London 1792. The Kellaways move from rural Dorset to the tumult of a cramped, unforgiving city. They are leaving behind a terrible loss, a blow that only a completely new life may soften.

Against the backdrop of a city jittery over the increasingly bloody French Revolution, a surprising bond forms between Jem, the youngest Kellaway boy and streetwise Londoner Maggie Butterfield. Their friendship takes a dramatic turn when they become entangled in the life of their neighbour, the printer, poet and radical, William Blake. He is a guiding spirit as Jem and Maggie navigate the unpredictable, exhilarating passage from innocence to experience. Their journey influences one of Blake's most entrancing works.

I enjoyed this glimpse into life in Georgian London.

WILD RELEASE NOTES:

I am taking this to the Nottingham meet. If no one takes it I shall leave it on the shelf.

Picked up at the Nottingham meet to add to the tottering heap that is Mount TBR!

I had a lot of expectations for this book, combining as it does two of my favourite things - William Blake and circus.

Inevitably, perhaps, it didn't quite manage to live up to these. I never felt that I got to know William Blake, or his wife. His poetry felt 'shoehorned' in and the whole 'innocence and experience' theme rather overdone - show, not tell should have been the author's mantra. The storyline was pretty much that of your standard historical romance pot-boiler and the other characters and places were not as subtly drawn as in Chevalier's other books.

That said, it wasn't a bad book, she writes well, there are no glaring anachronisms and it 'feels' right. But I did feel a little disappointed.

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

Happy trails, little book! I hope you have an interesting journey!