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Birdcage Walk
It is 1792 and Europe is seized by political turmoil and violence. Lizzie Fawkes has grown up in Radical circles where each step of the French Revolution is followed with eager idealism. But she has recently married John Diner Tredevant, a property developer who is heavily invested in Bristol's housing boom, and he has everything to lose from social upheaval and the prospect of war. Soon his plans for a magnificent terrace built above the two-hundred-foot drop of the Gorge come under threat. Tormented and striving Diner believes that Lizzie's independent, questioning spirit must be coerced and subdued. She belongs to him: law and custom confirm it, and she must live as he wants--his passion for Lizzie darkening until she finds herself dangerously alone.
Weaving a deeply personal and moving story with a historical moment of critical and complex importance, Birdcage Walk is an unsettling and brilliantly tense drama of public and private violence, resistance and terror from one of our greatest storytellers.
Weaving a deeply personal and moving story with a historical moment of critical and complex importance, Birdcage Walk is an unsettling and brilliantly tense drama of public and private violence, resistance and terror from one of our greatest storytellers.
416 pages, Hardcover
First published March 1, 2017
332 people are currently reading
2768 people want to read
About the author
Helen Dunmore
117 books965 followersI was born in December 1952, in Yorkshire, the second of four children. My father was the eldest of twelve, and this extended family has no doubt had a strong influence on my life, as have my own children. In a large family you hear a great many stories. You also come to understand very early that stories hold quite different meanings for different listeners, and can be recast from many viewpoints.
Poetry was very important to me from childhood. I began by listening to and learning by heart all kinds of rhymes and hymns and ballads, and then went on to make up my own poems, using the forms I’d heard. Writing these down came a little later.
I studied English at the University of York, and after graduation taught English as a foreign language in Finland.
At around this time I began to write the poems which formed my first poetry collection, The Apple Fall, and to publish these in magazines. I also completed two novels; fortunately neither survives, and it was more than ten years before I wrote another novel.
During this time I published several collections of poems, and wrote some of the short stories which were later collected in Love of Fat Men. I began to travel a great deal within the UK and around the world, for poetry tours and writing residences. This experience of working in many different countries and cultures has been very important to my work. I reviewed poetry for Stand and Poetry Review and later for The Observer, and subsequently reviewed fiction for The Observer, The Times and The Guardian. My critical work includes introductions to the poems of Emily Brontë, the short stories of D H Lawrence and F Scott Fitzgerald, a study of Virginia Woolf’s relationships with women and Introductions to the Folio Society's edition of Anna Karenina and to the new Penguin Classics edition of Tolstoy's My Confession.
During the 1980s and early 1990s I taught poetry and creative writing, tutored residential writing courses for the Arvon Foundation and took part in the Poetry Society's Writer in Schools scheme, as well as giving readings and workshops in schools, hospitals, prisons and every other kind of place where a poem could conceivably be welcome. I also taught at the University of Glamorgan, the University of Bristol's Continuing Education Department and for the Open College of the Arts.
In the late 1980s I began to publish short stories, and these were the beginning of a breakthrough into fiction. What I had learned of prose technique through the short story gave me the impetus to start writing novels. My first novel for children was Going to Egypt, published in 1992, and my first novel for adults was Zennor in Darkness, published in 1993, which won the McKitterick Prize. This was also my first researched novel, set in the First World War and dealing with the period when D H Lawrence and his wife Frieda lived in Zennor in Cornwall, and came under suspicion as German spies.
My third novel, A Spell of Winter, won the inaugural Orange Prize for Fiction in 1996, and since then I have published a number of novels, short story collections and books for children. Full details of all these books are available on this website. The last of The Ingo Quartet, The Crossing of Ingo, was published in paperback in Spring 2009.
My seventh novel, The Siege (2001) was shortlisted both for the Whitbread Novel Award and the Orange Prize for Fiction. This was another researched novel, which grew from a lifelong love of Russian history, culture and literature. It is is set in Leningrad during the first year of the siege of the city by German forces, which lasted for 880 days from the fall of Mga on 30th August 1941. The Siege has been translated into Russian by Tatyana Averchina, and extracts have been broadcast on radio in St Petersburg. House of Orphans was published in 2006, and in 2008 Counting the Stars. Its central characters are the Roman poet Catullus, who lived during the last years of the Republic,
Poetry was very important to me from childhood. I began by listening to and learning by heart all kinds of rhymes and hymns and ballads, and then went on to make up my own poems, using the forms I’d heard. Writing these down came a little later.
I studied English at the University of York, and after graduation taught English as a foreign language in Finland.
At around this time I began to write the poems which formed my first poetry collection, The Apple Fall, and to publish these in magazines. I also completed two novels; fortunately neither survives, and it was more than ten years before I wrote another novel.
During this time I published several collections of poems, and wrote some of the short stories which were later collected in Love of Fat Men. I began to travel a great deal within the UK and around the world, for poetry tours and writing residences. This experience of working in many different countries and cultures has been very important to my work. I reviewed poetry for Stand and Poetry Review and later for The Observer, and subsequently reviewed fiction for The Observer, The Times and The Guardian. My critical work includes introductions to the poems of Emily Brontë, the short stories of D H Lawrence and F Scott Fitzgerald, a study of Virginia Woolf’s relationships with women and Introductions to the Folio Society's edition of Anna Karenina and to the new Penguin Classics edition of Tolstoy's My Confession.
During the 1980s and early 1990s I taught poetry and creative writing, tutored residential writing courses for the Arvon Foundation and took part in the Poetry Society's Writer in Schools scheme, as well as giving readings and workshops in schools, hospitals, prisons and every other kind of place where a poem could conceivably be welcome. I also taught at the University of Glamorgan, the University of Bristol's Continuing Education Department and for the Open College of the Arts.
In the late 1980s I began to publish short stories, and these were the beginning of a breakthrough into fiction. What I had learned of prose technique through the short story gave me the impetus to start writing novels. My first novel for children was Going to Egypt, published in 1992, and my first novel for adults was Zennor in Darkness, published in 1993, which won the McKitterick Prize. This was also my first researched novel, set in the First World War and dealing with the period when D H Lawrence and his wife Frieda lived in Zennor in Cornwall, and came under suspicion as German spies.
My third novel, A Spell of Winter, won the inaugural Orange Prize for Fiction in 1996, and since then I have published a number of novels, short story collections and books for children. Full details of all these books are available on this website. The last of The Ingo Quartet, The Crossing of Ingo, was published in paperback in Spring 2009.
My seventh novel, The Siege (2001) was shortlisted both for the Whitbread Novel Award and the Orange Prize for Fiction. This was another researched novel, which grew from a lifelong love of Russian history, culture and literature. It is is set in Leningrad during the first year of the siege of the city by German forces, which lasted for 880 days from the fall of Mga on 30th August 1941. The Siege has been translated into Russian by Tatyana Averchina, and extracts have been broadcast on radio in St Petersburg. House of Orphans was published in 2006, and in 2008 Counting the Stars. Its central characters are the Roman poet Catullus, who lived during the last years of the Republic,
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 635 reviews
May 16, 2017
Reading a proof copy of this novel, all four sides of the cover are full of praise for Helen Dunmore. Her gift for human observation and the ability to show the horrors of history are picked out.
Sadly I reached then end of this novel and shrugged my shoulders. True it was very well written, convincingly evoking the time and place of Bristol in the late 1700s, but the story lacked the depth and interest to really make me enthusiastic. The cover talks about "...a novel about terror and resistance set in a time of political chaos and personal tragedy." I think this gives a false impression, because although the novel is set at the time of the French Revolution, I don't feel the threat from the events in France really making a difference to everyday life in Bristol. Reading about events in the newspaper just doesn't make me feel the terror of what was happening there. Yes the impact means that Diner Tredevant, one of the central characters, will lose his livelihood building houses for the wealthy, but we feel little sympathy for him anyway.
As I say, it is a well written book, but in the end it is too sanitised of passion and emotion to work for me.
Sadly I reached then end of this novel and shrugged my shoulders. True it was very well written, convincingly evoking the time and place of Bristol in the late 1700s, but the story lacked the depth and interest to really make me enthusiastic. The cover talks about "...a novel about terror and resistance set in a time of political chaos and personal tragedy." I think this gives a false impression, because although the novel is set at the time of the French Revolution, I don't feel the threat from the events in France really making a difference to everyday life in Bristol. Reading about events in the newspaper just doesn't make me feel the terror of what was happening there. Yes the impact means that Diner Tredevant, one of the central characters, will lose his livelihood building houses for the wealthy, but we feel little sympathy for him anyway.
As I say, it is a well written book, but in the end it is too sanitised of passion and emotion to work for me.
October 3, 2018
I cannot praise and recommend this book enough. I gobbled it up as fast and eagerly as I would have a very good thriller. I was deeply moved by the intense mother-daughter relationship portrayed in the story, the realistically rendered atmosphere of the end of the 18th century life in Bristol and the trap marriage created for women during those periods in history. In three words: emotional, gripping and thought-provoking!
May 2, 2019
Set during the political and social turmoil of the late Eighteenth century, this beautifully written page turner really captures the mood as France is on the brink of a revolution.
The story is told through Lizzie who has recently married property developer John Diner Tredevant, he has heavily invested in the housing boom in Bristol.
As the political unrest intensifies
so does the marriage, as Diner is unhappy with Lizzie’s independence and questioning spirit.
I don’t tend to read much historical fiction but having really enjoyed this novel I’m starting to feel that this is a genre that I’m really missing out on.
As this gives such a fascinating insight into life for women in Georgian England - not only was this a thrilling read it also gave me an impactful look at British history.
The story is told through Lizzie who has recently married property developer John Diner Tredevant, he has heavily invested in the housing boom in Bristol.
As the political unrest intensifies
so does the marriage, as Diner is unhappy with Lizzie’s independence and questioning spirit.
I don’t tend to read much historical fiction but having really enjoyed this novel I’m starting to feel that this is a genre that I’m really missing out on.
As this gives such a fascinating insight into life for women in Georgian England - not only was this a thrilling read it also gave me an impactful look at British history.
March 24, 2018
A bit disappointed over this one. It had so much promise - a beautiful cover, the story built around very interesting historical facts, well written prose, a mysteriously dead wife, some initially intriguing characters. Sadly it just never seemed to go anywhere or if it did it was in such tiny increments I barely noticed. I kept reading in the hope of an exciting ending but it just fizzled out.
Nevertheless the writing itself was very good indeed and I have been told the author wrote some much better books. I will try one of those in the future.
Nevertheless the writing itself was very good indeed and I have been told the author wrote some much better books. I will try one of those in the future.
