I usually love this kind of novel, but Scandalmonger offers precious few of the usual novelistic pleasures. There is very little scene-setting, all of the characters seem two-dimensional and generic, and the dialogue is stiff. Here's the work of a man who's done all the research, and has the intelligence to cobble it all together into a plot, but who sorely lacks the ability to bring his material alive as a work of art. My advice: For historical fiction of this type, stick with Gore Vidal (e.g. Burr, 1876, and the truly wonderful Washington DC). Vidal may be a little looser with the facts, but he offers a far more satisfying reading experience.