Pearl, with her unusual webbed toes, was found as a baby in the river Thames, and taken to live at the brothel known as the House of the Mermaids under the watch of Mrs Hibbert who looks after her until her fourteenth birthday when Pearl realises things are going to change for her.
Twins Lily and Elijah are rescued via the intervention a kind family friend and grow up in comfort with their Grandfather in the countryside, listening to the tales he writes and dreaming of mermaids. When they visit London one day for the first time, and meet Pearl whilst there, so begins a connection that shapes their futures.
Essie Fox has used her knowledge and research combined with imagination and an evident keen passion for this period to vividly depict varied aspects of Victorian life from the beautiful to the sordid and unusual, leading the reader on an intriguing journey involving love, betrayal, art and literature. I enjoyed this book very much; I thought the different narrative voices were compelling and the story gradually drew me in; I felt transported away to a strange, secretive place, a place full of love, betrayal and illusions, a world away.
Published by Orion
I originally reviewed this novel for lovereading.co.uk - see my review and others here.
Thanks to lovereading and to the publisher for sending a review copy of this novel.
You can follow the author on twitter @essiefox and visit her fascinating blog The Virtual Victorian.
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