March 19, 2017
BABT
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08gxddhDescription: Set in Bristol in 1792, Birdcage Walk is set against a backdrop of the French Revolution. It touches on Radical idealism, property, political turmoil and private tragedy. Inspired by the real life of Julia Fawkes, a leading Radical writer, none of whose work has survived, Dunmore explores the tensions between generations and genders, and examines the idea of legacy as Julia's daughter Lizzie finds herself torn between her charismatic, self made husband and her idealistic mother. As her husband Diner Tredevant speculates on property in Bristol's housing boom, he risks losing everything in the social upheaval caused by the French Revolution.
An acclaimed poet and award-winning novelist, Helen Dunmore's work often explores the interplay between the public and the personal, most famously in The Siege and The Betrayal, and most recently Exposure.
Hattie Morahan is a stage, film and TV actress who won numerous awards for her portrayal of Nora in the Young Vic production of A Doll's House. She was part of the cast of Outnumbered and recently appeared in BBC TVs My Mother and Other Strangers.
Episode One: A mysterious burial. The story opens four years earlier as a man hides a body in a gorge. The death is unexplained but four years later, the man has a wife - Lizzie Fawkes. Lizzie visits her mother who is ill, and tells her of her husband's Diner's plans to build a magnificent new terrace overlooking the Gorge. It is to be the envy of the city but for Diner a huge financial risk.Lizzie's mother has shocking news which explains her sickness. And Lizzie and her property devloper husband Diner must display their house to prospective buyers.News from France threatens to destabilise Europe and the overthrow of the French king makes Diner anxious that it will upset the housing market and scare off potential buyers. Lizzie is preoccupied with the safe delivery of her mother's new baby.Lizzie has a new baby brother, but must confront a terrible loss. She is also unsettled by her husband's past, and the story of his husband's first wife - a French woman called Lucie. Lizzie is missing her mother dreadfully and troubled by Diner's behaviour. She goes to visit Hannah for her reassurance and has an unexpected encounter. News also come from France of the King's trail. Diner questions where Lizzie has been on her nocturnal wanderings, and a chance encounter with a dressmaker on the streets of Bristol reveals a clue to John Diner's past. Lizzie Fawkes decides to visit the dressmaker to find out more about Diner's first wife Lucie and the mysterious circumstances surrounding her death.The news from France darkens, and Lizzie receives a French visitor - but the visitor has not come to talk of the Revolution. Instead she is searching for Lizzie husband's Diner, and the whereabouts of his first wife's tombstone. Fear over the beheading of the King of France spreads to England and the housing market collapses. Diner faces financial ruin and Lizzie must face a frightening truth about her marriage. Lizzie is reunited with Thomas, but sees the scale of her husband's failure as his office is bare and his creditors come to the house shouting for their money. Diner is forced leave and he is determined that Lizzie will go with him. Diner is taking Lizzie to the far side of the Gorge to a secret place. It is here she must confront the truth about what actually happened to Diner's first wife. 
October 17, 2017
2.5 STARS
The only book I’ve read of Dunmore’s before is The Siege - set during the siege of Leningrad - and despite that being years ago, it traumatised me so much that I can still recall the plot in remarkable detail. This may sound like a bad thing, but actually I have nothing but admiration for that book. Ultimately this what any good author should hope to accomplish; books should above all seek to make an impression on you and it does not necessarily have to be in a way that makes you feel happy. A forgotten book is a failed book, in my opinion.
However, Birdcage Walk was not moving or shocking like The Siege was and I wasn’t emotionally invested in the story at all. The book claims to be set amidst the backdrop of the French Revolution, but this historical event is woefully underused. The French Revolution was one of the most dramatic events in history and permanently changed the mentality of Europe’s monarchy, yet out of all the perspectives in Europe Dunmore could have chosen to focus on, she chooses the wife of a property developer in Bristol. The blurb talks about a story set amidst the terror of the Revolution but I didn’t get a sense of any terror from the story itself. It never felt like a real threat to any of our characters so what was the point in even mentioning it in the first place? All it does it cause the property market to collapse and Elizabeth’s husband to lose his investment, a plot that didn’t exactly pique my interest in this tumultuous time in world history. It makes me wonder why Dunmore bothered setting the book during the French Revolution at all, if all she’s going to do is have the odd character referring to a newspaper article on the latest execution. It had no impact on the overall plot whatsoever.
That was the main problem with this book, to put it bluntly, it was too slow-paced and the plot was boring. Personally, I think this book was in desperate need of a good edit; the dialogue was repetitive and the conversations too long and full of uninteresting comments I couldn’t care less about. If The Siege is an example of everything a good book should be, this is an example of everything it shouldn't.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for sending me an advance copy to review
The only book I’ve read of Dunmore’s before is The Siege - set during the siege of Leningrad - and despite that being years ago, it traumatised me so much that I can still recall the plot in remarkable detail. This may sound like a bad thing, but actually I have nothing but admiration for that book. Ultimately this what any good author should hope to accomplish; books should above all seek to make an impression on you and it does not necessarily have to be in a way that makes you feel happy. A forgotten book is a failed book, in my opinion.
However, Birdcage Walk was not moving or shocking like The Siege was and I wasn’t emotionally invested in the story at all. The book claims to be set amidst the backdrop of the French Revolution, but this historical event is woefully underused. The French Revolution was one of the most dramatic events in history and permanently changed the mentality of Europe’s monarchy, yet out of all the perspectives in Europe Dunmore could have chosen to focus on, she chooses the wife of a property developer in Bristol. The blurb talks about a story set amidst the terror of the Revolution but I didn’t get a sense of any terror from the story itself. It never felt like a real threat to any of our characters so what was the point in even mentioning it in the first place? All it does it cause the property market to collapse and Elizabeth’s husband to lose his investment, a plot that didn’t exactly pique my interest in this tumultuous time in world history. It makes me wonder why Dunmore bothered setting the book during the French Revolution at all, if all she’s going to do is have the odd character referring to a newspaper article on the latest execution. It had no impact on the overall plot whatsoever.
That was the main problem with this book, to put it bluntly, it was too slow-paced and the plot was boring. Personally, I think this book was in desperate need of a good edit; the dialogue was repetitive and the conversations too long and full of uninteresting comments I couldn’t care less about. If The Siege is an example of everything a good book should be, this is an example of everything it shouldn't.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for sending me an advance copy to review
June 2, 2017
Unfortunately while this author has developed characters so well, the storyline that these characters are involved in moves so slow and bores one to tears.
Written about a crew of revolutionaries living in Bristol, England during the time of the French revolution, it details the life of Lizzie Fawkes, the daughter of a radical mother and stepfather. Lizzie married to a house builder Diner, who is so desirous of having a wife he can control, lead a life that seems dark and brooding. Lizzie worships her mother and at her death assumes responsibility for her mother's newborn son. All the characters tread a mysterious line and one finds that they seem to mistrust one another and possibly fear is evident. Each of the characters seem to be in a constant state of looking over one's shoulder as if they expect the guillotine to fall upon their necks even though they do not live in France.
I have not read any of Ms Dunmore's previous novels, but probably this one was not a good choice as a start to her works.
Thank you to NetGallery and Penquin Book for an advanced copy of this novel.
Written about a crew of revolutionaries living in Bristol, England during the time of the French revolution, it details the life of Lizzie Fawkes, the daughter of a radical mother and stepfather. Lizzie married to a house builder Diner, who is so desirous of having a wife he can control, lead a life that seems dark and brooding. Lizzie worships her mother and at her death assumes responsibility for her mother's newborn son. All the characters tread a mysterious line and one finds that they seem to mistrust one another and possibly fear is evident. Each of the characters seem to be in a constant state of looking over one's shoulder as if they expect the guillotine to fall upon their necks even though they do not live in France.
I have not read any of Ms Dunmore's previous novels, but probably this one was not a good choice as a start to her works.
Thank you to NetGallery and Penquin Book for an advanced copy of this novel.
July 12, 2017
I have never read Helen Dunmore books prior to Birdcage Walk and I wanted to thank Netgalley and the publisher on the opportunity to review this amazing masterpiece.
The novel starts with a discovery of a long-lost headstone for Julia Elizabeth Fawkes. Research had resulted with few if any details, save that Julia was an author read by many, and the wife of Augustus Gleeson, a noticeable pamphlet writer of the late 18th century, a time when the French revolution was in its height and the reports of the bloody streets of Paris inflamed the anti-Monarchy British intellectuals such as himself.
When it was apparent that none of Julia’s Writings have survived, Dunmore took it upon herself to revive the old pioneer English woman writer, maybe seeing much of herself in her imaginary character. The story takes place in late 18th century Bristol, when amidst the speculation about war with France, the real-estate market has collapsed – sending the economy, the entrepreneurs and many workers to chaotic desperation.
The story (in Brief) is cleverly told by Lizzie Fawkes, now Mrs Tredevant, Julia’s sole daughter. Having brought up in a liberal house, encouraged to act and think for herself, to be opinionated and never timid, Julia has broken from that suffocating shelter that her family provided to marry a speculate called John Diner, a widower who has made a small fortune by building houses and has now undertook a grandiose project of building the houses overlooking the Bristol Avon Gorge.
As Lizzie discovers that not everything is as perfect as she had convinced herself, we learn about her husband’s jealous character, his endeavours which are slowly but surely going bust, and Lizzy’s warm relationship with her mother and Hannah (their servant and close friend from when she was an infant). The subplot is that of the French revolution, as perceived by random reports that make it in, whether by post or by newspapers, and how differently they are perceived by John Diner and by Augustus and his milieu.
This is an historical fiction, but branding it as such does it little justice. Dunmore has managed to bring life into characters that existed (or some have) in real life, with such intensity that makes you forget yourself, all set into motion from a small script on a headstone!
The shadow of Dunmore’s disease must have entwined this novel in grimness that is leaping out of the pages – but give this novel the true colour of life in England and Europe in the 18-1900s. It is a masterpiece, and I dare say – Dunmore will be missed.
The novel starts with a discovery of a long-lost headstone for Julia Elizabeth Fawkes. Research had resulted with few if any details, save that Julia was an author read by many, and the wife of Augustus Gleeson, a noticeable pamphlet writer of the late 18th century, a time when the French revolution was in its height and the reports of the bloody streets of Paris inflamed the anti-Monarchy British intellectuals such as himself.
When it was apparent that none of Julia’s Writings have survived, Dunmore took it upon herself to revive the old pioneer English woman writer, maybe seeing much of herself in her imaginary character. The story takes place in late 18th century Bristol, when amidst the speculation about war with France, the real-estate market has collapsed – sending the economy, the entrepreneurs and many workers to chaotic desperation.
