The Book of Fires

by Jane Borodale

Reminiscent of Year of Wonders, a captivating debut novel of fireworks, fortune, and a young woman's redemption

It is 1752 and seventeen-year-old Agnes Trussel arrives in London pregnant with an unwanted child. Lost and frightened, she finds herself at the home of Mr. J. Blacklock, a brooding fireworks maker who hires Agnes as an apprentice. As she learns to make rockets, portfires, and fiery rain, she slowly gains his trust and joins his quest to make the most spectacular fireworks the world has ever seen.

Jane Borodale offers a masterful portrayal of a relationship as mysterious and tempestuous as any the Brontës conceived. Her portrait of 1750s London is unforgettable, from the grimy streets to the inner workings of a household where little is as it seems. Through it all, the clock is ticking, for Agnes's secret will not stay secret forever.

Deeply atmospheric and intimately told from Agnes's perspective, The Book of Fires will appeal to readers of Geraldine Brooks, Sarah Waters, Sheri Holman, and Michel Faber.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical, British Literature, 18th Century, Book Club, London

406 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Jane Borodale has a postgraduate degree in site-specific sculpture from Wimbledon School of Art. She has written and exhibited work for a variety of sites, including the Foundling Museum in London and the Wordsworth Trust, Cumbria. She was recently Leverhulme Artist in Residence at the Weald and Downland Open Air Museum in Sussex, and lives in the Westcountry with her husband, poet Sean Borodale, and their two children.

Her first novel THE BOOK OF FIRES is being translated into many languages and was shortlisted for the 2010 Orange Award for New Writers

Her new novel THE KNOT is about the forgotten botanist Henry Lyte and his translation of an influential 16th-century herbal.

Reviews

[Melissa Conway · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s rare for me to read without eating sunflower seeds in the shell at the same time. I can only eat so many before my lips begin to wither from the salt, and in this way, I limit the amount of time I spend reading. Once I’ve had my fill of seeds, I invariably set the book aside.

Not so with The Book of Fires. I can’t remember the last time an author held me so enthralled that I continued on long after the seeds were gone. I began the book on Saturday, picked it back up on Sunday and found myself ignoring a rather pressing list of chores and obligations just to finish it.

I tend to keep my reading light, so I generally stick to genre fiction. Literary fiction often hits too close to home for me; I do not like to cry, but am easily susceptible. And there is often a surplus of description to be found in serious works. Description can make or break a book for me. I prefer to find it sprinkled in among the action so my imagination can fill in the blanks. If it gets too heavy-handed, it becomes tedious and I begin flipping past entire sections. Jane Borodale’s debut novel is brimming with detail that I would find annoying in a lesser work. It takes an uncommonly well-written book for the minutia to fascinate me.

[Plot summary/spoilers ahead!] This story begins in England in 1752, after Parliamentary Enclosure has begun fencing off property and raising rent. In the country, the poor are forced to work harder for less. The narrative is told first-person-present by seventeen-year-old Agnes Trussel, a country girl with a large family. Immediately Agnes plunges into meticulous detail of place; sights, sounds, smells. Her family is forced to slaughter the pig early this year. It is a family event that most everyone participates in; a grim, specific series of tasks. Throughout the rest of the novel, small incidents cause Agnes to recall the particulars of the slaughter, a theme depicting how commonplace the gruesome was in those times.

Agnes is unmarried and hiding an early pregnancy that came about from what would be considered rape in this day and age. To prevent her family suffering from her shame, she runs away to London with gold coins she stole from a dead neighbor. The theft haunts her both as a morally reprehensible thing to have done, and as fear that she will be caught and hung.

Lost in London, she has a great stroke of luck securing employment as assistant to Mr. John Blacklock, pyrotechnist. A widower, he is aloof, gruff, and consumed by his work. Agnes, who was taught to read but cannot write, is eager to learn. The reader learns along with her about fireworks in the eighteenth century, an indulgence of the rich; how they were made; the alchemy and danger. She works hard, impressing Blacklock with her enthusiasm and understanding of his obsession. She has no illusions about her future there—when the pregnancy is discovered she expects to be turned out into the street.

