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Mar 12, 2017debover60 rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
Couldn't put it down. Excellent historical fiction, historically accurate details. I love Simonson's aesthetic: dialogue, setting, dress, class and social structure. Many layered story, wonderfully branched out from the village of Rye, Sussex just before WWI and its beginning. Time of transition. Any knowledge of this period of British history will simply make this not a good story, but a superb one. A time of transition - the character Daniel wants to be a poet, living in London, living a free life. "Bohemian" characters, a divorced man and wife, both writers, have moved to the country for a life free of scandal but the villagers are very conservative - these artists are typical of those like writers Vanessa Wolfe and Vita Sackville-Hays, artists Vanessa Bell and Augustus John who lived together in artist colonies, with their flowing clothing. Women speaking up. The Status Quo turning their backs, before the Great War turned their world upside down. I loved the characters. Shed a few tears, which surprised me. The novel saturated my senses, transported me. Truly a treat for lovers of well-researched and character filled historical fiction. I had hesitated to read it because the reviews were so mixed. SO happy that I did - a real pleasure! 5.00 stars!