The story (in Brief) is cleverly told by Lizzie Fawkes, now Mrs Tredevant, Julia’s sole daughter. Having brought up in a liberal house, encouraged to act and think for herself, to be opinionated and never timid, Julia has broken from that suffocating shelter that her family provided to marry a speculate called John Diner, a widower who has made a small fortune by building houses and has now undertook a grandiose project of building the houses overlooking the Bristol Avon Gorge.
As Lizzie discovers that not everything is as perfect as she had convinced herself, we learn about her husband’s jealous character, his endeavours which are slowly but surely going bust, and Lizzy’s warm relationship with her mother and Hannah (their servant and close friend from when she was an infant). The subplot is that of the French revolution, as perceived by random reports that make it in, whether by post or by newspapers, and how differently they are perceived by John Diner and by Augustus and his milieu.
This is an historical fiction, but branding it as such does it little justice. Dunmore has managed to bring life into characters that existed (or some have) in real life, with such intensity that makes you forget yourself, all set into motion from a small script on a headstone!
The shadow of Dunmore’s disease must have entwined this novel in grimness that is leaping out of the pages – but give this novel the true colour of life in England and Europe in the 18-1900s. It is a masterpiece, and I dare say – Dunmore will be missed.
December 12, 2017
Poignant, ominous, and remarkable descriptive!
Birdcage Walk takes us back to Bristol in the late 1790s when France was full of unrest, war was on the horizon, and the British people struggled with impoverishment, scarcity, impending disaster, and financial ruin.
The prose is expressive and raw. The main characters include the maternal, independent, supportive Lizzie and the jealous, iron-fisted, ruined Tredevant. And the plot, although a little slow in the middle, is laced from start to finish with an underlying feeling of despair and a real, palpable bleakness as the ongoing drama, social strife, economic uncertainty, marital tension, and increasing violence unravels.
I have to admit that even though Birdcage Walk is not my favourite novel by Dunmore, it is still a beautiful, haunting tale that highlights her talent of writing historical fiction that moves, informs, and leaves a lasting impression. The passing of Dunmore earlier this year is certainly a tremendous loss for the literary world and to quote from the inscription on the grave of her fictional character in this novel, "Her Words Remain Our Inheritance."
Thank you to PGC Books & Grove Atlantic for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.
All my reviews can be found on my blog at https://whatsbetterthanbooks.com
Birdcage Walk takes us back to Bristol in the late 1790s when France was full of unrest, war was on the horizon, and the British people struggled with impoverishment, scarcity, impending disaster, and financial ruin.
The prose is expressive and raw. The main characters include the maternal, independent, supportive Lizzie and the jealous, iron-fisted, ruined Tredevant. And the plot, although a little slow in the middle, is laced from start to finish with an underlying feeling of despair and a real, palpable bleakness as the ongoing drama, social strife, economic uncertainty, marital tension, and increasing violence unravels.
I have to admit that even though Birdcage Walk is not my favourite novel by Dunmore, it is still a beautiful, haunting tale that highlights her talent of writing historical fiction that moves, informs, and leaves a lasting impression. The passing of Dunmore earlier this year is certainly a tremendous loss for the literary world and to quote from the inscription on the grave of her fictional character in this novel, "Her Words Remain Our Inheritance."
Thank you to PGC Books & Grove Atlantic for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.
All my reviews can be found on my blog at https://whatsbetterthanbooks.com
December 25, 2021
A suspenseful, often dark, novel set in Bristol against the background of the French Revolution. It’s sadly Helen Dunmore’s last and so we’re lucky that she wrote an afterword in which she explains the inspiration behind the story and its characters, giving us a profound insight into what she aimed to achieve by writing this book.
The main character, Lizzie, is the daughter of a radical feminist writer. She has married an ambitious builder against the advice of her mother and their circle of friends. He, Diner, is a widower whose first wife, Lucie, was French. He doesn’t want Lizzie to have children because he wants her all to himself. Their relationship becomes increasingly claustrophobic as the situation in Paris draws Britain towards war with France. As his financial situation worsens, his behaviour becomes more erratic and Lizzie begins to worry for her safety.
I found the historical background really interesting and enjoyed the slowly building tensions. It wasn’t at all what I expected from the cover and from what I’d previously read about it but in a good way. It gave me a lot to think about and a list of background research to do. Well worth reading.
The main character, Lizzie, is the daughter of a radical feminist writer. She has married an ambitious builder against the advice of her mother and their circle of friends. He, Diner, is a widower whose first wife, Lucie, was French. He doesn’t want Lizzie to have children because he wants her all to himself. Their relationship becomes increasingly claustrophobic as the situation in Paris draws Britain towards war with France. As his financial situation worsens, his behaviour becomes more erratic and Lizzie begins to worry for her safety.
I found the historical background really interesting and enjoyed the slowly building tensions. It wasn’t at all what I expected from the cover and from what I’d previously read about it but in a good way. It gave me a lot to think about and a list of background research to do. Well worth reading.
April 1, 2017
"You have nothing of your own. You are my wife. All that you have belongs to me. All that you are belongs to me."
After a slightly slow and awkward start (a framing narrative in the present that simply disappears), this is a wonderfully gripping and intelligent read. On one level, not much actually happens; on another, we have an intimate portrait of Lizzy Fawkes who traverses marriage and a kind of quasi-motherhood, emerging stronger, perhaps more cynical, but also enlightened by the end.
Set against a background of the French Revolution, the book juxtaposes questions of idealism vs. disillusionment and makes them play out on both a public and private stage. The revolution which is supposed to herald liberty, fraternity and universal suffrage (though, let's be clear, Tom Paine, an offstage character throughout, only applies human 'rights' to men, property owners, people of the 'correct' religion... but that's by the way and not in the book) descends into political rivalry, mass violence and unending bloodshed; while the idealising union of marriage also reveals its increasingly dark and menacing side.
Lizzy Fawkes' mother and step-father reminded me of Mary Wollstonecraft and William Godwin, though Lizzy herself is no Mary Shelley. And one of the great strengths of the book is its refusal to offer up too patterned or neat a narrative. There are lots of 'issues' here (social equality, relations between men and women, marriage, love, violence, capitalism) but they feel natural and unforced, an intricate part of the story being told rather than hijacking the tale.
Dunmore's writing is graceful throughout, restrained and unshowy but always precise and controlled. And there is humour here, too, at the 'champagne radical' who talks of social justice while looking down on the maids and only using the best candles...
This isn't a long book but it is a rich one, with a grip that we don't always find in 'literary' fiction: 4.5 stars for a story which I gulped down in 2 sittings.
Thanks to the publisher for an ARC via NetGalley
After a slightly slow and awkward start (a framing narrative in the present that simply disappears), this is a wonderfully gripping and intelligent read. On one level, not much actually happens; on another, we have an intimate portrait of Lizzy Fawkes who traverses marriage and a kind of quasi-motherhood, emerging stronger, perhaps more cynical, but also enlightened by the end.
Set against a background of the French Revolution, the book juxtaposes questions of idealism vs. disillusionment and makes them play out on both a public and private stage. The revolution which is supposed to herald liberty, fraternity and universal suffrage (though, let's be clear, Tom Paine, an offstage character throughout, only applies human 'rights' to men, property owners, people of the 'correct' religion... but that's by the way and not in the book) descends into political rivalry, mass violence and unending bloodshed; while the idealising union of marriage also reveals its increasingly dark and menacing side.
Lizzy Fawkes' mother and step-father reminded me of Mary Wollstonecraft and William Godwin, though Lizzy herself is no Mary Shelley. And one of the great strengths of the book is its refusal to offer up too patterned or neat a narrative. There are lots of 'issues' here (social equality, relations between men and women, marriage, love, violence, capitalism) but they feel natural and unforced, an intricate part of the story being told rather than hijacking the tale.
Dunmore's writing is graceful throughout, restrained and unshowy but always precise and controlled. And there is humour here, too, at the 'champagne radical' who talks of social justice while looking down on the maids and only using the best candles...
This isn't a long book but it is a rich one, with a grip that we don't always find in 'literary' fiction: 4.5 stars for a story which I gulped down in 2 sittings.
Thanks to the publisher for an ARC via NetGalley
January 7, 2018
Dunmore's Swansong
Helen Dunmore died in June 2017; this was her last novel. Although it sums up many of the themes of her previous writing, I can't say that it is her most successful work, mainly because so little happens in it and, while its sense of place is unusually strong, its conflicts seem correspondingly diffuse. But a book that one knows must be one’s last (as the author admits in an Afterword) develops an extra depth of interest.
Many of Dunmore's novels take place under the shadow of war or other great events; her subjects are usually ordinary people caught up in its fringes. Zennor in Darkness and A Spell of Winter (see below for links) are both set in England during the First World War; in The Siege and The Betrayal, the setting is Leningrad during the Second World War and immediately after; the background to Exposure are the spy scares of the Cold War. Birdcage Walk takes her back even further, to the French Revolution. The novel, however, is not set in France, but in Dunmore's home city of Bristol; this is both its strength and its weakness.
It is a strength in that the setting is a striking landscape that she really knows, the Avon Gorge where it plunges down to the river from the Bristol suburb of Clifton, half a century before the building of the great suspension bridge. John Diner Tredevant, her antihero, is a property developer who is building a terrace of fine houses on the hillside, offering unique views. But he is doing the work on borrowed money, and the events in France, with the attendant possibility of war, are scaring off potential investors. Dunmore paints a vivid picture of the excellent craftsmanship of the show house in which Diner Tredevant is living with his young wife Lizzie, surrounded by the shells of its unroofed neighbors. But she is even better in evoking the scenery of the downs at the edge of the gorge, still largely unchanged today:
Dunmore's choice of setting is a weakness, however, in that there is very little connection between the people in her novel and the events in France. The characters in The Siege live and starve in Leningrad itself. DH Lawrence and his wife in Zennor in Darkness are suspected of being German spies. But the presiding genius of this novel, Lizzie's mother Julia Fawkes, is perfectly safe. A committed radical, she writes passionate pamphlets while her second husband (Lizzie's stepfather) goes around preaching equality. Both work far from London, let alone France. And we really glimpse Jean's political passion only as reflected by Lizzie, for whom radicalism has only a personal dimension, in terms of her individual freedom as a woman. Even Will Forrest, the poet in the quotation above, is imperilled only for his writing; his flight to some idyllic exile in the country make him into a romantic figure rather than a political one.