This is not a romance novel. Agnes is young and naïve, but has no romantic flights of fancy. Her example of love is a mother harried by country life and worn down from having babies and a mercurial father who drinks. As the fetus grows within her, Agnes is consumed by fear. There is no one she can turn to. Within the Blacklock household, she knows she’ll be able to conceal her pregnancy from the blowsy, death-obsessed housekeeper and the dim-witted but watchful maid for only so long. Blacklock is chronically ill and nursing the agony of losing his wife in childbirth. Agnes’ one acquaintance is a young woman of questionable means who directs her to an abortionist. Her one chance for salvation is the flirtatious Cornelius Soul, a gunpowder distributor with loose business ethics. Agnes is faced with choices, none of them good.

If I haven’t made myself clear, let me reiterate: this is an exceptional novel. There is nothing I found lacking, not in characterization or motivation or even in the description which immerses the reader in Agnes’ world. The ending is ultimately satisfying and strangely plausible despite the way the narrative spirals down, down into a despair that seems insurmountable.

HIGHLY recommended.

[Review originally posted to Booksquawk]

[Annette · Rating 3 out of 5]

The drawn-out style of writing is not the style of writing I like to read, for ex. slaughtering of a pig goes for quite a few pages.

[Amy Bruno · Rating 2 out of 5]

SUMMARY: It’s 1752 and in a small town in England a young Agnes Trussel finds herself in a very delicate situation. She is pregnant and unwed and completely unsure of what to do. All she can think of to do is leave and one morning she sneaks out of her childhood home and runs away to London.

18th century London is a dirty, over-populated and scary place to be, especially for a country girl and Agnes is overwhelmed and fearful that she won’t be able to find a job or lodging. A help wanted sign draws her to the home of Mr. Blacklock, a fireworks maker, where she is hired as his assistant. Agnes blossoms in her new role and as time goes by she is shown to have a real talent in the art of firework making. Sensing a kindred spirit Blacklock takes Agnes under his wing and together they set out to make some of the world’s most incredible fireworks. Agnes is thrilled with her new venture, but there’s one thing that threatens to ruin it all – her advancing pregnancy.

MY THOUGHTS: I really thought I would like this book much better than I did and now that I’m reading through reviews on Amazon, it seems my 3 star rating is in the minority. Borodale’s writing wasn’t bad, but the story itself just didn’t make sense at times and the characters were pretty one dimensional – the lack of depth made it hard to feel any sympathy for any of them. The pregnancy aspect got on my nerves too – between several attempts at aborting the baby (which never worked) and trying to snare a guy just to try and pass it off as his (and this while she was in her last trimester). I mean, how the heck did she think that would work? Also, no one in the household noticed that she was with child, but whenever she would run into someone on the street, the first thing their eyes focused on was her belly. Ugh – it drove me crazy!!

One of the reasons why this book appealed to me in the first place was that it was marketed as reminiscent of The Year of Wonders, which is a book that I adore, but I have no idea where they came up with that from. It’s nothing like it, not one bit. I realize they are both about a woman prevailing over diversity, but that’s the extent of it – one novel is about a town wiped out by the plague and the other about an un-wed, pregnant girl in London, making fireworks.

I would’ve given this book 2.5 stars, but the ending brought it up a bit to 3 stars. This is the author’s first novel and while I didn’t care for it, I would most definitely read her again, as I sense a real budding talent on the HF scene!

FCC: This book was given to me for review by Viking Press.

[Sophie Narey (Bookreview- aholic) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Published: 2010
Author: Jane Borodale
Recommended for: fans of historical fiction

First off...I fell in love with this book! It is set in 1752 where poor Agnes Trussel runs away to London after falling pregnant due to a rather horrible man, she doesn't want to bring shame or disappointment upon her family or make them have another mouth to feed so she feels it is her best option.
On her journey down to London she meets the mysterious woman called Lettice Talbot who gives her an address as to where she can find somewhere to live, but while looking for it she stumbles across a residence looking for someone to hire, she ends up the assistant to a firework maker called Mr J Blacklock. The book is based in the point of view of Agnes, who is a really wonderful character and who you can easily feel for as she is going through the unwanted pregnancy and wondering what will happen to her life and going through the turmoil with her as she tried to find someone to marry so the child wont be born in shame. Each other the characters bring something strong to the book and without them the book just wouldn't work, they add a great depth to the novel and helps you to get lost in the book easily. I love this and would recommend it to everyone!

