated about 40 minutes from London’s West End. From the look of its website, it’s prestigious and slightly stuffy.

The White Devil cashes in on verisimilitude of another sort: Lord Byron was once a pupil at Harrow. Byron (George Gordon Byron 1788-1824) was quite notorious, even in his own life time and not j...more Justin Evans has written an intriguing and creepy novel inspired partly, I’m sure, by the year he spent at Harrow School. That’s right, the Harrow school in The White Devil is a real place situated about 40 minutes from London’s West End. From the look of its website, it’s prestigious and slightly stuffy.

The White Devil cashes in on verisimilitude of another sort: Lord Byron was once a pupil at Harrow. Byron (George Gordon Byron 1788-1824) was quite notorious, even in his own life time and not just for his Romantic poetry. He was sexually voracious and had several lovers including his half-sister. It has long been speculated, although likely not by Byron’s peers, that he was bisexual.

Andrew Taylor, the novel’s 17-year-old protagonist, has been sent to Harrow in a last ditch effort to make him agreeable to American universities. He’s been turfed from his own school back home for drug-related crimes and this is his last chance to get his shit together – so to speak. From the moment he arrives at Harrow, though, Andrew feels out of place. He doesn’t understand the humour or the customs or how he’s going to survive a year in this place that is “dank, cramped and old.”

When Andrew’s first friend at Harrow is found dead under somewhat suspicious circumstances, things start to go a little hairy at Harrow. For one thing, Andrew is the person who found the dead boy. For another, he thinks he saw the person who did it. And he’s been having these dreams. Because there’s apparently a ghost at Harrow. And for some reason the ghost seems focused on Andrew. By lucky or rather unlucky (as it turns out) coincidence, Andrew is a dead ringer for the dead poet.

As the ghost at Harrow becomes more menacing, Andrew tries to figure out who it is and what it wants. He’s not alone. Helping him are Piers Fawkes, the school’s tortured poet-in-residence; Judith Kahn, a crisp librarian and Persephone, the headmaster’s daughter and the only female student at Harrow.

The White Devil is delightfully twisty and I’ll tell you one thing, it made me very curious about Byron’s life. I have read other novels featuring Byron: the YA novel AngelMonster by Veronica Bennett and Tom Holland’s excellent Lord of the Dead, but The White Devil really brought its A game: it’s well-written, smart and a lot of gothic fun.
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May 31, 2011 ZB rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: crime-mystery-thriller, first-reads, owned-books, horror

This book was pretty good. It definately kept my attention and I was riveted by the mystery involved. Like a typical American I had no idea who Byron was which would have perhaps led to a greater enjoyment of the book, but nevertheless it was a great ghost story. The main character was an American teenager escaping a troubled past involving drugs and a dead friend so there was some teen angst. However, it wasn't annoying, just enough to make the character believable. As a person who loves books...more

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Jan 31, 2012 Leslee rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: literary-fiction, spooky-ghosts-and-stuff, set-in-higher-learning

This book gets compared a lot to Donna Tartt's The Secret History, however this book came to my attention because of my high rating for Buehlman's excellent Those Across the River, and honestly despite the superficial trappings, I think The White Devil has more in common with the latter book rather than the former.

I really enjoyed this book. Do I think it's a literary gem? No. Despite the historical subtext, I don't really think The White Devil lives up to its literary asperations in the way th...more

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Sep 11, 2011 Jordan rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery

To American audiences most especially, the gated and high class boarding school of Harrow seems an antiquated and musty place to set a speedy murder mystery. But against all assumption, Justin Evans draws from his own whirlwind transplant from American to the academy, and has written a sublime gothic horror novel, with just the winking amount of tantalizing historical accuracy.
'The White Devil' follows seventeen year-old American Andrew Taylor's transfer to the prestigious Harrow, after he wa...more

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Feb 04, 2012 Jan rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

When I saw this book on my list to add to Goodreads, I thought to myself, "Hmm, which book is that now?" That's never a good sign.

I know I liked it. I know I got through it pretty quick. I guess it didn't make much of an impression.

There's an evil, vengeful ghost; a fish-out-of-water former bad boy; a once-great, now-fallen drunken writer; and a girl that I can't understand why any boy would ever fall for (Seriously, why are most authors so terrible at characterizing women? Most of them start ou...more

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Dec 15, 2011 Jacqueline rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: paranormal-urban-fantasy

Stephen King occasionally writes a "favorite" list for EW magazine and had listed this book. Though I am not a huge fan of King's books now (the last one I read was Pet Cemetary) he has yet to steer me wrong with book reviews. This book is a great ghost story, and its not a there-might-be-a-ghost or is-this-character-just-crazy? story, there is definitely a ghost, a very angry one. The story takes place at Harrow School in England. American Andrew Taylor has just been enrolled by his father beca...more

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Apr 01, 2011 Newengland rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: contemporary, finished-in-2011

Lord Byron fans will especially enjoy Justin Evans' second outing as he tackles the tale of a Byron "friend" that is haunting their old prep school, Harrow, back in Jolly Olde. We get there via the American ne'er-do-well, Andrew Taylor, whose father has shipped him for shaping up. Andrew has a rough first day, though. Bullied? No. Lost? Nope again. Witnessing murders? Of course! Every new student's bane. So right out of the gate, the first kid to befriend him becomes a goner.

Meantime, improbably...more Lord Byron fans will especially enjoy Justin Evans' second outing as he tackles the tale of a Byron "friend" that is haunting their old prep school, Harrow, back in Jolly Olde. We get there via the American ne'er-do-well, Andrew Taylor, whose father has shipped him for shaping up. Andrew has a rough first day, though. Bullied? No. Lost? Nope again. Witnessing murders? Of course! Every new student's bane. So right out of the gate, the first kid to befriend him becomes a goner.