At the same time, it is precisely the relative obscurity of Jean Fawkes that makes her so interesting to Dunmore. In a Prologue, written in a male voice, though I suspect it is autobiographical, she talks about walking in a disused graveyard, the Birdcage Walk of the title, coming upon Jean's tomb, and wondering. As she describes it later:
The following, in order of publication, are links to my reviews of the other Dunmore books that I have read:
Helen Dunmore died in June 2017; this was her last novel. Although it sums up many of the themes of her previous writing, I can't say that it is her most successful work, mainly because so little happens in it and, while its sense of place is unusually strong, its conflicts seem correspondingly diffuse. But a book that one knows must be one’s last (as the author admits in an Afterword) develops an extra depth of interest.
Many of Dunmore's novels take place under the shadow of war or other great events; her subjects are usually ordinary people caught up in its fringes. Zennor in Darkness and A Spell of Winter (see below for links) are both set in England during the First World War; in The Siege and The Betrayal, the setting is Leningrad during the Second World War and immediately after; the background to Exposure are the spy scares of the Cold War. Birdcage Walk takes her back even further, to the French Revolution. The novel, however, is not set in France, but in Dunmore's home city of Bristol; this is both its strength and its weakness.
It is a strength in that the setting is a striking landscape that she really knows, the Avon Gorge where it plunges down to the river from the Bristol suburb of Clifton, half a century before the building of the great suspension bridge. John Diner Tredevant, her antihero, is a property developer who is building a terrace of fine houses on the hillside, offering unique views. But he is doing the work on borrowed money, and the events in France, with the attendant possibility of war, are scaring off potential investors. Dunmore paints a vivid picture of the excellent craftsmanship of the show house in which Diner Tredevant is living with his young wife Lizzie, surrounded by the shells of its unroofed neighbors. But she is even better in evoking the scenery of the downs at the edge of the gorge, still largely unchanged today:
Very likely he had turned already and gone home, I told myself, but I did not believe it. He was a poet. If the wind howled and the rain drenched him, so much the better. He could scarcely hope for a thunderstorm at this time of the year, but he would go to the highest point where he might gaze outwards at the weather blowing in from the west against the chasm of the Gorge. He would want to see everything. He would watch the boats beating their way upriver, and the white posts that glimmered through the dusk, marking the towpath far below. He might catch sight of a peregrine folding its wings for a dive. He would stand and face the immensity of dark, leafless forest opposite. I followed the footpath, climbing swiftly as the rain blew in my face.
Dunmore's choice of setting is a weakness, however, in that there is very little connection between the people in her novel and the events in France. The characters in The Siege live and starve in Leningrad itself. DH Lawrence and his wife in Zennor in Darkness are suspected of being German spies. But the presiding genius of this novel, Lizzie's mother Julia Fawkes, is perfectly safe. A committed radical, she writes passionate pamphlets while her second husband (Lizzie's stepfather) goes around preaching equality. Both work far from London, let alone France. And we really glimpse Jean's political passion only as reflected by Lizzie, for whom radicalism has only a personal dimension, in terms of her individual freedom as a woman. Even Will Forrest, the poet in the quotation above, is imperilled only for his writing; his flight to some idyllic exile in the country make him into a romantic figure rather than a political one.
At the same time, it is precisely the relative obscurity of Jean Fawkes that makes her so interesting to Dunmore. In a Prologue, written in a male voice, though I suspect it is autobiographical, she talks about walking in a disused graveyard, the Birdcage Walk of the title, coming upon Jean's tomb, and wondering. As she describes it later:
The question of what is left behind by a life haunts the novel. While I finished and edited it I was already seriously ill, but not yet aware of this. I suppose that a writer’s creative self must have access to knowledge of which the conscious mind and the emotions are still ignorant, and that a novel written at such a time, under such a growing shadow, cannot help being full of a sharper light, rather as a landscape becomes brilliantly distinct in the last sunlight before a storm.In all honesty, I did not sense that sharper light, but nonetheless the idea of a novelist facing her own death writing about literary mortality is something that moves me deeply. I believe that Dunmore's novels will survive. But she had another string to her bow: her work as a poet. I was quite unaware of this until I read that her posthumous collection of verse, Inside the Wave, won the 2017 Costa Poetry Award. I am reviewing it on another page. But knowing this makes me more sensitive to Will's description of the poet's process…
I see that you have the wrong idea about poets. We are makers, you know. We do not sit about admiring words. We must seize hold of them and chisel at them until they do what we want. Or what the poem wants, perhaps—but that is another question.…and even more receptive to the prose-poem that is Helen Dunmore's final paragraph in her Afterword:
I want to end as I began, with Birdcage Walk itself. Time has taken away the church which was once attached to the graveyard: it was bombed to rubble in the Second World War. Rosebay willowherb grows so tall that the graves are all but hidden. No one lays flowers here; no one mourns. It is a beautiful place and also, on a winter night when rain thrashes down and light flickers through the cage of iron and lime branches, a place to make the living catch their breath, and hurry on.======
The following, in order of publication, are links to my reviews of the other Dunmore books that I have read:
Zennor in Darkness (1994)
A Spell of Winter (1996)
Talking to the Dead (1996)
The Siege (2002)
The Betrayal (2012)
Exposure (2016)
Inside the Wave (poems, 2017)
February 28, 2020
Just fantastic. Helen Dunmore was such an amazing writer.
July 19, 2018
As an historical novel, this was a great read from an educational sense, but the elements of suspense where Diner and Lizzie were concerned didn't really blend well with the other major component which dealt with overthrowing the French regency. The books detail as to setting, place and life in the late 1700's were exceptionally well handled, but I wasn't really interested in a lot of it, particularly the . I really wanted to like this more, firstly because I discovered after I picked up this paperback that the author had passed away soon after the book was released, and secondly because I loved this cover. The bulk of the story however did not have anything to do with the Birdcage Walk so I was a bit confused (this happens to me a lot!).
3 stars
3 stars
January 7, 2018
Lizzie Fawkes is the daughter of Julia Fawkes a radical feminist writer (in a second marriage to a radical pamphleteer), Lizzie herself has (against her families wishes due to the conventionality of the marriage and of her partner) married John Diner Tredevant, a heavily leveraged property developer whose latest project is a terraced development in Clifton, Bristol above the Avon Gorge.
The book takes place in the early years of the French revolution – as the revolution gets increasingly bloody, forcing the radicals around Julia to examine their own thoughts on the revolution, and the economic uncertainty caused by the prospect of war increasingly hampers Diner’s attempts to sell his properties and expose the precariousness of his credit financed business model.
The plot development in the book is limited and (just as in Exposure) much of it is revealed up front. In the first chapter we see a male character burying the body of a female in the woods near the river: all through the book we suspect who the two characters are. The first paragraph of the book tells us that the declaration of war in 1893 lead to a complete collapse in the Bristol house market and the bankruptcy of developers. Nevertheless (like Exposure) Dunmore by her use of atmosphere (weather is a key factor in the story), description of landscape (the heights around the gorge and the mysterious woods on the other side are almost another character in the book) and thoughts (the book is told almost entirely from Lizzie's first person viewpoint as she tries to understand Diner and gradually realises the truth about him, his business and her marriage) maintains the dramatic tension in the narrative.
As Dunmore explicitly acknowledges in a very interesting afterword, one of the key themes to her writing, and what gives it its power, is her ability to tell of great historical events or upheavals from the point of view of those who are integral to events but whose voices have vanished or been marginalised from the historical record: the inhabitants of Leningrad under siege (The Siege); the family of Cold War spies (Exposure); Doctors caught in Stalin’s purges (The Betrayal).
Here she even more concentrates on “the ways in which an individual vanishes from the historical record”, but the individual in this case (Lizzie’s mother – Julia Fawkes) is largely absent from the novel, and even more so than with the figure of Cora Seaborne in The Essex Serpent one is left with a character so apparently compelling as to hold many of the other characters in her orbit (in this case even after her death – both via her writing and reputation and in Lizzie’s case by way of ghostly visions) but whose fascination is less clear to the reader.
Further the “period of great political upheaval and social change” behind the look largely centres around the events of the French Revolution and are too often told either by letters from acquaintances or even less revealingly by characters reading newspaper articles aloud to each other – in some ways then it feels like we are viewing the events one step removed and more in the way it could be experienced in a non-fiction historical record.
The book takes place in the early years of the French revolution – as the revolution gets increasingly bloody, forcing the radicals around Julia to examine their own thoughts on the revolution, and the economic uncertainty caused by the prospect of war increasingly hampers Diner’s attempts to sell his properties and expose the precariousness of his credit financed business model.
The plot development in the book is limited and (just as in Exposure) much of it is revealed up front. In the first chapter we see a male character burying the body of a female in the woods near the river: all through the book we suspect who the two characters are. The first paragraph of the book tells us that the declaration of war in 1893 lead to a complete collapse in the Bristol house market and the bankruptcy of developers. Nevertheless (like Exposure) Dunmore by her use of atmosphere (weather is a key factor in the story), description of landscape (the heights around the gorge and the mysterious woods on the other side are almost another character in the book) and thoughts (the book is told almost entirely from Lizzie's first person viewpoint as she tries to understand Diner and gradually realises the truth about him, his business and her marriage) maintains the dramatic tension in the narrative.
As Dunmore explicitly acknowledges in a very interesting afterword, one of the key themes to her writing, and what gives it its power, is her ability to tell of great historical events or upheavals from the point of view of those who are integral to events but whose voices have vanished or been marginalised from the historical record: the inhabitants of Leningrad under siege (The Siege); the family of Cold War spies (Exposure); Doctors caught in Stalin’s purges (The Betrayal).
Here she even more concentrates on “the ways in which an individual vanishes from the historical record”, but the individual in this case (Lizzie’s mother – Julia Fawkes) is largely absent from the novel, and even more so than with the figure of Cora Seaborne in The Essex Serpent one is left with a character so apparently compelling as to hold many of the other characters in her orbit (in this case even after her death – both via her writing and reputation and in Lizzie’s case by way of ghostly visions) but whose fascination is less clear to the reader.
Further the “period of great political upheaval and social change” behind the look largely centres around the events of the French Revolution and are too often told either by letters from acquaintances or even less revealingly by characters reading newspaper articles aloud to each other – in some ways then it feels like we are viewing the events one step removed and more in the way it could be experienced in a non-fiction historical record.
April 6, 2020
I don't know why this would ever be reviewed at less than 4 stars, I feel compelled to give it 5 full stars.
Set in Bristol, England at the end of the 18th century, during the French Revolution, we are introduced to the cast of characters in Helen Dumore's memorable book, of small people with great ideas.
I don't know if I've ever read a book that has such a deep character study on the protagonist, Lizzie, and her supporting players. In my opinion, her writing is nothing short of a wonder in the way that I connected, viscerally, with the characters and storyline she has so masterfully created.
