I'm reviewing Birdcage Walk...

... by Helen Dunmore, one of my many favourite writers...

I read this book for my village Book Club.  I would have got around to reading it eventually as a personal choice anyway, because I like Dunmore's work.

Born in Beverley in 1952 she studied English at York and worked as a teacher.  She was also a poet and a short story and children's writer.  It was her poetry that first attracted my attention, and her last collection of poems, Inside the Wave, won her the Costa Books Award in 2017.  The collection was published just before her death in that year.

Reading her novels, I quickly discovered that the sharpness and insight in her poetry bled through into her prose too, irrespective of the themes of the book.  I thought the excellence of her use of language is emminently demonstrated in Birdcage Walk.  The flow of the narrative is gentle throughout the novel.  I have no issue with that, but I do understand how other readers might.

I thought the 18^th century historical detail was conveyed very well.  I also liked the contrast between revolutionary Paris and the personal trials and tribulations of the Tredevants in England.  I found the examination of the place of women in Georgian society fascinating - it made we realise just how far we have come.  But having said that, I am only too well aware that there are still inequalities to be overcome in our forward-thinking 21^st century.

As much as I enjoyed this story, I thought that there were some aspects that could have been handled differently thereby preventing, what I percieved to be, some unnecessary repetition.

I don't consider this to be her best novel, in my humble opinon - see The Lie, The Greatcoat or The Betrayal - but I did find it a fascinating read.