From the bestselling author of Girl With a Pearl Earring comes a stirring eighteenth-century coming-of- age tale
Tracy Chevalier, author of the international bestseller Girl With a Pearl Earring, returns with another brilliantly rendered historical tale set in the waning days of eighteenth-century London. Poet, artist, and printer William Blake works in obscurity as England is rocked by the shock waves of the French Revolution. Next door, the Kellaway family has just moved in, and country boy Jem Kellaway strikes up a tentative friendship with street–savvy Maggie Butterfield. As their stories intertwine with Blake’s, the two children navigate the confusing and exhilarating path to adolescence, and inspire the poet to create the work that enshrined his genius.
“A novel teeming with the complexities of life . . . Chevalier has a fine eye for detail and delightfully captures the sights, smells, and sounds of an earlier time.” —Chicago Sun- Times
“Chevalier’s vivid descriptions and unusual mix of characters make this story an easy pleasure to read.” —Library Journal
“A visual delight.” —The Times (London)
“Chevalier’s writing is most lively and supple when depicting adolescent sexuality. Indeed, this novel could comfortably be classified as juvenile fiction—a very honorable genre. . . . If she succeeds in acquainting a new generation with the rapturous work of William Blake on the eve of the 250th anniversary of his birth, she can take pride in her accomplishment.” —The Boston Globe
“[E]ighteenth-century London, from its shadier neighborhoods to its more elegant areas, arises from these pages in all its cacophony.” —Booklist
“Chevalier’s signature talent lies in bringing alive the ordinary day-to-dayness of the past . . . lovingly evoked.” —Elle
“A wonderfully vivid portrait of eighteenth-century London.” —Time Out London
“Chevalier masterfully evokes a sense of working class life . . . [in] French Revolution– era London.” —Entertainment Weekly