Her mother dies giving birth and the scene is set us for us meticulously. Lizzie's busy numbness of grief, the smells of blood, and infection. I am transported into a room I would never wish to be in, but how could I not admire such writing?
Also of worthy note, Lizzie takes her mother's child, Thomas, to care for him on her own after the wet nurse he is given into the care of, neglects him and he "fails to thrive" in addition to developing scabs and infections due to "being left in his own dirt" in the care of an 8 year old child. The feeling that was imparted to me as a reader was tender, miraculous even. I have no children, and I am not maternal, and yet, while reading this book I felt so connected to this baby. He was not idealized , and the author even uses descriptives such as smelling like sour milk and urine, but when she speaks of his eyes searching for her and of how his "damp" body snuggles into her, mewling, I feel the ache of his absence in my own arms.
Lizzie is married to a builder, one her family does not like, and there is a sense of oppression, sexual obsession, and dread in the relationship between them. In gothic style, these feelings build one upon another, until even the house and the cliff it sit's atop, become beautiful yet gloomy harbingers of an unnamed doom.
In the afterword, Ms. Dunsmore notes that, at the end of the writing of this book ,she discovered she was very ill, and that she really did feel her characters and their lives more deeply than any other writing experience she had previously. During it's writing she was diagnosed with cancer, subsequently dying. While I have not read her other writings, I can say that it is clear that she poured herself, body and soul, into this book. If you are a fan of historic fiction, with a twist of gothic, I urge you to read this book, and I hope that you enjoy it ever bit as much as I did.
Set in Bristol, England at the end of the 18th century, during the French Revolution, we are introduced to the cast of characters in Helen Dumore's memorable book, of small people with great ideas.
I don't know if I've ever read a book that has such a deep character study on the protagonist, Lizzie, and her supporting players. In my opinion, her writing is nothing short of a wonder in the way that I connected, viscerally, with the characters and storyline she has so masterfully created.
Her mother dies giving birth and the scene is set us for us meticulously. Lizzie's busy numbness of grief, the smells of blood, and infection. I am transported into a room I would never wish to be in, but how could I not admire such writing?
Also of worthy note, Lizzie takes her mother's child, Thomas, to care for him on her own after the wet nurse he is given into the care of, neglects him and he "fails to thrive" in addition to developing scabs and infections due to "being left in his own dirt" in the care of an 8 year old child. The feeling that was imparted to me as a reader was tender, miraculous even. I have no children, and I am not maternal, and yet, while reading this book I felt so connected to this baby. He was not idealized , and the author even uses descriptives such as smelling like sour milk and urine, but when she speaks of his eyes searching for her and of how his "damp" body snuggles into her, mewling, I feel the ache of his absence in my own arms.
Lizzie is married to a builder, one her family does not like, and there is a sense of oppression, sexual obsession, and dread in the relationship between them. In gothic style, these feelings build one upon another, until even the house and the cliff it sit's atop, become beautiful yet gloomy harbingers of an unnamed doom.
In the afterword, Ms. Dunsmore notes that, at the end of the writing of this book ,she discovered she was very ill, and that she really did feel her characters and their lives more deeply than any other writing experience she had previously. During it's writing she was diagnosed with cancer, subsequently dying. While I have not read her other writings, I can say that it is clear that she poured herself, body and soul, into this book. If you are a fan of historic fiction, with a twist of gothic, I urge you to read this book, and I hope that you enjoy it ever bit as much as I did.
December 22, 2017
Helen Dunmore has written a wonderful literary novel set in London during the French Revolution. Well developed characters and a unique perspective kept my interest; even though the plot doesn't show up in the first half of the book.
Character Study
The first 200 pages are a character study led by our lead gal, Lizzie, and her view of the world. There is virtually no plot at all during this portion of the novel. Instead we learn of Lizzie's marriage, family, class and more.
I found it very interesting to have our leading lady caught between the ideologies of her family and those of her husband. With a mother that writes pamphlets and prose in support of the Revolution and eventual take down of the French King, it's understandable that Lizzie has a very independent view on politics. However her husband does not necessarily agree. As a true capitalist in a class society it becomes difficult for Lizzie's husband to accept that the Revolution is a good thing as it hurts his investments. We are lead to see Lizzie's unique thoughts and both perspectives on the French Revolution, even if from a safe (non-bloody) distance in London.
Plot
It takes about 200 pages for Birdcage Walk to have some real plot. Once we get into the real story, and not just the characters and their setting, we are then treated to a fast paced mystery that Lizzie is caught in. I enjoyed the overall writing style and setting much better than the plot. I was more intrigued by Lizzie as a character than anything else. If Lizzie had been a boring, stuffy Londoner I would not have enjoyed this near as much.
Overall
Those who love historical fiction and character studies will likely enjoy this novel. If you're hoping for a book with intrigue and mystery then I recommend you pass; otherwise the first half of Birdcage Walk will possibly suck the life out of your reading enjoyment.
This was my first Dunmore novel and I'll certainly look to read more by her.
For this and more of my reviews please visit my blog at: Epic Reading
Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review.
Character Study
The first 200 pages are a character study led by our lead gal, Lizzie, and her view of the world. There is virtually no plot at all during this portion of the novel. Instead we learn of Lizzie's marriage, family, class and more.
I found it very interesting to have our leading lady caught between the ideologies of her family and those of her husband. With a mother that writes pamphlets and prose in support of the Revolution and eventual take down of the French King, it's understandable that Lizzie has a very independent view on politics. However her husband does not necessarily agree. As a true capitalist in a class society it becomes difficult for Lizzie's husband to accept that the Revolution is a good thing as it hurts his investments. We are lead to see Lizzie's unique thoughts and both perspectives on the French Revolution, even if from a safe (non-bloody) distance in London.
Plot
It takes about 200 pages for Birdcage Walk to have some real plot. Once we get into the real story, and not just the characters and their setting, we are then treated to a fast paced mystery that Lizzie is caught in. I enjoyed the overall writing style and setting much better than the plot. I was more intrigued by Lizzie as a character than anything else. If Lizzie had been a boring, stuffy Londoner I would not have enjoyed this near as much.
Overall
Those who love historical fiction and character studies will likely enjoy this novel. If you're hoping for a book with intrigue and mystery then I recommend you pass; otherwise the first half of Birdcage Walk will possibly suck the life out of your reading enjoyment.
This was my first Dunmore novel and I'll certainly look to read more by her.
For this and more of my reviews please visit my blog at: Epic Reading
Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review.
April 11, 2017
'Birdcage Walk' by Helen Dunmore
3 stars/ 6 out of 10
I have read several earlier novels by Helen Dunmore, and so was interested in reading this latest novel of hers.
The novel is set in Bristol, England, at the time of the French Revolution. The main character in the novel is Lizzie, daughter of a radical mother (whose life and activities remind me of Mary Wollstonecraft) and wife of a builder (whose views are very different from those of Mary's family).
Although this novel is interesting enough, I don't feel that is up to the same high standard as some of Dunmore's earlier novels, such as The Betrayal and The Siege. The part that I found most interesting in this book was not, in fact, linked in any way to the political situation being described therein. Instead it was the relationships that Lizzie had with her mother and her mother's friends, juxtaposed with her relationship with her husband, and how she managed any conflicts between the two, and how she developed as a person throughout the book. I also thought the descriptions of nature in the book were very good.
One aspect of the book that I was rather surprised by, is that Dunmore, near to the beginning of the novel, clarified something that could in fact have been an interesting mystery throughout the book. I don't really understand her reasons for doing this; I think it would interesting for the reader to try to solve this mystery.
Thank you to Grove Atlantic and to NetGalley for an ARC.
August 19, 2017
The perils of the prologue...
As the French Revolution is turning into terror over in Paris, Lizzie Fawkes is in Clifton in the south of England, where her husband is building an avenue of houses on the cliffs above the gorge. Lizzie is the daughter of Julia Fawkes, a woman who has devoted her life to writing pamphlets promoting the rights of man and the emancipation of women. Lizzie's husband, Diner, is of a more traditional cast, wanting and expecting Lizzie to find fulfilment in the role of housewife. He is older than Lizzie and was married before to a Frenchwoman, Lucie. Lizzie loves Diner and wants to make him happy, but she feels increasingly restricted by his demands that she doesn't go out unaccompanied; and he seems jealous of everyone else she loves, especially her mother whom she adores. As Diner becomes ever more demanding, Lizzie begins to feel herself trapped...
I so wanted to love this book, especially since it turned out to be Helen Dunmore's last. In a rather moving afterword, she explains that, although while she was writing it she didn't know she was ill with the cancer that would kill her, she realised afterwards that the illness must already have been spreading through her. So it is poignant, though apparently coincidental, that one of the themes she wanted to examine in the book is that of how “the individual vanishes from the historical record”, especially women, whose lives were so often unrecorded and forgotten.
Unfortunately, there are a few problems with the book that prevent it from reaching the highest standards. Firstly, the idea of discussing the Terror in France via those wannabes who cheered the revolutionaries on from the safety of England means that there is never any sense of emotional involvement in the events going on over in Paris. This is further exacerbated by Dunmore telling us about those events through letters and newspaper articles rather than taking us there. Of course, this is how people in England would have received the news, so in that sense it's an accurate portrayal. But it makes those passages feel more like a history lesson than part of a story.
The second, and for me the major, problem is that Dunmore begins the book with a short series of prologue-like chapters which basically reveal almost everything that is to follow. So we know from the beginning that the building boom will collapse when war begins and the houses Diner is building will be a victim of that. We know that Julia is soon to die and her writings will be lost and forgotten, leaving no trace of her in the historical record. And we know that a man will bury the corpse of a woman in the woods – and although we are not told which man and which woman, it becomes blindingly obvious almost as soon as the story gets underway. Suspense may not be an essential feature of all books, but I suggest there ought always to be at least some doubt about how things will play out. Of course, we don't know exactly how it will end, but the bits that are left obscured are rather minor in comparison to those that are revealed too soon.
There is no doubt about the quality of the writing, and the development of major and minor characters alike is excellent. I struggled with the idea that Lizzie would have given up a life of relative freedom to marry a man with such strict, traditional views on the role of women, but we all do stupid things for love when we're young, I suppose. Dunmore's portrayal of the stay-at-home revolutionaries rings true, as does her detailed description of life in Clifton at this moment in history. But I fear that detail itself gradually became my third issue with the book. Everything is described in far too much depth, from haggling over the purchase of a shawl to what to feed a baby whose mother can't suckle it. Each bit is vaguely interesting in its own right, thoroughly researched and certainly well described, but it all builds up until I finally felt I was drowning in minutiae, with the story sinking alongside me. I'm not sure at what point creating an authentic background becomes information overload but, wherever the line is, for me this book crossed it. And I suspect that's mainly because the prologue chapters had left me in little doubt of where the story was going so that I had no strong feeling of anticipation to drive me on.
