It's 1666 in London. Lizzie Hopper is 13 and after the unexpected death of her father, Lizzie, along with her mother, must take over the management of the family's bookshop, The eponymous White Phoenix.
The bookshop is overshadowed by the imposing medieval St Paul's Cathedral.
But England is living through troubled and troubling times. The country is at war with France, threatening prophecies are being uttered and spread around and there is talk of an invasion by the French and there are reports of plague.
Against this backdrop and riots and the threat of blackmail, Lizzie must try to fight to keep the family bookshop open.
But then came the catastrophic Great Fire of London. Can she help save the bookshop and its stock of books? But there's a secret that Lizzie was keeping, a friendship she should not have had. Can she save the shop and her friend?
The story brings the London of 166 alive, with the prejudices and problems of the people of London.
It's a great historical novel ans hopefully the first of many novels from Catherine Randall.
It's published by The Book Guild at £7.99.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thank you for reading my blog and for leaving a comment.