I struggled to like this book. I found myself comparing it - unfavourably - with Francis Spufford's 'Golden Rain', since both books were written in the language of the period in which they were set.

The book has a range of characters and a range of subplots. Many of the characters were so loosely defined, as well as the subplots they supported, that I struggled to make sense of them. Maria? Who, really, was she, and what did her social conscience bring to the story? Naomi's contribution to the book underwhelmed me.

Cora, William Ransome, Stella, the Imp, Francis - these all interested me and when they were 'on stage', the story moved onward. Their letters I found illuminated their characters and the story itself and I looked forward to the interludes when they were printed. I believed in each of the major characters in a way I was unable to when one of the many 'walk on' characters was playing his or her part.

I liked the sense of place . I don't know Essex at all, and found the way in which it was described, making it so central to the story itself, sympathetic, and I was absorbed when the area itself became the subject of the writing.

In general though, I was disappointed. I wanted to get this book out of the way so I could get on with something that was for me more rewarding. ( )

It was very well written and definitely had strong Victorian elements. The thought less clerk spurring a vengeful murder attempt and the lost child rediscovered by chance with a friendly poor person were pure Dickens. Even the quirky female characters were not too different from Wilkie Collin's heroines.Of course the explicit sex scenes and adultery were not as openly discussed in your average victorian work. I'm hard pressed to say why I'm not giving it more stars, it was an exploration of love in so many different forms that, to a certain extent , worked. I think the Victorian format left me wanting a more black and white story with an outright happy ending ( )

Beautifully written, a joy to read, but the story rambled, went on unexplained side trips and petered out. There was some interesting tension building between science and religion, belief and proof, progress and conservationism but it was abandoned. ( )

The beginning was intriguing but then the story went to a weird place. After the focus shifted to a mythical creature and a love triangle, I started losing interest. I was hoping more of the story was going to focus on Cora Seaborne's interest in science and quest for independence during the Victorian era. ( )

Quite beautiful writing. Evocative. Rebuilding the whole Victorian world for me without seeming precious. ( )