So the book's strengths lie in the quality of the writing and the authenticity of the setting and characterisation, and for these reasons it is still well worth reading. But sadly, the problems I had with it prevent me from giving it my wholehearted recommendation, much though I'd like to.
NB This book was provided for review by the publisher, Grove Atlantic.
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
As the French Revolution is turning into terror over in Paris, Lizzie Fawkes is in Clifton in the south of England, where her husband is building an avenue of houses on the cliffs above the gorge. Lizzie is the daughter of Julia Fawkes, a woman who has devoted her life to writing pamphlets promoting the rights of man and the emancipation of women. Lizzie's husband, Diner, is of a more traditional cast, wanting and expecting Lizzie to find fulfilment in the role of housewife. He is older than Lizzie and was married before to a Frenchwoman, Lucie. Lizzie loves Diner and wants to make him happy, but she feels increasingly restricted by his demands that she doesn't go out unaccompanied; and he seems jealous of everyone else she loves, especially her mother whom she adores. As Diner becomes ever more demanding, Lizzie begins to feel herself trapped...
I so wanted to love this book, especially since it turned out to be Helen Dunmore's last. In a rather moving afterword, she explains that, although while she was writing it she didn't know she was ill with the cancer that would kill her, she realised afterwards that the illness must already have been spreading through her. So it is poignant, though apparently coincidental, that one of the themes she wanted to examine in the book is that of how “the individual vanishes from the historical record”, especially women, whose lives were so often unrecorded and forgotten.
Unfortunately, there are a few problems with the book that prevent it from reaching the highest standards. Firstly, the idea of discussing the Terror in France via those wannabes who cheered the revolutionaries on from the safety of England means that there is never any sense of emotional involvement in the events going on over in Paris. This is further exacerbated by Dunmore telling us about those events through letters and newspaper articles rather than taking us there. Of course, this is how people in England would have received the news, so in that sense it's an accurate portrayal. But it makes those passages feel more like a history lesson than part of a story.
The second, and for me the major, problem is that Dunmore begins the book with a short series of prologue-like chapters which basically reveal almost everything that is to follow. So we know from the beginning that the building boom will collapse when war begins and the houses Diner is building will be a victim of that. We know that Julia is soon to die and her writings will be lost and forgotten, leaving no trace of her in the historical record. And we know that a man will bury the corpse of a woman in the woods – and although we are not told which man and which woman, it becomes blindingly obvious almost as soon as the story gets underway. Suspense may not be an essential feature of all books, but I suggest there ought always to be at least some doubt about how things will play out. Of course, we don't know exactly how it will end, but the bits that are left obscured are rather minor in comparison to those that are revealed too soon.
There is no doubt about the quality of the writing, and the development of major and minor characters alike is excellent. I struggled with the idea that Lizzie would have given up a life of relative freedom to marry a man with such strict, traditional views on the role of women, but we all do stupid things for love when we're young, I suppose. Dunmore's portrayal of the stay-at-home revolutionaries rings true, as does her detailed description of life in Clifton at this moment in history. But I fear that detail itself gradually became my third issue with the book. Everything is described in far too much depth, from haggling over the purchase of a shawl to what to feed a baby whose mother can't suckle it. Each bit is vaguely interesting in its own right, thoroughly researched and certainly well described, but it all builds up until I finally felt I was drowning in minutiae, with the story sinking alongside me. I'm not sure at what point creating an authentic background becomes information overload but, wherever the line is, for me this book crossed it. And I suspect that's mainly because the prologue chapters had left me in little doubt of where the story was going so that I had no strong feeling of anticipation to drive me on.
So the book's strengths lie in the quality of the writing and the authenticity of the setting and characterisation, and for these reasons it is still well worth reading. But sadly, the problems I had with it prevent me from giving it my wholehearted recommendation, much though I'd like to.
NB This book was provided for review by the publisher, Grove Atlantic.
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
January 6, 2018
A thick atmosphere pervades this book- I read it in dread. The portrayal of Diner is excellent and the gradual realisation of Lizzie of his nature is very real. This to me is the main interest in the book along with the lovely relationships between Lizzie, her mother, Thomas, Hannah and Philo.
The historical context doesn't add anything for me- the story would be just as interesting and perhaps be more gripping if set in the present.
The historical context doesn't add anything for me- the story would be just as interesting and perhaps be more gripping if set in the present.
September 24, 2017
A metaphor for our fascination with death, the fear of being forgotten and leaving nothing behind, a very sad and slow unfolding of the story which might be too slow for some. I just allowed myself to be enveloped in Dunmore's lyrical language and careful psychological observation.
October 25, 2017
Find all my book reviews, plus author interviews, guest posts and book extracts, on my blog: https://whatcathyreadnext.wordpress.com/
Set in a period of political upheaval in Europe, Birdcage Walk is a multi-layered novel that provides an intimate and, at times, troubling picture of a marriage seen through the eyes of Lizzie Tredevant. Lizzie’s motivation for marriage to John Diner Tredevant is complicated: part passion and, seemingly, part desire for a place of her own following her mother’s remarriage. However, her mother, Julia, remains an influential figure in Lizzie’s life.
Lizzie is Diner’s second wife and I found echoes of Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca as Lizzie is tormented with curiosity about her predecessor, Lucie, who she is told died in childbirth in her native France. ‘I wondered if any of the men had known Lucie…They would have seen her. They might have spoke to her. When they saw me, perhaps they compared me to her.’ Like the second Mrs de Winter in Rebecca, Lizzie wonders if she can live up to Lucie’s place in Diner’s memory. ‘I could not see into his thoughts. I was almost afraid to look into them, in case I found Lucie there. Perhaps he was trying to remake with me the life he had loved so much with her.’
As Lizzie learns more about Lucie, doubts about the circumstances of Diner’s first marriage start to surface – doubts the reader may have shared since the opening of the novel. Though this element of mystery runs throughout the novel, it is only one of a number of ideas the book engages with.
For instance, the novel explores the contrast between those who can be categorised as doers or makers – like Diner – and those whose currency is ideas – like Augustus and Lizzie’s mother, Julia. As Diner says about Augustus: “Can he lay a flagstone floor? No. He depends upon those who can. He is as much a guest in the world as a three-year-old child.”
Lizzie moves between the two worlds, recognising the difference in belief and outlook that separates them. ‘Diner lay in the daylight world of building, land and money. His imagination went into stone.’
Lizzie’s husband, John Diner Tredevant is a wonderfully complex creation – if it’s not too much of a cliché, he’s a real Jekyll and Hyde character. On the one hand he is entrepreneurial, single-minded, astute, a self-made man, appreciative of craft skills. ‘He was lit up all through those weeks of early summer. He could see the stone curve of the terrace shaping itself according to his vision and he did not care how hard he drove the men’.
On the other, he is moody, prone to jealousy, possessive, secretive, a hard taskmaster, a man with, one senses, pent-up anger lying just below the surface. Although outwardly loving towards Lizzie, his behaviour shares many of the characteristics of what we would now recognise as coercive control. Added to which, of course, the law considers Lizzie a chattel of her husband. As Diner reminds her, “You have nothing of your own. You are my wife. All that you have belongs to me. All that you are belongs to me.”
For Augustus and Julia, and those who share their radical views, the initial events of the French Revolution provide a concrete example of the people exercising their rights. ‘Human beings really were capable of uniting to defeat tyranny and injustice. A new order could be created, based on the rights of man. And woman too… .Everything they had dreamed of and written about was coming to pass, not two hundred miles from London.’
But as events in France spiral out of control, Augustus and Julia struggle to reconcile their beliefs with the bloodshed and killings. Lizzie gets closer to home than she imagines when she observes to Diner, ‘Once you have taken one life, why not any number? What is to protect you from evil then?…Think of it, Diner. To kill another human being is like crossing a river by a bridge which is then swept away behind you. You can never go back again.’
Diner, with his customary shrewdness, foresees how events in France will create upheaval across Europe and threaten war. Before long, his building scheme and the precarious finances on which it is based, is in jeopardy. “It is this damned uncertainty!” he burst out. “There is no reason in it. It is uncertainty which is killing the market. If there is war with France – no one knows, and so no one will act.” And desperate situations can breed desperate acts as the reader will discover.
Some reviewers have described the novel as ‘slow’, perhaps because the mystery contained with the story takes a long time to play out alongside the other story lines. I would instead categorise the novel’s pace as measured or considered, giving plenty of opportunity to appreciate some of the great writing: ‘My mother was the spinning jenny who span out words to clothe the ideas that burst and bubbled in their brains.’ My one reservation about the novel was the prologue, set in the present day, which seems to serve little purpose.
This is the first novel I’ve read by Helen Dunmore but, on the strength of Birdcage Walk, I will definitely seek out her other books. In her Afterword, the author writes that, ‘The question of what is left behind by a life haunts the novel.’ Helen Dunmore’s untimely death earlier this year sadly means there will be no more books from this talented author but, as far as ‘what is left behind by a life’, in her case it is a legacy of intriguing, thoughtful literature.
I received an advance reader copy courtesy of NetGalley and publishers Grove Atlantic in return for an honest review.
Set in a period of political upheaval in Europe, Birdcage Walk is a multi-layered novel that provides an intimate and, at times, troubling picture of a marriage seen through the eyes of Lizzie Tredevant. Lizzie’s motivation for marriage to John Diner Tredevant is complicated: part passion and, seemingly, part desire for a place of her own following her mother’s remarriage. However, her mother, Julia, remains an influential figure in Lizzie’s life.
Lizzie is Diner’s second wife and I found echoes of Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca as Lizzie is tormented with curiosity about her predecessor, Lucie, who she is told died in childbirth in her native France. ‘I wondered if any of the men had known Lucie…They would have seen her. They might have spoke to her. When they saw me, perhaps they compared me to her.’ Like the second Mrs de Winter in Rebecca, Lizzie wonders if she can live up to Lucie’s place in Diner’s memory. ‘I could not see into his thoughts. I was almost afraid to look into them, in case I found Lucie there. Perhaps he was trying to remake with me the life he had loved so much with her.’
As Lizzie learns more about Lucie, doubts about the circumstances of Diner’s first marriage start to surface – doubts the reader may have shared since the opening of the novel. Though this element of mystery runs throughout the novel, it is only one of a number of ideas the book engages with.
