Member Review

Birdcage Walk by Helen Dunmore opens in the present day. The story begins with a man whose name is never mentioned. While walking his newly adopted dog through what now remains of Birdcage Walk he stumbles upon the grave of Julia Elizabeth Fawkes. On her headstone he reads an inscription: Her Words Remain Our Inheritance. Curious as to whom this woman was and what literary contribution she made, if any, he begins to search for information about a woman that only seemed to exist by name but nothing else and no mention of her writing.

The book was not what I was expecting based on the description. While there was political turmoil and violence including Radicals what I read instead was a story about the everyday life of Lizzie Tredevant as seen through her eyes. We hear through Julia her mother and Augustus her husband about what is going on in France and their point of view, in which they are very involved in the political upheaval. Meanwhile, Lizzie does not seem to have much opinion in the matter.

While this story nears the French Revolution Lizzie and her very jealous and controlling husband are going about their lives. John Diner Tredevant continues to build houses during Bristol's housing boom, he begins to learn that no one is buying. Slowly Lizzie begins to discover that Diner, as he is referred to in the book is not the man she thought she married. Diner is a man tormented by secrets from his previous marriage. As his past eats away at his conscience it causes him to become more menacing as the days go by.

While reading the book I wondered if the character at the beginning of the book would be revisited. It was not until after I read Birdcage Walk and the author's Afterword that I could clearly see the prelude as an introduction to the past and nothing more.

Like Julia Fawkes, the nameless character in the opening of the book seems to be lost in time and history so even the reader does not know who he is. His contribution in this story is introducing Julia and the past.

Dunmore's descriptive writing and how Lizzie sees and interprets her world is the kind of writing style I am drawn to. It is easy to relate to the characters, and their emotions. This was a story about a forgotten woman, a mother, a writer, a forgotten family and many forgotten people throughout history that contributed to where we are today.

I can now say, after reading my first book by Helen Dunmore, I am truly an admirer of her writing.

To some this book may seem to dawdle, without enough excitement or drama, no character development. I felt that the characters developed well within the means of their own existence, their own environment appropriate for their time. Perhaps, someday someone will come across my name in same way and say; “Just who was this reviewer of books?" No one may ever know.

I received this ARC from Grove Atlantic through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.