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A review by ailsabristow
A Secret Alchemy by Emma Darwin
4.0
I enjoyed this book much more than Darwin's debut offering [b:The Mathematics of Love|714583|The Man Who Loved Only Numbers The Story of Paul Erdős and the Search for Mathematical Truth|Paul Hoffman|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348101129s/714583.jpg|1407234]. Darwin seems to me to have grown in confidence and competence as a writer (as it should be) and this book was much stronger: if half stars were available to give on goodreads, I would have bumped my rating up to 4 and a half.
This book weaves together three narrative strands - the historical perspectives of Elizabeth Woodville and her brother, Anthony, as well as a contemporary narrative about Una Pryor, a bibliographic historian with an interest in the Woodvilles.
As well as being a strongly plotted well-told story in a period which I find fascinating, Darwin's book was intellectually intriguing too. The book (gently) prompted the reader to consider questions of history and historical narrative, and the role of fiction in bridging the gap between fact and narrative. It also delved into all sorts of "big" ideas, without ever really losing pace or my interest.
All in all, a very confident and engaging novel. Historical fiction at its best.
This book weaves together three narrative strands - the historical perspectives of Elizabeth Woodville and her brother, Anthony, as well as a contemporary narrative about Una Pryor, a bibliographic historian with an interest in the Woodvilles.
As well as being a strongly plotted well-told story in a period which I find fascinating, Darwin's book was intellectually intriguing too. The book (gently) prompted the reader to consider questions of history and historical narrative, and the role of fiction in bridging the gap between fact and narrative. It also delved into all sorts of "big" ideas, without ever really losing pace or my interest.
All in all, a very confident and engaging novel. Historical fiction at its best.