For instance, the novel explores the contrast between those who can be categorised as doers or makers – like Diner – and those whose currency is ideas – like Augustus and Lizzie’s mother, Julia. As Diner says about Augustus: “Can he lay a flagstone floor? No. He depends upon those who can. He is as much a guest in the world as a three-year-old child.”
Lizzie moves between the two worlds, recognising the difference in belief and outlook that separates them. ‘Diner lay in the daylight world of building, land and money. His imagination went into stone.’
Lizzie’s husband, John Diner Tredevant is a wonderfully complex creation – if it’s not too much of a cliché, he’s a real Jekyll and Hyde character. On the one hand he is entrepreneurial, single-minded, astute, a self-made man, appreciative of craft skills. ‘He was lit up all through those weeks of early summer. He could see the stone curve of the terrace shaping itself according to his vision and he did not care how hard he drove the men’.
On the other, he is moody, prone to jealousy, possessive, secretive, a hard taskmaster, a man with, one senses, pent-up anger lying just below the surface. Although outwardly loving towards Lizzie, his behaviour shares many of the characteristics of what we would now recognise as coercive control. Added to which, of course, the law considers Lizzie a chattel of her husband. As Diner reminds her, “You have nothing of your own. You are my wife. All that you have belongs to me. All that you are belongs to me.”
For Augustus and Julia, and those who share their radical views, the initial events of the French Revolution provide a concrete example of the people exercising their rights. ‘Human beings really were capable of uniting to defeat tyranny and injustice. A new order could be created, based on the rights of man. And woman too… .Everything they had dreamed of and written about was coming to pass, not two hundred miles from London.’
But as events in France spiral out of control, Augustus and Julia struggle to reconcile their beliefs with the bloodshed and killings. Lizzie gets closer to home than she imagines when she observes to Diner, ‘Once you have taken one life, why not any number? What is to protect you from evil then?…Think of it, Diner. To kill another human being is like crossing a river by a bridge which is then swept away behind you. You can never go back again.’
Diner, with his customary shrewdness, foresees how events in France will create upheaval across Europe and threaten war. Before long, his building scheme and the precarious finances on which it is based, is in jeopardy. “It is this damned uncertainty!” he burst out. “There is no reason in it. It is uncertainty which is killing the market. If there is war with France – no one knows, and so no one will act.” And desperate situations can breed desperate acts as the reader will discover.
Some reviewers have described the novel as ‘slow’, perhaps because the mystery contained with the story takes a long time to play out alongside the other story lines. I would instead categorise the novel’s pace as measured or considered, giving plenty of opportunity to appreciate some of the great writing: ‘My mother was the spinning jenny who span out words to clothe the ideas that burst and bubbled in their brains.’ My one reservation about the novel was the prologue, set in the present day, which seems to serve little purpose.
This is the first novel I’ve read by Helen Dunmore but, on the strength of Birdcage Walk, I will definitely seek out her other books. In her Afterword, the author writes that, ‘The question of what is left behind by a life haunts the novel.’ Helen Dunmore’s untimely death earlier this year sadly means there will be no more books from this talented author but, as far as ‘what is left behind by a life’, in her case it is a legacy of intriguing, thoughtful literature.
I received an advance reader copy courtesy of NetGalley and publishers Grove Atlantic in return for an honest review.
March 17, 2017
FRom BBC Radio 4 - Book at Bedtime:
Today we begin Helen Dunmore's new novel, published this week. Set in Bristol in 1792, Birdcage Walk is set against a backdrop of the French Revolution. It touches on Radical idealism, property, political turmoil and private tragedy. Inspired by the real life of Julia Fawkes, a leading Radical writer, none of whose work has survived, Dunmore explores the tensions between generations and genders, and examines the idea of legacy as Julia's daughter Lizzie finds herself torn between her charismatic, self made husband and her idealistic mother. As her husband Diner Tredevant speculates on property in Bristol's housing boom, he risks losing everything in the social upheaval caused by the French Revolution.
Today in Episode One: A mysterious burial. The story opens four years earlier as a man hides a body in a gorge. The death is unexplained but four years later, the man has a wife - Lizzie Fawkes. Lizzie visits her mother who is ill, and tells her of her husband's Diner's plans to build a magnificent new terrace overlooking the Gorge. It is to be the envy of the city but for Diner a huge financial risk.
An acclaimed poet and award-winning novelist, Helen Dunmore's work often explores the interplay between the public and the personal, most famously in The Siege and The Betrayal, and most recently Exposure.
Hattie Morahan is a stage, film and TV actress who won numerous awards for her portrayal of Nora in the Young Vic production of A Doll's House. She was part of the cast of Outnumbered and recently appeared in BBC TVs My Mother and Other Strangers.
The readers are Hattie Morahan and Carl Prekopp
The abridger is Sara Davies
Produced by Julian Wilkinson.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08gxddh
Today we begin Helen Dunmore's new novel, published this week. Set in Bristol in 1792, Birdcage Walk is set against a backdrop of the French Revolution. It touches on Radical idealism, property, political turmoil and private tragedy. Inspired by the real life of Julia Fawkes, a leading Radical writer, none of whose work has survived, Dunmore explores the tensions between generations and genders, and examines the idea of legacy as Julia's daughter Lizzie finds herself torn between her charismatic, self made husband and her idealistic mother. As her husband Diner Tredevant speculates on property in Bristol's housing boom, he risks losing everything in the social upheaval caused by the French Revolution.
Today in Episode One: A mysterious burial. The story opens four years earlier as a man hides a body in a gorge. The death is unexplained but four years later, the man has a wife - Lizzie Fawkes. Lizzie visits her mother who is ill, and tells her of her husband's Diner's plans to build a magnificent new terrace overlooking the Gorge. It is to be the envy of the city but for Diner a huge financial risk.
An acclaimed poet and award-winning novelist, Helen Dunmore's work often explores the interplay between the public and the personal, most famously in The Siege and The Betrayal, and most recently Exposure.
Hattie Morahan is a stage, film and TV actress who won numerous awards for her portrayal of Nora in the Young Vic production of A Doll's House. She was part of the cast of Outnumbered and recently appeared in BBC TVs My Mother and Other Strangers.
The readers are Hattie Morahan and Carl Prekopp
The abridger is Sara Davies
Produced by Julian Wilkinson.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08gxddh
May 16, 2018
Helen Dunmore's final novel, Birdcage Walk, is a piece of historical fiction set in 1792, in Bristol. At this time, 'Europe is seized by political turmoil and violence'. The Observer calls Birdcage Walk 'the finest novel Dunmore has written'. The Daily Telegraph deem it 'Quietly brilliant... among the best fiction of our time.' The Guardian believe it to be 'a blend of beauty and horror evoked with such breathtaking poetry that it haunts me still'. The novel was longlisted for the Walter Scott Prize, and has been rather highly praised by critics, as the above quotes demonstrate.
Lizzie Fawkes, the protagonist of the novel, is the product of a childhood lived in Radical circles, 'where each step of the French Revolution is followed with eager idealism'. Lizzie has recently married a property developer named John Diner Tredevant, who is 'heavily invested' in their city's housing boom, and has 'everything to lose from social upheaval and the prospect of war'. He is displeased with Lizzie's 'independent, questioning spirit', and is of the conviction that she should live and behave only in the manner he wishes her to. In 1793, war was declared between Britain and France, which led to the collapse of the housing boom in Bristol, causing many builders and developers to go bankrupt; this, of course, affects Lizzie and John.
The novel opens in present day Bristol, where a dogwalker comes across an overgrown grave: 'If my friends hadn't decided that I should have a dog I would never have opened the gate and gone into the graveyard. I always took the paved path between the railings. Birdcage Walk, it's called, because of the pleached lime trees arching overhead on their cast iron frame.' The grave which his dog, Jack, first discovers 'leaned only slightly backwards'. The name inscribed upon it is Julia Elizabeth Fawkes, an eighteenth-century writer. The narrator is able to find no information about her whatsoever online, and goes to an open day at her known residence in order to ask an archivist what they are able to find out.
The novel proper begins with rather a chilling chapter. It begins: 'He must have shut his eyes. When he opened them, there she was. She lay as he had left her, under a tree in the brambles and ivy. He had laid her out straight, and crossed her hands, and then he had wrapped his coat about her head. He had known that she would stiffen in a few hours, and that he would not want to see her once again. There she was. No one had come; he'd known that no one would come. It was his luck. There were no marks where he had dragged her, because he had lifted her in his arms and carries her.' This man, unknown to us at first, then digs a grave and buries her, before scurrying away. The second chapter of the novel, and the majority of those which follow, are narrated by Lizzie, whose mother is a writer.
The descriptions in Birdcage Walk are sometimes inventive, and have a vivacity to them. For instance, Dunmore writes: 'But the moon was inside too. It had got into the bedroom while we were sleeping. Its light walked about over the bedstead, over the chest, the basin in its stand and the blue-and-white jug. It was a restless thing and I could not lie still.' I found the first couple of chapters, and the differentiation between tone, character, and period intriguing, but I soon found myself losing interest in the story once Lizzie's account began. Her voice felt too settled, and I could not invest enough empathy in her plight. The dialogue felt forced, unnatural, and repetitive, and the prose and plot were too slow, and plodded along. Julia Fawkes was a real person, but I felt as though Dunmore had no hold upon her character. Whilst Dunmore often excels in her novels with her descriptions of the natural world, and in setting scenes, I did not quite feel as though this was the case here.
Birdcage Walk deals with 'legacy and recognition - what writers, especially women writers, can expect to leave behind them'. This has an added poignancy, given Dunmore's untimely death last year. Unfortunately, whilst I have very much enjoyed several of Dunmore's novels in the past, Birdcage Walk neither lived up to its premise, nor to its praise, for me. I am all for slow novels, but I like my historical fiction to be highly absorbing, and well anchored in the period. Unfortunately, Birdcage Walk was neither.
Lizzie Fawkes, the protagonist of the novel, is the product of a childhood lived in Radical circles, 'where each step of the French Revolution is followed with eager idealism'. Lizzie has recently married a property developer named John Diner Tredevant, who is 'heavily invested' in their city's housing boom, and has 'everything to lose from social upheaval and the prospect of war'. He is displeased with Lizzie's 'independent, questioning spirit', and is of the conviction that she should live and behave only in the manner he wishes her to. In 1793, war was declared between Britain and France, which led to the collapse of the housing boom in Bristol, causing many builders and developers to go bankrupt; this, of course, affects Lizzie and John.
