Wisdom Of Bones

by Kitty Aldridge

'To find a creature part eel, part African lion, who steps the tightrope, plays the viola, frightens the ladies and sings like a nightingale. This is my task. I must conjure, procure and invent, as a novelty is only novel once and no success succeeds as surely as failure fails. 'London 1879 - In a gloomy room on Islington's backstreets showman Percy Unusual George dreams of the miracle that will change his fortunes and that of his troupe of performing Remarkables. This waking dream will lead him to an infamous French dwarf, an exiled Polish king, and a superstar of the Enlightenment... and alter the course of his life forever.France 1746-1764 - At the court of Lunville, in the Alsace region of Lorraine, exiled Polish King Stanislas hosts grand parties for the French nobility and luminaries of the Enlightenment. While Voltaire dotes on his lover, milie du Chtelet, the Polish king presents his horrified queen with a gift of an infant dwarf from the Vosges Mountains. King Stanislas names the child Bb, and watches indulgently as his protg becomes the most notorious and celebrated dwarf in France, until an unexpected guest arrives and unforeseen tragedy follows.Two ambitious men. One hundred years apart. Kitty Aldridge entwines their stories to powerful effect in this astonishingly imaginative and daring novel. The Wisdom of Bones is a high-wire a hypnotic tale of desire and ambition, a quest for celebrity, and the human ache to be loved and remembered.'Time runs backwards and I see myself anew. Not a man but a child. Not English but French. Not here but there. And I am stranger than a sphinx.'

Genres: Historical Fiction, Historical

272 pages, Hardcover

Published May 2, 2019

About the author

Kitty Aldridge is a British actress and writer.

Reviews

[Jo · Rating 3 out of 5]

A 19th century showman in London acquires the bones of an 18th century dwarf from the French court hoping it will be his next big thing. With the bones are the memoirs of the Frenchman which the showman has translated. The stories of the two men are told intermittently with the occasional input from one of the performers. The writing was good and I felt it could have been so much more but, in the end, the story didn't seem to amount to much.

[Vivienne · Rating 4 out of 5]

‘The Wisdom of Bones’ by Kitty Aldridge is a curious book. It is a historical novel primarily set in 1879 London with forays back to France in the mid-18th Century.

It takes the form of a journal penned by backstreet showman, Percy Unusual George, who dreams of discovering a miracle that will improve the fortunes of his troupe of ‘Remarkables’. This quest leads him to acquire the skeleton of an infamous court dwarf, who had been in the service of the exiled Polish king, Stanislas. The sections in France are the translated journals of Nicolas Ferry/Bébé.

The author notes that this fictional journal by Bébé is based on events that did take place in Lunéville, France and she includes some of her sources in the acknowledgements.

It’s quite clear that she had immersed herself in the Victorian culture of travelling performers to create such an evocative story.

It was quite a strange novel though very atmospheric. Its depiction of Victorian street life and use of slang was stunning. Percy was by turns a charming rogue and an insufferable scoundrel. I loved it when Long Bella Wickes hijacked his journal to add her own thoughts. She was by far my favourite character.

As a reader I felt very caught up in their manic, precarious world. That sense of being transported to another time and place is for me the mark of an excellent work of historical fiction.

Given Aldridge’s quirky use of language and Victorian slang this wasn’t always an easy read. I rather wish her publishers had opted for an audiobook edition to compliment the print edition as I feel it would be a perfect medium for this story.

Her opening the novel with a list of Dramatis Personae was appreciated as was the short quotes, from classical sources that broke up the text.

Special note for the design of the cover art, which was inspired.

[Rob Frampton · Rating 4 out of 5]

A riot of joyous language and Dickens-esque characters, 'The Wisdom of Bones' is a manic read, sometimes overpoweringly so. The fact that Percy Unusual George and Bebe, their ambitions constantly thwarted, can only achieve some kind of greatness when their respective skeletons are denuded of life is an irony inevitable from the very beginning but beautifully wrought, nonetheless.

[Crongus · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was more like 3.5 stars for me. It started off pretty slow and it took a while to get used to the writing style. But once you get into it, it’s very fun and I found myself enjoying it. The plot wasn’t much, but the characters were quite interesting to read about. The ending was also cleverly ironic, which was cool and very satisfying for me. Overall, some nice, fun historical fiction.