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

A young girl who runs into trouble in her home in Sussex arrives in London. She doesn’t know anyone there, but she has a couple of golden coins that she didn’t come into possession of in an exactly lawful manner. She is naive and not accustomed to the ways of a big city, and London in 1752 is a dirty and treacherous place. The girl - Agnes, becomes by chance an assistant to a master firework maker. An unlikely job for a young girl but where skilled hands and willingness to learn are most important, being a girl doesn't really matter. Agnes’ following fate and rather strange turns of events, make for a pleasant and interesting historical fiction reading. It may not be the best book in its genre but certainly good enough.

[Joy D · Rating 4 out of 5]

Set in 1752 in England, protagonist Agnes Trussel is a country girl with an incredibly rough life. Early in the book she becomes pregnant and feels she has no option but to run away to London to start a new life. She is hired by pyrotechnician John Blacklock, who needs a new assistant. Agnes has a knack for the job and becomes his apprentice.

The characters are wonderfully well-defined and realistic. Agnes, in particular, is a fabulous protagonist. She is young and naïve. She acts out of self-preservation and cares deeply for others. I very much enjoyed the scientific discussions of fireworks and the advances into color they were attempting at the time. It is beautifully written, with descriptions that are easily pictured. It is true to the historic period with details that provide an idea of what life was like back then for an unwed pregnant young woman facing scorn from the community. The ending is satisfying and different than expected. I enjoyed this book very much.

“It is so close that I can hear the hiss of the quick match rush to the lifting charge of each flight of rockets, before the pound and roar of the ignition, and then the burst, and the sky is riddled with twists of fire, feathers of fire, billhooks of light, snakes of fire and smoke. The breaks are a spill of prickling white light across my eye, crackling the glaze of the sky into bitter shards.”

4.5

[Barb · Rating 5 out of 5]

Look Out World Here Comes Jane Borodale

I am a hard reader to please. It's rare that I give four or five stars to a book, it's even more rare that I find something that I love as much as this first novel by Jane Borodale.

'The Book of Fires' is a novel that evokes vivid images of seventeenth century England. The book opens in graphic detail with the Trussel family's endeavor to butcher the spring pig.

Agnes Trussel, seventeen, unwed and pregnant, runs away from home to spare her family the shame of her condition. She is a bright, capable and innocent girl. She fleas to London and wanders aimlessly in search of a safe haven. What she finds is untraditional employment in the home of widower John Blacklock, where she serves as his assistant in making fireworks.

The characters Borodale has created are realistic and complex, the events she gives them are moving, the production of fireworks is interesting and I appreciated in particular the significance of the title of the book.

The story is woven so thoughtfully, so carefully, it simultaneously disappoints and satisfies. There are classic parallels and heavy doses of irony woven into a very moving narrative.

It's hard to believe this is Borodale's first novel, she writes with what feels like vast experience. If she continues with repeat performances the literary world will certainly have to pay attention.

I highly recommend this and think it would be an excellent book club choice. I will be looking for future novels from Jane Borodale.

[Elaine · Rating 2 out of 5]

When will I get over my weakness for historical fiction? This had the slenderest of plots, choppy and often nonsensical, blended into endless digressions on natural landscapes and the science of fireworks. The historical atmosphere was completely hackneyed (and has been written a thousand times of every era from Shakespeare's to WWII) -- a crowded filthy criminal starving London peopled by sly servants and good hearted whores -- the kind of thing we call Dickensian for a reason.. it's already been done and better, 150 years ago.

This book has the added weakness of putting poetry, political philosophy, botanical astuteness and science into the "mouth" of a teenage peasant girl -- entirely wrecking any sense of historical verisimilitude. This in fact was the only thing more improbable than the blurbs for this book, one of which asserted that the narrator, Agnes, was destined to become one of the "21st centuries" most memorable characters (a bold claim 11 years in) and another of which compared the entirely opaque "romance" in the book to those of the Brontes. Heathcliff and Rochester have nothing to fear... I've already forgotten the hero's name.

