Rose Tremain is one of our “very best exponents” of historical fiction, said Ian Critchley in Literary Review – and her 15th novel is one of her most sparkling.
Set in Victorian London, it tells the story of Lily Mortimer, a 16-year-old seamstress at Belle Prettywood’s Wig Emporium on Long Acre, who was raised at Coram’s Foundling Hospital. Lily nurses a dark secret, said Michael Arditti in the FT: after enduring years of horrendous abuse at Coram, she committed an act of violence which she now fears will come to light. An “ingenious blend” of historical novel, moral fable and fairy story, this is a work that “carries an intense emotional charge”.
It certainly takes skill to “create a homage to the penny dreadful that also works as a satisfying novel”, said Melissa Katsoulis in The Times. But somehow, Tremain has managed it. Packed with “picturesque historical detail” – so that it often “feels more Dickensian than Dickens” – Lily: A Tale of Revenge is the “literary equivalent of all your favourite Christmas telly rolled into one”.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Chatto & Windus 281pp £18.99; The Week Bookshop £14.99
The Week Bookshop
To order this title or any other book in print, visit theweekbookshop.co.uk, or speak to a bookseller on 020-3176 3835. Opening times: Monday to Saturday 9am-5.30pm and Sunday 10am-4pm.
-
Political cartoons for December 14Cartoons Sunday's political cartoons include a new White House flag, Venezuela negotiations, and more
-
Heavenly spectacle in the wilds of CanadaThe Week Recommends ‘Mind-bending’ outpost for spotting animals – and the northern lights
-
Facial recognition: a revolution in policingTalking Point All 43 police forces in England and Wales are set to be granted access, with those against calling for increasing safeguards on the technology
-
Heavenly spectacle in the wilds of Canada
The Week Recommends ‘Mind-bending’ outpost for spotting animals – and the northern lights
-
It Was Just an Accident: a ‘striking’ attack on the Iranian regimeThe Week Recommends Jafar Panahi’s furious Palme d’Or-winning revenge thriller was made in secret
-
Singin’ in the Rain: fun Christmas show is ‘pure bottled sunshine’The Week Recommends Raz Shaw’s take on the classic musical is ‘gloriously cheering’
-
Holbein: ‘a superb and groundbreaking biography’The Week Recommends Elizabeth Goldring’s ‘definitive account’ brings the German artist ‘vividly to life’
-
The Sound of Music: a ‘richly entertaining’ festive treatThe Week Recommends Nikolai Foster’s captivating and beautifully designed revival ‘ripples with feeling’
-
‘Furious Minds: The Making of the MAGA New Right’ by Laura K. Field and ‘The Dream Factory: London’s First Playhouse and the Making of William Shakespeare’ by Daniel SwiftFeature An insider’s POV on the GOP and the untold story of Shakespeare’s first theater
-
Henri Rousseau: A Painter’s Secretsfeature Barnes Foundation, Philadelphia, through Feb. 22
-
Homes with great fireplacesFeature Featuring a suspended fireplace in Washington and two-sided Parisian fireplace in Florida