[Kathryn Malkin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I finally finished this one. I was intrigued by it enough to carry on. The writing style is weird and I only realised why in the last chapter, it's written in the style of a journal/diary by someone who would have had little if any formal education in 1879 but can read and write. There is a section in the book set in 1760s in France. This part is the journal of Bebe the not quite Royal dwarf. In the book Bebe's journal is being translated for Percy George by a French clockmaker, he is reading it to him as he translates it. Why then are parts of it still in French if its being translated by a French man? I don't get it, it doesn't make sense to me. 2 stars from me, and I bumped it up a star because of the irony at the end which was very clever. It's definitely not for everyone, not sure if it was for me 🤨

[Katy Wheatley · Rating 3 out of 5]

The synopsis suggests that this is exactly the kind of book I would like, thoughtful, witty, historical with a twist, dealing with the underside of London society in Victorian times etc. In actuality I really struggled with this. The difficulty was that I didn't warm to the main narrator at all, in fact, I actively disliked him. The book is written largely from his point of view and in a kind of Victorian slang which you have to concentrate quite hard on to get the measure of what's happening. The sections about the French dwarf were excellent and I wish the book had had more balance between the two parts, because I nearly gave up in the first half but enjoyed the second half very much.

[Aliza Ballato · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF

I was excited to start this book after reading the premise. However, I found the use of dialect in this book to be distracting rather than adding to the story. I found it incredibly difficult to relate to the pratogonist, or to be interested in the story itself. I really wanted to like this book but sadly it wasn't for me.

[Maureen · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn’t get beyond 40 pages, I didn’t understand what the heck the author was saying, a very frustrating read.

[Raven]

I only got about 20 pages into the book but the extremely short sentences and peculiar writing style was making this book difficult to read.
No rating because I DNF’d this book so early on

[Sam Hughes · Rating 5 out of 5]

An enchanting story set between Victorian England and France at the court of Luneville in the mid 1700's.

I developed a real fondness for Percy George - living in London as an ambitious but not altogether successful showman with his troupe of 'Unusuals'.

And the somewhat doomed Bebe, the personal dwarf of King Stanislas I - mocked, abused and misunderstood -

Both lead characters stories intertwined, spanning a century. Each character so beautifully described becomes etched in your mind alongside a growing fondness for them all. A truly wonderful story, loved from the first page to the last

[Linda Fallows · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although it took a while for me to get a feel for this book, once I did I thoroughly enjoyed it. An unusual imagining of a Victorian showman of curiosities, and a skeleton, supposedly a famous French dwarf. Written as alternately from the showman’s and the dwarf’s viewpoint. The dwarf’s story is based on the story of a real French dwarf of the 1700s which adds to the interest.

[Pete Papagiannis · Rating 2 out of 5]

Blue as heaven's walls

Ready (and able) to make a commitment to change "perhaps" to "P'raps" in all future email communications. Victorian-era-circus-magic will never be my bag, and this was awfully scattered to follow. I did very much enjoy the dialogue, and two great typefaces that were used effectively for the two periods covered.

[Jacob Hawker · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF

[Gavin Bilyard · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF, sorry just could not get into this at all.

[Sam · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Wisdom of Bones offers a meditative exploration of grief, loss, and the passage of time. The author’s prose is beautiful and evocative, with a quiet, reflective tone that brings depth to the characters and their emotions. The story is slow-paced, which works well for some readers but might feel too meandering for others.

While I appreciated the novel’s introspective nature and the atmospheric writing, I did find myself wishing for more plot development. The pacing was a bit uneven, and there were moments where the story seemed to linger without progressing. The characters, though compelling in their own right, sometimes felt distant or difficult to fully connect with.

Overall, it’s a thoughtful, introspective read that might resonate more with readers who enjoy literary fiction that focuses on inner experiences rather than plot-driven narratives. It’s not a book that will appeal to everyone, but if you’re looking for a quiet, reflective journey, it may be worth picking up.

[Steve M · Rating 2 out of 5]

I enjoyed the tale but found Percy George’s (impeccably researched) London slang/cant interfered with and rather stifled the narrative flow.