Meantime, improbably enough and with zero experience, Andrew signs on for the lead (yes, I said LEAD... and I did mention "improbably," did I not?) role in a play about (ten guesses) Lord Byron! It's being written by house master Fawkes, a published poet who can't revive his glory (read: published) days and takes it out on the bottle (OK, many bottles).

At the play, numerous babes fall for Andrew (the accent, you see) and his bohemian (the long locks, you see) looks. One in particular, name of Persephone, is the daughter of the headmaster. What are the odds? She's a nympho of sorts, but it's nothing compared to the succubus (or is it an incubus?) who keeps visiting Andrew in his dreams for a little forbidden sex. Talk about a hazing!

It's bracing enough and a page-turner to boot, so I can't complain if I view it through the lens of entertainment. Literarily-speaking, it doesn't hold up as well. Characters come and then go for good. Many don't quite develop -- like the old Polaroids we use to endure. The mystery of connecting Byron to ghost is not that mysterious and the fear factor of the ghost himself is not that high. In fact, the Harrow-ing Haunt is rather predictable in his habits, and he doesn't actually show up all that much because Evans is busy with all the politics and intrigue of the school, its students and staff (really, does middle school EVER end?).

Ultimately the author falls victim to "I-Don't-Know-How-To-End-This-itis" and plays the corny card. You know, where you read it and say, "Really?" But whatever, he's not alone in this fault. There are plenty of writers -- many of them damn good ones -- who can't end a book to save their lives.

Overall, I'd recommend this for a fun read, an amusing way to pass the time, especially if you are an Anglophile and a fan of Byron. Yes, you WILL learn a fact or two about Byron's young life. The man was insatiable, for one. It's a wonder he had time to write poems, what with the demands of libido. Just don't hold it to any high literary standards. This is not Hamlet's father's ghost and nothing's rotten in Denmark, in other words.(less)

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Jan 08, 2012 Jodi Lutz rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: paranormal

This was one of those rare things - a cerebral ghost story. No spooky creaking through the house, no terrifying moments, but a subtle ghostly mystery that reveals itself slowly, but not too slowly. Sure there was the feeling of dread, damp, and cold that would hail the arrival of the spectre, but other than that we were working through not a who-done-it, but rather a who-did-they-do?

The story centres around Andrew Taylor, a troubled American teen, who after trouble with drugs, is sent by his pa...more

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Dec 12, 2011 Rebecca rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A good though not-so-old-fashioned ghost story. The White Devil has far too much adult content in it for that. (spoiler alert) The mystery concerns a gay lover of the poet, Lord Byron, who died of TB after murdering one of Byron's other lovers, a prostitute who dressed like a man.

Apparently, Byron was quite the sex addict. I should point out that I'm not crazy about authors who use dead people's alleged sex lives to spice up their plot lines but I did think this was a well done tale. The beginni...more

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Apr 27, 2011 cheryl rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Gothic thriller is another book genre I'd have been unlikely to pick up without the kind folks at Harper encouraging me to broaden my tastes. Despite the change, I went into Justin Evan's second book, The White Devil, with a really positive mindset. The plot and setting really intrigues me and it sounded like a ghost story for folks who might not normally read such things.

The book focuses on Andrew Taylor, a teen sent to England to redo his final year of high school by parents who are pretty fe...more Gothic thriller is another book genre I'd have been unlikely to pick up without the kind folks at Harper encouraging me to broaden my tastes. Despite the change, I went into Justin Evan's second book, The White Devil, with a really positive mindset. The plot and setting really intrigues me and it sounded like a ghost story for folks who might not normally read such things.

The book focuses on Andrew Taylor, a teen sent to England to redo his final year of high school by parents who are pretty fed up with his antics and are treating this as a final chance for him to redeem himself before they wash their hands of him. He is sent to a boarding school dripping with both prestige and history. Tradition is key and the handbook includes definitions of long-used school-speak terms for different years and the long-time uniform. Andrew has a bit of the usual new kid issues but things are shaked up when he witnesses the death of a classmate and begins to suspect a supernatural element at play. The book focuses on a ghost haunting and reaking havoc, a spirit that had been the subject of school rumors but is clearly spurred to more action by Andrew's presence. Other key characters are a teacher who isn't in the administration's good graces and the single femals student at the school. Andrew and the teacher work to figure out who the ghost is and what is motivating his actions to prevent further bloodshed (literally since the ghost seems capable of infecting the living with TB).

Unfortunately, I just didn't find the book all that interesting and I struggled to put my finger on why. I did find the characters interesting but they did often seem a bit too stock...the new kid, the administrator's daughter, the alcoholic writer-on-residence who the school leaders despise. I appreciated that the ghost's story unfolded at a good pace...little pieces uncovered to keep it moving but not all at once. I just was never pulled in, never looked forward to my nightly reading time, and was very much waiting for it to end. The writing was fine, but never felt special and I never had any trouble putting it down. Two and a half stars (of five). (less)

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May 15, 2011 Kevin rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I wanted to love this book, but it was not meant to be.

I read A Good and Happy Child a few years ago and was floored by how unexpectedly great it was. I don't read much genre fiction these days, and typically not what would be classified as horror, but I'd classify Evans' novels in that rare category of "literary horror". He's a spectacular writer from a language-usage standpoint: clear and direct, but with a talent for complex-but-not-showy vocabulary and sentence phrasing. I enjoyed The White...more

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About Justin Evans

Justin Evans is a digital media executive based in New York City where he lives with his family. He received a BA in English from Columbia University and a MBA in Finance from NYU Stern. His first novel, A Good and Happy Child, was named a Best Book of 2007 by the Washington Post, was translated into six languages, and optioned by a major film studio. Justin attended Harrow School for one year at...more

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