Tracy Chevalier's new novel is set in London at the end of the eighteenth century and its a wonderful read on every level. It is three years after the French Revolution; paranoia and unrest are in the air and we are invited to stay in a gerry-built terrace house on the seamy South Bank near Westminster Bridge, part of the estate owned by a flamboyant circus impresario. One of the neighbours is William Blake, poet, artist, revolutionary and most famously author of the seditious poem Tyger, Tyger, Burning Bright. We follow the fortunes of teenager Jem and his family, newly up from Dorset, and the low life they encounter.
Tracy Chevalier is the author of six previous novels, including the international bestseller Girl with a Pearl Earring, The Virgin Blue, Falling Angels, The Lady and the Unicorn, Burning Bright and Remarkable Creatures. Born in Washington, DC, she moved to London in 1984, where she lives with her husband and son.
The film of Girl with a Pearl Earring, starring Colin Firth as Vermeer, was released in the UK in January. It was nominated for 10 BAFTAs and two Academy Awards.