[Chaitra · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was my question as soon as I read a good chunk of the book: why is she still living? Honestly, the level of stupidity on display by the main character of this book has to be read to be believed. There's no way an innocent such as she would've lived, let alone thrived, in 18th century England. Not unless she was privileged or dropped on the head when she was a baby, which apparently she's not.

So. Agnes is an idiot who doesn't know how to say no. Result: she's pregnant. Of course she is. After wallowing in shame for a bit in the middle of extensive notes on pig slaying and boiling and whatever, she comes across money. A neighbor has died, and she has some money lying around. Brilliant girl steals the money, doesn't tell anyone about the dead lady and runs away to England. She meets a tart that she doesn't recognize as a tart. She tries to get to the tart's address, but she gets lost and luckily lands right in front of an advertisement for a housekeeper. The housekeeper post is taken, but luckily, the master is a fireworks maker who is in dire need of an assistant he didn't even advertise for. Voilà, Agnes is deemed suitable because she says she can sew (which is news to us, because up to now we only know she can kill and eat pigs).

Anyhow, a couple of months pass. Agnes is getting more and more desperate about her baby situation. At home, despite having three nosy women servants, no one notices. Outside, random people ask her how far along she is. And suddenly madam has a brilliant idea (not) of seducing a merchant who frequents the house and getting him to accept the baby as his. He notices the baby bump when he touches her stomach (she's that far along) and leaves her disgustedly. Obviously. She tries something she should have tried ages earlier, and almost loses the baby, which is when we're told the baby is seven months along. Seven. This is a good thing to keep hidden until three quarters of the book is done, because otherwise, the whole premise of everyone not noticing and her fool idea of seduction would have made the reader stop reading within three chapters of the book. Anyhow, if there was any thought in my mind that the worst stupidity is passed, it gets worse.

My advice, stay away from this book like the plague. Really. There are better books. It doesn't even have good language. It takes a very good author to make the first person present tense to be something other than self absorbed, shallow and wallowing. Jane Borodale is not that author. She's obviously not a good plotter. Although she does seem to have fooled a number of people - like the Orange Prize board for instance. I only hope this got picked up because the other books by women that year were worse. Ridiculous book, and recommended to no one.

[Camie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Historical fiction which finds young Agnes in mid century London having fled Sussex downtrodden and pregnant and becomes apprenticed to an eccentric man who studies pyrotechnics and makes fireworks. I kept thinking it reminded me of a previous read and finally decided it had similarities to Tracy Chevalier's The Girl With The Pearl Earring, another book I really enjoyed. 4 stars

[P.D.R. Lindsay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Now here’s a historical novel which breaks the rules, at least the rules we writers of historical novels are taught by agents and publishers. Although set in 1752 it is written in the present tense and in the First Person Point of View. It is an example of how a fascinating story, well told, using the history, not as mere setting, but as an integral part of the plot, will get published. It was a pleasure to read this novels, it wasn’t cowboys and indians in Rome or cops and robbers in Mediaeval Europe. We weren’t forced to read paragraphs of graphic sex, descriptions of vomit, filth and ordure, readers were led into a created world which felt like England in 1752. This book is that modern rarity, a well written literary historical novel.

It’s a simple story, but the characters are fully 3D, 18thC and full of surprises. Agnes Trussel is seventeen and happy living in poverty with her family in a tiny village in Sussex. Caught off guard by the hulking lout who fancies her she is raped. Now she is pregnant and worried sick. She does not want to be forced to marry the lout and the disgrace would shame her family. A lucky encounter leads her to find some money so she runs away to London. Luck is with her again for though she is guided to a brothel, she actually ends up on the doorstep of John Blacklock, a gentleman firework maker. He takes her in to be an apprentice and together they work to create coloured fireworks.

The research Jane Borodale had to do to tell this story does not load down the story but fascinates. There are all the secrets of fireworks 18thC style, and the more mundane problems of daily living. Agnes spends all her time with fireworks but trying to hide her pregnancy is getting harder and harder. Discovery will mean ruin. Or will it? The ending satisfied this reader although it’s far from a happily ever after one, but the relationship is not a love story relationship. If you like historical novels which are well written page turners then try this one.

