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A review by lykkes_laeserier
BOOKSELLER'S WIFE. by JANE. DAVIS
5.0
Wonderful, wonderful historical novel!
I absolutely loved “The Bookseller’s Wife” by Jane Davis. Well-written and full of historical detail, it is an excellent read about the young woman Dorcas Turton, whose family has fallen on hard times in Georgian London. Thus Dorcas has been exposed to life experiences she was not destined to have as a young girl from an old and prominent family. Instead of going to balls and other social events, Dorcas must keep house for her widowed father and is forced to take in both pupils and sewing to cover the debts still incurred by her profligate father and put food on the table.
To cover her father’s latest foolish expense, Dorcas decides to let a room in the house. Her new lodgers are Mr and Mrs Lackington, who dream of becoming booksellers. Encountering them will eventually change Dorcas’ life.
A title such as “The Bookseller’s Wife” will always attract true readers, and luckily the title doesn’t disappoint. Not only is Dorcas herself an avid reader, but much of the book is dedicated to the transformative power of reading, both figuratively and literally.
Furthermore, the author obviously has a firm grasp of the historical period she covers both in terms of actual events and the everyday life of ordinary people. I found both the language and the characters authentic to the time with Dorcas having quite forward opinions about the education of women not dissimilar to the ideas of historical figures from the same period such as Mary Wollstonecraft.
All in all, a joy to read. Now I’m curious to discover what else Jane Davis has written.
I absolutely loved “The Bookseller’s Wife” by Jane Davis. Well-written and full of historical detail, it is an excellent read about the young woman Dorcas Turton, whose family has fallen on hard times in Georgian London. Thus Dorcas has been exposed to life experiences she was not destined to have as a young girl from an old and prominent family. Instead of going to balls and other social events, Dorcas must keep house for her widowed father and is forced to take in both pupils and sewing to cover the debts still incurred by her profligate father and put food on the table.
To cover her father’s latest foolish expense, Dorcas decides to let a room in the house. Her new lodgers are Mr and Mrs Lackington, who dream of becoming booksellers. Encountering them will eventually change Dorcas’ life.
A title such as “The Bookseller’s Wife” will always attract true readers, and luckily the title doesn’t disappoint. Not only is Dorcas herself an avid reader, but much of the book is dedicated to the transformative power of reading, both figuratively and literally.
Furthermore, the author obviously has a firm grasp of the historical period she covers both in terms of actual events and the everyday life of ordinary people. I found both the language and the characters authentic to the time with Dorcas having quite forward opinions about the education of women not dissimilar to the ideas of historical figures from the same period such as Mary Wollstonecraft.
All in all, a joy to read. Now I’m curious to discover what else Jane Davis has written.