I really enjoyed Tracy Chevalier's "Girl with a Pearl Earring", but this is nothing like as good.In fact it's pretty awful, with dialogue that would have made Enid Blyton wince.
The story's set in 1792 and is about a family from Piddletrenthide who come to London after the death of one of the sons. Their next door neighbour is William Blake, and the teenage boy soon makes friends with Maisie, a real tart-with-a-heart character. There's also a lot about Astley's circus, which was apparently a big thing in London at the time. Wicked cads and teenage pregnancies abound, along with some pretty weird stuff from William Blake.
Maybe the problem is that Chevalier can't cope with such a broad canvas. The claustrophobic atmosphere of Vermeer's house (in "Girl with a Pearl Earring") was far more convincing.
Give it a miss.
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