[Barbara Bryant · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually gave this 4 stars (I'm stingy about 5), and found it one of the most pleasurable reads I've had in years. I made it a staff pick at my library. It concerns a young village girl in the 1700's who, finding herself in a family way and fearing where it will lead her, and having committed a sort of crime, flees to London to try to save herself. I simply ate it up--I liked the writing, and found it flowed beautifully. I love the descriptions of life at that time: the moral narrowness of the country village, the professions (high and low) that could be explored in the wider world, the scurviness of London after the Great Fire, and the plight of women of that time. Her rescue at the hands of a fireworks maker who needs a servant in his house, and her secret life under the eyes of the fellow servants and fireworks master fill the story and lead to a satisfying ending. I enjoyed very much the description of the fireworks-making--fascinating. An unalloyed casual pleasure to be read in hours, not days--too good to put down.

[Sarah Mac · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nope. DNF, because dry, wordy, & slow. The prose, while not awful, just screams 'overwritten lit-fic' with endless descriptions of sights & sounds battling the idiot heroine's repetitive woes & indecision. Quit on pg 50-some & I can't make myself care enough to read more. First-person-present (almost) never fails to rub me the wrong way, & this is why; such deliberate pretentiousness drives me batty.

[Jane · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Book of Fires by Jane Borodale
Posted on May 17, 2010
by FleurFisher| 11 Comments | Edit

I first spotted Jane Borodale’s The Book of Fires last year. I was interested, but not quite interested enough to rush out and order a copy. Well, there are a lot of good historical novels out there.

But then something changed. The Book of Fires was one of three books shortlisted for this year’s Orange Award for New Writers. That suggested that it might be something rather special, and so the order went in.

The book duly arrived in the library, and it very nearly went straight back again. Because it is written in the present tense. And in the first person. A bad combination in my eyes. But the narrative voice was engaging and the story looked promising, so on I went.

It is the late 18th century and seventeen year-old Agnes lives with her family in rural Sussex. A picture of rural poverty is efficiently painted, but I really could have lived without so much detail of the slaughter and butchery of the family’s pig, and then a rather odd flashback to a conception scene.

I can happily read about English rural life all day, and this wasn’t badly done but I found myself thinking of those authors who write about it so well, and wondering if I should go and reread Thomas Hardy or Mary Webb instead. In the end though, curiosity about the new, unknown, shortlist-worthy novel won the day.

And yes, I did say conception scene. Agnes is pregnant, unmarried and fearful of the shame that she would bring to her family. She sees a way out when she find an elderly neighbour dead and rather more money than would be expected nearby. Agnes pockets some of the coins and runs away to London.

She is lost and alone in the city, but luck is still with her. She quickly secures a position as an apprentice to a firework-maker, and the story proper begins.

Agnes soon shows herself to be an able apprentice and a relationship begins to grow between her and her employer, Mr Blacklock. A widower. A quiet, clever man.

All the while new and innovative fireworks are being created, secrets are being sought. A major breakthrough may be close.

But Agnes fears the day when her pregnancy is discovered and she will be thrown out onto the street, and worries that her theft of the coins will catch up with her, knowing that the consequence will be transportation at best and death by hanging at worst.

She plots and schemes to secure her future. And others all around her are plotting and scheming too.

It’s a good story, with just enough twists and turns to keep things interesting. And Agnes is an engaging heroine, making it easy to empathise with her concerns, easy to see London through her eyes.

But there are problems.

A lot of them can be attributed to the perspective. The story is told solely from the point of view of a seventeen year-old girl, caught up in her own problems and concerns. It rang true, but that left the other characters undeveloped and the settings and situations underdescribed.

A pity, because with a different perspective – and maybe a different tense – I think this could have been a much stronger book. There was potential in the story and characters, the times and places were well realised, and the story of the creation of fireworks was fascinating, and clearly well researched.

A few other things maybe needed a little more thought. It was hard to believe that Agnes could conceal her pregnancy from so many people for so long, and some of the courses of action she tried to take were so clearly doomed.

I had to suspend disbelief quite a few times, and I rather suspect that this book was written for a younger, less analytical reader.

