''King Solomon's Carpet'' (1991) is a

novel A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...

by Barbara Vine, pseudonym of

Ruth Rendell Ruth Barbara Rendell, Baroness Rendell of Babergh, (; 17 February 1930 – 2 May 2015) was an English author of thrillers and psychological murder mysteries. Rendell is best known for creating Chief Inspector Wexford.The Oxford Companion ...

. It is about the

London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or as the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent home counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. The Undergro ...

and the people frequenting it. Vine's novel is inhabited by ordinary passengers, tube aficionados, pickpockets,

buskers Street performance or busking is the act of performing in public places for gratuities. In many countries, the rewards are generally in the form of money but other gratuities such as food, drink or gifts may be given. Street performance is pr ...

vigilante Vigilantism () is the act of preventing, investigating, and punishing perceived offenses and crimes without legal authority. A vigilante is a person who practices or partakes in vigilantism, or undertakes public safety and retributive justice ...

s, and children who go "sledging" on the roofs of train carriages as an

initiation rite Initiation is a rite of passage marking entrance or acceptance into a group or society. It could also be a formal admission to adulthood in a community or one of its formal components. In an extended sense, it can also signify a transformatio ...

. The title of the book refers to the legend of King

Solomon Solomon (), also called Jedidiah, was the fourth monarch of the Kingdom of Israel (united monarchy), Kingdom of Israel and Judah, according to the Hebrew Bible. The successor of his father David, he is described as having been the penultimate ...

magic carpet A magic carpet, also called a flying carpet, is a legendary carpet and common trope in fantasy fiction. It is typically used as a form of transportation and can quickly or instantaneously carry its user(s) to their destination. In literature On ...

of green

silk Silk is a natural fiber, natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be weaving, woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is most commonly produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoon (silk), c ...

which, as it could fly and brought everyone to their destination, is likened to the underground. ''King Solomon's Carpet'' is one of the few novels set in London which should be read with the help of a

tube map The Tube map (sometimes called the London Underground map) is a schematic transport map of the lines, stations and services of the London Underground, known colloquially as "the Tube", hence the map's name. The first schematic Tube map was des ...

. It won the CWA

Gold Dagger The CWA Gold Dagger is an award given annually by the Crime Writers' Association of the United Kingdom since 1960 for the best crime novel of the year. From 1955 to 1959, the organization named their top honor as the Crossed Red Herring Award. ...

for best crime novel of the year in 1991.

Plot summary

Jarvis Stringer is a student of the London Tube and its history and of underground trains worldwide. In order to finance his

hobby A hobby is considered to be a regular activity that is done for enjoyment, typically during one's leisure time. Hobbies include collecting themed items and objects, engaging in creative and artistic pursuits, playing sports, or pursuing other ...

and be able to travel to distant lands to inspect the underground systems in other parts of the world, he lets rooms in an old disused school building he has inherited which is close to the London Underground tracks in

West Hampstead West Hampstead is an area in the London Borough of Camden. Neighbouring areas includes Childs Hill to the north, Frognal to the east, Swiss Cottage to the south-east, South Hampstead to the south and Kilburn to the south-west. The neighbourh ...

. There gather a group of misfits and weirdos, including a

squatter Squatting is the action of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied area of land or a building (usually residential) that the squatter does not Land ownership and tenure, own, rent or otherwise have lawful permission to use. The United Nations estima ...

, whose dreams of the good life have time and again been shattered as they are constantly victimised by society. There is 24-year-old Alice, an aspiring musician who leaves her husband and new-born baby only to end up busking in various stations in central London. There is Tom, who, after an accident, drops out of music school and is reduced to busking as well but who dreams of one day starting his own business. There is unemployed Tina, whose

promiscuity Promiscuity is the practice of engaging in sexual activity frequently with different partners or being indiscriminate in the choice of sexual partners. The term can carry a moral judgment. A common example of behavior viewed as promiscuous by man ...

landed her with two children whom she does not take care of in the way her mother thinks she ought to. There is Jed, who volunteers as a vigilante and who, disappointed by humans, lavishes all his love on the

hawk Hawks are birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. They are very widely distributed and are found on all continents, except Antarctica. The subfamily Accipitrinae includes goshawks, sparrowhawks, sharp-shinned hawks, and others. This ...

he has acquired and which he keeps in the house. And there is Axel, an enigmatic man who regularly travels on the tube in the company of a man disguised as a

bear Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family (biology), family Ursidae (). They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats ...

and who is planning something illegal. Cecilia and Daphne, two old ladies living in the neighbourhood, serve as a foil to this ill-assorted group. It is Cecilia in particular who does not understand how young people such as her daughter Tina can be utterly devoid of

morals Morality () is the categorization of intentions, decisions and actions into those that are ''proper'', or ''right'', and those that are ''improper'', or ''wrong''. Morality can be a body of standards or principles derived from a code of conduc ...

. She is shocked to learn that her 10-year-old grandson enjoys riding on the roof of carriages as they go through deep-level tunnels. While travelling on the tube herself, her handbag containing her credit cards is stolen, and she suffers a

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

in one of the packed carriages. The novel is interspersed with extracts from Jarvis Stringer's (fictional) book on the London Underground.

References

{{The Barbara Vine Novels 1991 British novels Novels by Ruth Rendell Works published under a pseudonym Novels set on the London Underground Viking Press books