The Sacred River - Wendy Wallace - Guest Book Review

Published by Simon & Schuster

Guest book review by Josie Barton

Harriet Heron is the cosseted daughter of an upper class Victorian family. Her severe asthma, in smog ridden London, necessitates her staying indoors, where her fascination for Egypt and the Egyptian Book of the Dead carries her through the worst of her illness. Tentatively, on the advice of her doctor, Harriet embarks on a journey to Egypt with her mother, Louisa and her eccentric Aunt Yael. On the boat to Alexandria they are befriended by an enigmatic artist, Eyre Soane, whose interest in Harriet and her family can only be regarded as suspicious and whose association with them continues throughout the novel.

Their arrival in Alexandria is filled with the sights, sounds and scents of a city so foreign that Harriet’s senses seem to come alive and she is enchanted by what she sees around her. Her health improves, and she is able to immerse herself in the history and culture of a country which has long fascinated her. However, for Louisa and Yael, Egypt is not just a land of contrasts, but is also a place where they must try to find some sort of inner peace. 

From the start of the novel, the author cleverly intertwines the story of three very different women and shows just what it was like to live within the closeted world of Victorian sensibility. They each have their own secrets, aspirations and hidden yearnings, and as the languid torpor of Egypt starts to influence them, their hopes, dreams and fears of the past are laid open to scrutiny in a fascinating journey of self discovery. Egypt is so beautifully described that it becomes vibrantly alive, from the contrast of valleys tinged with the gold of its ancient tombs, through to the poverty and turmoil of a land at odds with itself.  The whole character and nature of the novel revolves around the effect that this beautiful country has on Harriet, Louisa and Yael.

Overall, I thought that there was much to enjoy within the novel. The slow and languorous nature of the narrative is entirely in keeping with the unhurried atmosphere of nineteenth century Egypt, and I am sure that this book will appeal to fans of well written historical fiction.

Many thanks to Josie for reading and reviewing this novel for The Little Reader Library. Please do also visit Josie's fab book blog JaffaReadsToo!

Bellman and Black - Diane Setterfield

William Bellman is just past his tenth birthday when he takes aims at a rook with his catapult; despite the seemingly impossible distance, the target is indeed met and the bird struck dead. Though he doesn’t dwell on it, this unsettling moment is set to ultimately shape and overshadow William’s whole future existence. 

He works hard and becomes a successful mill owner and happy family man with a lovely wife and children, seemingly very fortunate, but then his world is hit by terrible tragedy and loss. He notices a curious, inscrutable figure appearing in the graveyard, dressed all in black, and interprets that they have made an incredible agreement that will help him retain what still matters to him. As a result, William becomes creator of a shop devoted to everything relating to mourning on a grand scale. William pours himself utterly into his work, suppressing feelings and memories of what has gone before. But he is somehow haunted and can never be rid of his past.

The rook is a portent, a symbol throughout the story, always hovering, lurking, lingering, seemingly influencing Bellman’s path, and redressing the balance. More about the nature of the rook and its character is revealed in short asides interspersed throughout the novel.

I found this a dark, atmospheric and unusual Victorian tale depicting a man’s glorious rise and tragic fall; cleverly written and structured, it made me think about the joy and sadness of life. William is hardworking, caring and likeable, yet he is transformed into a shadow of his former self. The gradual unfolding of events, the shadowy, ghostlike figure of Black and the discovery of Bellman’s destiny all rendered this an intriguing, mysterious and compulsive read. 

Published by Orion

Originally reviewed for lovereading.co.uk, thanks to them and the publisher for an advance proof copy of this book to read and give an honest review. 

See the thoughts of other lovereading reviewers here. 

Elijah's Mermaid - Essie Fox

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. 

The Quietness - Alison Rattle

In this novel aimed at young adults, we are transported back to Victorian London. It is 1870, and we meet fifteen-year-old Queenie who has a miserable standard of living in a slum area, sharing a room with her parents and siblings. She decides to leave one day, little realizing what horrors there are in the world beyond the only one she has known so far.

Across London, sixteen-year-old Ellen lives a different life. She has a beautiful home and a privileged existence. However, she is very lonely. Her mother is cold and distant, and her father is equally cold towards her.

The novel follows the fortunes of these two girls, with the author depicting the events that befall them, and the gradual coming together of their lives. The title of the novel is cleverly incorporated into the storyline in several ways. I don’t want to say too much about the main aspect that it refers to, only to mention that Queenie finds a position helping two sisters with babies that women have had to give away because their circumstances don’t allow them to keep them.

The atmosphere of London and life there back then is very well evoked. I felt transported back to the poverty, the dirt and desperation through the character of Queenie, walking alongside her. Ellen experiences loneliness and longs for a family who cares for her and loves her. Queenie has a family who loves her but she longs to improve her life. The frustration and unhappiness of both their lives comes across powerfully and I felt for both characters. As their paths meet, Ellen and Queenie form a firm friendship that is strong and will be key to both their futures.

I enjoyed this book a lot. It deals with friendship, sadness, families, loneliness and a terrible crime. I think that through this story the author offers some telling insights into the awful limitations on a woman’s life back then, having little choice but to behave as men instructed or risk being incarcerated or worse. As an adult reader, I am older than the target audience but I think adults will enjoy this one too. I did guess at some of the secrets in the story before they were revealed, and this possibly lessened the tension a little for me, but nevertheless I still very much enjoyed reading on and discovering the full extent of the twists and turns in the narrative and learning the outcome of the story. 

Published by Hot Key Books

Reviewed as part of the amazon vine programme

Fallen Grace - Mary Hooper

I loved this young adult read, and will definitely be looking out for more books by Mary Hooper. Set in 1861 and featuring young Grace, and her sister Lily, who Grace looks after, as despite being the younger of the two in age, Grace is more worldly-wise than the sweet but more naïve Lily. Forced through circumstances which are revealed in the novel to leave the orphanage where they had future plans, they live in poverty and scratch out a meagre amount of money buying and selling watercress, though the proceeds of this barely keeps them in food and rent. At the start of the novel, we meet poor Grace as she is in the process of carrying out a tragic act, and at her destination she meets two people who will come to play very different but equally influential roles in her life, Mr  Solent and Mrs Unwin.

It’s a cracking story, an exciting plot, with cruel villains, a very likeable heroine and some amiable kindly folk too. The atmosphere and period setting is evoked beautifully, there’s even a mention for a certain Mr Dickens and for Prince Albert. I felt I was transported back to Victorian times as I was reading. I was rooting for kind, hard-working Grace, hoping that her fortunes would change and that justice would be done. The descriptions of the fascination with mourning, and the elaborate graveyard decorations of the period are very vivid. I loved discovering the Necropolis railway and Brookwood cemetery, all very dark and mysterious. A recommended read.