The ending rounds things off nicely – though maybe a little too neatly.

And what do I think in the end? I think that the Book of Fires has much of interest, but it has flaws as well.

A promising debut, but not an award-worthy one.

[Natasa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well written, although slightly disjointed in places, the author has captured the mind of a young woman in a terrible predicament for the times, has introduced a very different theme of fireworks to run through the book, and the outcome was unexpected, which I enjoyed most.

[gremlinkitten · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Book of Fires was not an easy book for me to get through. Not that it's a bad book, far from it, but because of its slow and steady pace I had to stop quite often to get my bearings. This is a very well-written book but it is also a very detailed one as well, sometimes to the detriment of the book; I felt like I was wading through facts and the story fell to a standstill at times. The lectures on fireworks and how they were made in the 18th century could have been fascinating, but they bored me, mainly because they were lectures and didn't fit into the book. Agnes was a confusing narrator, and while I can buy the uneducated yet bright and thoughtful type of character, I never felt for her as a human, she had no identity. The whole book was this way, and to put it bluntly, it felt dead, there was no sense of living in these pages. I think many people will enjoy The Book of Fires , but it left me cold, and for a book that features fireworks, there isn't much of a spark and bang between its covers.

Provided for review via Amazon Vine.

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pleasant and fairly easygoing historical novel set in eighteenth London (briefly in Sussex). Agnes Trusel runs away from her Sussex home; she is young and pregnant and knows her family cannot cope with another mouth to feed. The novel is set during the period when enclosure was taking place and rural life was increasingly difficult. Agnes goes to London and becomes assistant to John Blacklock, who makes fireworks. She picks up the skill very quickly and becomes indispensible. However the other servants in the home are suspicious and she cannot hide her pregnancy for long.
The book is in the first person, which can be annoying. Apart from Agnes I felt the other characters were one dimensional and some of the historical details were a little thin. Nevertheless it was a heartwarming story and not too hard work; which when one of the other books you are reading is Ulysses is no bad thing.

[Kitcatscratch · Rating 3 out of 5]

Honestly the story depressed me because of the character of John Blacklock. It felt so unfinished, a missed opportunity. I think that was my biggest issue with the book as a whole: well written but divorced from the characters, even the MC Agnes. Which is quite a feat since it's all told from her point of view. I love first person narratives and when done well can be emotionally powerful. But when your MC is not particularly observant about the people around her, it deafens and blinds a story. 3 stars though for the amount of research that obviously went into the art and science of pyrotechnics, an interesting subject to revolve a story around.

[Basia Cybulska · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5/5
Hmm
Wierzę i rozumiem, że komuś ta książka może bardzo się spodobać. Twierdzę, że nie była dla mnie - ale i tak doceniam ten debiut 👍

[Agnieszka Cybulska · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.0
(...) Nie wiem co będzie w przyszłości. Nie ma sensu starać się tego dowiedzieć, bo i tak nigdy nie będzie tak jak chcemy. (...)
W tym wypadku też nie było, tak jak się spodziewałam i oczekiwałam. Czy było gorzej? Na pewno nie!!! Mnie się podobało.

[Siân Hawkins · Rating 3 out of 5]

This took a really long time to get into…but a wholesome ending.

[switterbug (Betsey) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am thrifty with my absolutes. However, I must make an exception and celebrate this debut novel by proclaiming this as the most visually stunning, sublime prose I have encountered in any book this year. Every sentence is an ineffable bliss to read. I urge you to experience it the way I did, without too much information beforehand. Be dazzled and bedazzled by this symphony of the senses; the words transcend the story. Rockets will fire from all your synapses. Dinner may burn.

The story's premise, which takes place in 1751, is solid but does not break new ground in literature, although the element of fireworks and their meticulous craft adds a fresh and novel spark. Agnes Trussel, 17, and in dire straits for a woman of her time, runs off from her rural Sussex countryside and farmer family to escape to London. There she is employed by the brooding, enigmatic pyrotechnist, J. Blacklock, and becomes his apprentice. She is a quick study of powders, pigments, and combustibles; she learns to load pastilles, gerbes, Bengal lights, and numerous other explosive projectiles. Agnes is an anachronism, which fuels the narrative and makes her a potent protagonist. The story sizzles and bursts with a seamy cast of characters--dandies; scullery maids; creepy men with rotten teeth; prostitutes; merchants of every class; a mute; and other baroque personalities. And although the author illuminates this era vividly, it isn't satire or burlesque. It isn't a bodice-ripper. And there is not a lot of irony, either. Yet it is not melodrama, or bawdily theatrical. It is a well-plotted arc that builds to its conclusion without a lot of fireworks--just the genuine kind.

