Birdcage Walk
Helen Dunmore
Publisher: Atlantic Monthly Press
Summary
Set in the late 1700s, the novel follows a pivotal time in British Romantic-era history and Radicalism, influenced by the French Revolution (which occurred at the same time) Raised by political activists, Dunmore’s protagonist Lizzie, like Austen’s infamous heroines Elizabeth Bennet and Emma Woodhouse, is a free spirited woman ahead of her time, who refuses to conform to the social mores expected of a woman of her class and marriage An incisive portrait of not just an important era in world history, but also of a marriage between a strong, independent woman and a controlling man whose ambition and hubris have disastrous outcomes. As always, Dunmore brilliantly examines the historical through an intimate, personal lens The novel will appeal not just to avid readers of Helen’s work but also to fans of literature of the romantics, as well as fans of literary domestic thrillers The first ever winner of the Orange Proze (now the Bailey's Prize) Dunmore’s historical novels have earned her comparisons to Leo Tolstoy, Virginia Woolf, and Emily Brontë Exposure was a Kirkus Reviews Best Book of 2016 and garnered rave reviews in the New York Times Book Review, EW, and the New Yorker, among others The Siege was a New York Times “Summer Reading” title, and was shortlisted for the Whitbread Novel Award and the Orange Prize