The novel opens in present day Bristol, where a dogwalker comes across an overgrown grave: 'If my friends hadn't decided that I should have a dog I would never have opened the gate and gone into the graveyard. I always took the paved path between the railings. Birdcage Walk, it's called, because of the pleached lime trees arching overhead on their cast iron frame.' The grave which his dog, Jack, first discovers 'leaned only slightly backwards'. The name inscribed upon it is Julia Elizabeth Fawkes, an eighteenth-century writer. The narrator is able to find no information about her whatsoever online, and goes to an open day at her known residence in order to ask an archivist what they are able to find out.
The novel proper begins with rather a chilling chapter. It begins: 'He must have shut his eyes. When he opened them, there she was. She lay as he had left her, under a tree in the brambles and ivy. He had laid her out straight, and crossed her hands, and then he had wrapped his coat about her head. He had known that she would stiffen in a few hours, and that he would not want to see her once again. There she was. No one had come; he'd known that no one would come. It was his luck. There were no marks where he had dragged her, because he had lifted her in his arms and carries her.' This man, unknown to us at first, then digs a grave and buries her, before scurrying away. The second chapter of the novel, and the majority of those which follow, are narrated by Lizzie, whose mother is a writer.
The descriptions in Birdcage Walk are sometimes inventive, and have a vivacity to them. For instance, Dunmore writes: 'But the moon was inside too. It had got into the bedroom while we were sleeping. Its light walked about over the bedstead, over the chest, the basin in its stand and the blue-and-white jug. It was a restless thing and I could not lie still.' I found the first couple of chapters, and the differentiation between tone, character, and period intriguing, but I soon found myself losing interest in the story once Lizzie's account began. Her voice felt too settled, and I could not invest enough empathy in her plight. The dialogue felt forced, unnatural, and repetitive, and the prose and plot were too slow, and plodded along. Julia Fawkes was a real person, but I felt as though Dunmore had no hold upon her character. Whilst Dunmore often excels in her novels with her descriptions of the natural world, and in setting scenes, I did not quite feel as though this was the case here.
Birdcage Walk deals with 'legacy and recognition - what writers, especially women writers, can expect to leave behind them'. This has an added poignancy, given Dunmore's untimely death last year. Unfortunately, whilst I have very much enjoyed several of Dunmore's novels in the past, Birdcage Walk neither lived up to its premise, nor to its praise, for me. I am all for slow novels, but I like my historical fiction to be highly absorbing, and well anchored in the period. Unfortunately, Birdcage Walk was neither.
April 7, 2018
Another Walter Scott longlist book read. I adored this one and hope it’s on the shortlist. Now, the Daily Mail called this a psychological thriller which proves you must not trust quotes on book jackets and the Daily Mail. I loved the characters, it’s setting in Bristol in the early 1790ies, the upheaval caused by the French Revolution.
December 6, 2017
A quiet novel, yet buzzing with life, Birdcage Walk is a landmine of a tale on the human experience. When I say 'quiet'—I mean it. Like humming. Like a whisper. Like a story being relayed secretly in a dark room. In fact, its slow nature made me afraid that it would dip into the realm of boring, but it never did. It moved along with increasing and surprising urgency.
The narrator, Elizabeth, is not terribly young in age, but incredibly naïve in spirit and awareness. So, we almost have a bildungsroman here, as she grows and changes in small ways throughout the book. Her eyes open and she finds her voice all while being surrounded by a mystery she slowly comes to acknowledge.
Despite its slower pace, I was pleased to find this story an incredibly engaging one with broad, expansive characters and fully realized settings. The atmosphere is tight, constrained, and claustrophobic, as written by Dunmore, pressing down on the reader as Lizzie stumbles her way through this astoundingly important time in her life.
This is a deep and moving novel with the French Revolution and the events leading up to France declaring war on England as the backdrop. Despite that heavy time in history serving as the background, the focus remains on Lizzie throughout the book. However, Lizzie's mother, Julia, is the reason we dive into the story.
The novel opens with a man and his dog discovering the grave marker for Julia Fawkes. This man learns that Julia was a pamphleteer in England during the time leading up to the French Revolution. All her work has been lost, and even we as the readers never discover more than a tiny snippet of her writing ability.
This novel's author, Helen Dunmore, died of cancer earlier this year, and I love that there's an afterword in her own voice about her experience writing this book. There's something very poignant about this author writing about another writer whose words have been lost.
A beautifully and intimately written historical fiction novel with dashes of suspense, mystery, coming-of-age, and drama all rolled into one.
I received this book for free from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This in no way affected my opinion of the book, nor the content of my review.
The narrator, Elizabeth, is not terribly young in age, but incredibly naïve in spirit and awareness. So, we almost have a bildungsroman here, as she grows and changes in small ways throughout the book. Her eyes open and she finds her voice all while being surrounded by a mystery she slowly comes to acknowledge.
Despite its slower pace, I was pleased to find this story an incredibly engaging one with broad, expansive characters and fully realized settings. The atmosphere is tight, constrained, and claustrophobic, as written by Dunmore, pressing down on the reader as Lizzie stumbles her way through this astoundingly important time in her life.
This is a deep and moving novel with the French Revolution and the events leading up to France declaring war on England as the backdrop. Despite that heavy time in history serving as the background, the focus remains on Lizzie throughout the book. However, Lizzie's mother, Julia, is the reason we dive into the story.
The novel opens with a man and his dog discovering the grave marker for Julia Fawkes. This man learns that Julia was a pamphleteer in England during the time leading up to the French Revolution. All her work has been lost, and even we as the readers never discover more than a tiny snippet of her writing ability.
This novel's author, Helen Dunmore, died of cancer earlier this year, and I love that there's an afterword in her own voice about her experience writing this book. There's something very poignant about this author writing about another writer whose words have been lost.
A beautifully and intimately written historical fiction novel with dashes of suspense, mystery, coming-of-age, and drama all rolled into one.
I received this book for free from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This in no way affected my opinion of the book, nor the content of my review.
January 6, 2018
This is my first book by Helen Dunmore and I really enjoyed it. An atmospheric and haunting story with wonderful period and setting details. Primarily a character driven story so while not a fast-paced, edge-of-your-seat story there was an undercurrent of tension brewing. The writing was beautiful and although I have more to read by the author, I am sad that this will be her last.
I received this book from Netgalley and Grove Atlantic in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to those sources for the chance to read this book.
I received this book from Netgalley and Grove Atlantic in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to those sources for the chance to read this book.
December 15, 2016
Birdcage Walk is out in hardback in March 2017. I have always liked Helen Dunmore's books she creates believable characters. Birdcage Walk is a novel about terror and resistance, set in a time of political chaos and personal tragedy.
October 29, 2018
Beautifully written, but I wasn't quite sure what this book wanted to be.
My mother-in-law bought this for me, so I had absolutely no idea what to expect - but as someone living in the south-west (UK) I was intrigued by the Bristol connection, so was looking forward to getting stuck in.
It's mainly about Lizzie, who is married to a builder called Diner, though she seems more keen to keep going back to her mother's house to spend time there. Her mother is pregnant by a revolutionary type called Augustus - and this is definitely a theme within the book; that inner tussle that Lizzie experiences between the traditional values of her husband and the progressive views of her mother and step-father.
It has a dark story at the core of this book, but this is perhaps the aspect I struggled most with; as it seemed oddly removed from the rest of the story. Indeed, the big reveal at the end seemed almost a bit incidental, though afterwards I did think 'oh yes, I see, that explains a lot'. I'm not putting my finger on the problem really, but for me, it didn't quite gel.
However, Dunmore wrote beautifully, there's no doubt about that; with sensitively portrayed characters and impressive attention to historic detail (though the baby's pap feeder was over-mentioned somewhat) - and I was definitely 'involved' with it all.
My mother-in-law bought this for me, so I had absolutely no idea what to expect - but as someone living in the south-west (UK) I was intrigued by the Bristol connection, so was looking forward to getting stuck in.
It's mainly about Lizzie, who is married to a builder called Diner, though she seems more keen to keep going back to her mother's house to spend time there. Her mother is pregnant by a revolutionary type called Augustus - and this is definitely a theme within the book; that inner tussle that Lizzie experiences between the traditional values of her husband and the progressive views of her mother and step-father.
It has a dark story at the core of this book, but this is perhaps the aspect I struggled most with; as it seemed oddly removed from the rest of the story. Indeed, the big reveal at the end seemed almost a bit incidental, though afterwards I did think 'oh yes, I see, that explains a lot'. I'm not putting my finger on the problem really, but for me, it didn't quite gel.
However, Dunmore wrote beautifully, there's no doubt about that; with sensitively portrayed characters and impressive attention to historic detail (though the baby's pap feeder was over-mentioned somewhat) - and I was definitely 'involved' with it all.
July 16, 2017
Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
This is the first book by Dunmore I've ever read and it is fabulous. It has the same claustrophobic, flat and disenchanted feel as Du Maurier's Rebecca - which perhaps sounds like I'm not really trying to sell the experience of this book but I absolutely am. That precise set up is very difficult to achieve but Dunmore does it with a few deft and apparently effortless touches. It is set in Bristol after the French Revolution - I've not read many books that deal with the aftermath of the revolution in other European countries so this was an eye opener. I don't think I ever considered the effects our close neighbour's revolution had o the UK.
Lizzie is a free spirited, intelligent and innocent girl who grew up in a radical family. Her conservative husband who is utterly loathsome, has a real fear and desire for her, believing that she must be controlled in all ways. This is almost classic 'she would be perfect if I could just change her' type mentality and it is sinister watching it take effect in this story. All the threads are drawn together steadily as the book progresses trapping the reader as effectively as the characters are also trapped in their unhealthy relationship. This is compulsive and thought provoking leading to a very satisfying conclusion. Highly recommend.
This is the first book by Dunmore I've ever read and it is fabulous. It has the same claustrophobic, flat and disenchanted feel as Du Maurier's Rebecca - which perhaps sounds like I'm not really trying to sell the experience of this book but I absolutely am. That precise set up is very difficult to achieve but Dunmore does it with a few deft and apparently effortless touches. It is set in Bristol after the French Revolution - I've not read many books that deal with the aftermath of the revolution in other European countries so this was an eye opener. I don't think I ever considered the effects our close neighbour's revolution had o the UK.
Lizzie is a free spirited, intelligent and innocent girl who grew up in a radical family. Her conservative husband who is utterly loathsome, has a real fear and desire for her, believing that she must be controlled in all ways. This is almost classic 'she would be perfect if I could just change her' type mentality and it is sinister watching it take effect in this story. All the threads are drawn together steadily as the book progresses trapping the reader as effectively as the characters are also trapped in their unhealthy relationship. This is compulsive and thought provoking leading to a very satisfying conclusion. Highly recommend.
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