What elevated me while keeping me rooted to the pages were the flawless, contoured passages. Every sentence is like a Vermeer, or a painting from the most atmospheric of landscape artists, or a shimmering photograph. Facts and physical descriptions become high art and nuanced, dimensional photography. Nature, light, and color are brilliantly defined and lyrically expressed. Borodale is a master of metaphor, alliteration, and allusion. She is a visual virtuoso of words, and her depth of field is sharp and resplendent, perforated with poetical texture. She has striking control over scenic aperture and placement, as if she had used a Swiss lens to frame it, and a blade to sharpen it.

I am astonished that this is the author's first novel. She is an uncannily nimble, hypnotizing writer. I cannot prevent my ardent display of accolades. Anything I say is an understatement to the sculptured sensuality and bursting ebullience of this prose.

[Linda C · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really, really, really wanted to like this book, and I tried really, really hard, but, at the end of the day, it was about as interesting as watching paint dry. While the author evoked the feeling of 18th century England extremely well, the characters were flat and undeveloped. Perhaps Ms. Borodale has a future career writing travel guides or college text books, because that is what I felt like I was reading. It is hard to imagine 300 pages being that difficult to read, but it was difficult to get through this book.

The premise was interesting and the sounds, sights and smells of rural England and then London were written well-- unfortunately for Ms. Borodale, the core of a novel are the characters, and these characters were just dull. Very one-dimensional and almost cliches-- the drunken housekeeping/cook, the slow maid, jealous of the new, pretty girl (every time the maid was mentioned, there was something about her head, i.e. "Mary Spurren's big head did this," Mary Spurren's big head did that." I began to think that perhaps Mary had some disability that resulted in an over large head, since it was mentioned so many times.)

As for the main character, Agnes, she was silly beyond belief. Given the seriousness of her predicament, she spent far more time worrying about someone from her village coming to accuse her of being a thief than she did worrying about how she was going to manage with a baby. And for the surprise ending-- well, let's just say, I didn't figure all of it out, but it wasn't a great surprise either.

I took almost two weeks to read this book, but that is deceiving, since it took me 10 days to read 100 pages, then I sat down yesterday to finish it, just because I wanted it to be done. When it was finished, all I felt was relief that I got to the end.

[Dani H · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jane Borodale is definitely an author to be looking out for in the future. The Book of Fires is her debut novel, which follows the story of Agnes Trussel, a Seventeen-year-old girl from rural Sussex, who at the beginning of the novel finds herself in the family way and leaves her home for London to spare her family the shame of her condition.
Upon moving to London she finds herself suddenly in the employment of John Blackstock, a pioneering pyrotechnist, making and experimenting with fireworks.

I found Agnes to be a very likeable character, and found it easy to sympathise with her throughout the novel. When her relationship with John Blackstock slowly begins to deepen, you find yourself hoping even more that things will go right for Agnes, and that their relationship will fully develop.

Although Agnes' circumstances do not change as she had hoped them to, and she suffers great sadness towards the end of the novel, the final chapters are far from dissatisfying; one could even call them heart-warming.

The written style of the novel was beautiful, and could even be described as quite poetic in places. Borodale uses a lot of symbolic language, particularly when describing death and life. She often describes natural scenes at length, focusing particularly on new, fresh life, which becomes very symbolic of Agnes' developing pregnancy. This is then contrasted with the rot and death that surrounds her, beginning with the discovery of the dead Mrs Mellin, and then with her surrounds as she arrives in London; a beautiful contrast to her descriptions of life and symbolism of pregnancy, perhaps suggesting the fragility of life.

A stunningly beautiful debut novel, I look forward to reading more from Jane Borodale in the future!

[Rita Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This historical novel, set in 1750's London, has two stories. One traces the efforts of young Agnes Trussel to conceal her unwanted pregnancy while struggling with feelings of guilt over her theft of gold coins from a dead neighbor's house. A naïve country girl, Agnes uses the money to fund her escape to London, so that she will not bring shame upon her family.

Of far more interest is the story of Robert Blacklock, the maker of fireworks whom Agnes encounters in London and who hires her as an apprentice and general household help. We see him through Agnes's eyes and experience her increasing fascination with the fireworks she is learning to create. The relationship between these two is built on obsession, not romance.

I found the story interesting and the characters convincing. All the details of daily life in that time are so carefully outlined that the period just comes to life and drags you in.

The book is not without flaws, but they are all classic first-novel issues. A little too much description occasionally slows the story; the heroine sometimes thinks at a level of prose that is clearly the author, and not the character, speaking; and there a few subplot threads that wander off and are never resolved.

For a reader there is nothing quite like the excitement of finding a good first novel by a new author. "The Book of Fires" was a terrific start for this author, and I look forward to reading more of her work.

[Yukari Watanabe · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love historic novels, especially British ones. And "the Book of Fires" is a well written one. Atmospheric and captivating. However, I can't help feeling something is amiss.

This is a story of a naive country girl's survival. 17 year old Agnes Trussel becomes pregnant, and in order to avoid a terrible marriage and family disgrace, she flees to London. She meets a kind young girl Lettice on the way to London. Agnes almost joins Lettice, whom Agnes doesn't know that time is a prostitute. By chance, Agnes escapes this fate and finds a position as an assistant to a fire maker John Blacklock. Blacklock is a moody and difficult person, but Lettice impresses Blacklock with her talent and enthusiasm.

The first part before Agnes leaves her home is unnecessarily long and slow. On the other hand, the fire making part feels too short and less satisfying. Agnes survives because of a couple of people's kindness (e.g. Lettice and Blacklock), not because of her extraordinary effort and wit. Maybe Borodale wanted the story to be more realistic, but I'm sure real women did have more courage than Agnes. I just wish "the Book of Fires" is more about Agnes's fire making story than a naive girl's struggle and survival.

[☕Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this story of Agnes Trussel, a young girl who finds herself unmarried and pregnant in 18th century England. Unable to face the shame this would bring to her family, she flees to London and ends up apprentice to the fireworks maker John Blacklock, a peculiar and somber man who is passionate about his craft. The relationship which develops between them is an interesting one, and the art of creating fireworks provides a unique backdrop. Agnes struggles to hide her secret as it becomes more and more evident, and tries desperately to come up with some kind of plan. I found myself wondering right along with her how this was going to turn out, and did not predict the ultimate resolution.

[Cayleigh · Rating 4 out of 5]

At first I was almost overwhelmed with Agnes in London due to her extreme nativity, but it works because she is so overwhelmed with everything that is happening to her. I really enjoy the book that gets the reader so involved with the character to be feeling the same emotions as them. I also started reading it on the 4th of July, which I thought extremely appropriate due to the making of fireworks. What I liked best was the very subtle and quiet nature of Mr.Blacklock and Agnes’ relationship and how it evolved. And then the ending! It was a total emotional sucker-punch I didn’t see coming! I like surprise endings but this one was pretty sad, but happy for some of the characters it was good. I will definitely be reading more of Borodale’s work in the future.

[Margaret · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a lovely book, set in Sussex (briefly) and London in the 18th century. This is historical fiction, not historical romance - something hard to find now. Agnes, a young woman from a struggling farm family, leaves home under scandalous circumstances and travels to London to make her way. Through providence or serendipity, Agnes finds work with pyrotechnist John Blacklock so there is a bit of the science of fireworks in the mix. It's a lovely story; grim and vulgar at times (as life in London for the lower classes in the 18th century must have been) but overall just a wonderful novel.

[Wordsmith · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was one of the few books in my recent reading history where I can actually say the story had more appeal for me than the craftsmanship of the writing. The education I received regarding the early manufacture of fireworks was interesting to say the least. I do believe Jane Borodale has many books ahead of her. All in all a great debut.