I loved this book, everything about it! The setting, the characters, the pace, even the title is amazing, now that I think about it. I am so happy that I stumbled upon this book and I hope it reaches a lot of readers. This is good historical fiction to me!

Story is about Lizzie, married woman whose husband is building entrepreneur. We see glimpses of her previous upbringing and family life, so we understand that she grew up with a strong woman with great convictions about politics and women rights. Her life today with strong-willed and controlling husband is looking not so good compared to that. I loved that author didn't really show Diner's aggression, but we only had some funky vibes from him the whole time.

There were so many questions (all answered in the end) throughout the book, which just made me flip the pages even faster. The pace was even and this is, for me, a really good editing example.

If you enjoy reading a little about French revolution, more about family history and coming to exciting conclusions, I recommend you this book.

I received this ARC from netgalley.com in exchange for a review.

Set in the late 1790's, Europe is at the brink of political turmoil and social upheaval, life is violent. Lizzie is married to Diner who is a property developer. He believes that Lizzie’s independent, questioning spirit must be coerced and subdued. She belongs to him: law and custom confirm it, and she must live as he wants.

I just couldn't get into this book. It was slow moving and I didn't care about the characters.

2.5 stars rounded up to 3☆

I enjoyed this book. I liked the history of it and the feistiness of the female characters even though their actions were constrained by their times. I enjoy historical fiction especially British fiction. My only complaint was that the beginning of the story took place in current times but it never went back to it. I think I would have like to see more of a tie in between present and past. Thanks to #netgalley for the ARC.

This is the first book by Dunmore I've ever read and it is fabulous. It has the same claustrophobic, flat and disenchanted feel as Du Maurier's Rebecca - which perhaps sounds like I'm not really trying to sell the experience of this book but I absolutely am. That precise set up is very difficult to achieve but Dunmore does it with a few deft and apparently effortless touches. It is set in Bristol after the French Revolution - I've not read many books that deal with the aftermath of the revolution in other European countries so this was an eye opener. I don't think I ever considered the effects our close neighbour's revolution had o the UK.

Lizzie is a free spirited, intelligent and innocent girl who grew up in a radical family. Her conservative husband who is utterly loathsome, has a real fear and desire for her, believing that she must be controlled in all ways. This is almost classic 'she would be perfect if I could just change her' type mentality and it is sinister watching it take effect in this story. All the threads are drawn together steadily as the book progresses trapping the reader as effectively as the characters are also trapped in their unhealthy relationship. This is compulsive and thought provoking leading to a very satisfying conclusion. Highly recommend.

I have never read Helen Dunmore books prior to Birdcage Walk and I wanted to thank Netgalley and the publisher on the opportunity to review this amazing masterpiece.

The novel starts when a a long-lost headstone for Julia Elizabeth Fawkes is discovered. Research had resulted with few if any details, save that Julia was an author read by many, and the wife of Augustus Gleeson, a noticeable pamphlet writer of the late 18th century, a time when the French revolution was in its height and the reports of the bloody streets of Paris inflamed the anti-Monarchy British intellectuals such as himself.
When it was apparent that none of Julia’s Writings have survived, Dunmore took it upon herself to revive the old pioneer English woman writer, maybe seeing much of herself in her imaginary character. The story takes place in late 18th century Bristol, when amidst the speculation about war with France, the real-estate market has collapsed – sending the economy, the entrepreneurs and many workers to chaotic desperation.

The story (in Brief) is cleverly told by Lizzie Fawkes, now Mrs Tredevant, Julia’s sole daughter. Having brought up in a liberal house, encouraged to act and think for herself, to be opinionated and never timid, Julia has broken from that suffocating shelter that her family provided to marry a speculate called John Diner, a widower who has made a small fortune by building houses and has now undertook a grandiose project of building the houses overlooking the Bristol Avon Gorge.
As Lizzie discovers that not everything is as perfect as she had convinced herself, we learn about her husband’s jealous character, his endeavours which are slowly but surely going bust, and Lizzy’s warm relationship with her mother and Hannah (their servant and close friend from when she was an infant). The subplot is that of the French revolution, as perceived by random reports that make it in, whether by post or by newspapers, and how differently they are perceived by John Diner and by Augustus and his milieu.
This is an historical fiction, but branding it as such does it little justice. Dunmore has managed to bring life into characters that existed (or some have) in real life, with such intensity that makes you forget yourself, all set into motion from a small script on a headstone!

The shadow of Dunmore’s disease must have entwined this novel in grimness that is leaping out of the pages – but give this novel the true colour of life in England and Europe in the 18-1900s. It is a masterpiece, and I dare say – Dunmore will be missed.

DNF- I found the story to be too slow and it could not keep my attention. I was absolutely not the right reader for this book. I feel like someone who likes more of a slow burning read to take their time with will enjoy this one!

Told in beautiful prose, "Birdcage Walk" brings to life 18th century Bristol, radicalism, feminism and the consequences of the french revolution in both France and England - no mean feat in itself but Dunmore also manages to weave in love in its many forms, murder and bereavement. A really gripping novel.

This book has some serious promise but like other reviewers mention it feels like something is missing.

Lizzie Fawkes as a main character had some really great moments and some yawn moments. I wanted to FEEL more for her than I ended up feeling. Without feeling for the main character in a book like this it is hard to see the other characters as anything.

I want to feel the need to research and learn new things when I read historical fiction and ended this book feeling let down in that aspect. I had heard of this author before and was why wanted to read this book. I will try other books of hers.

Thanks Grove Atlantic and netgalley for this ARC.

Inspiring, unforgiving, and rage-inducing at parts. This novel will make you feel strong emotions and hopefully you'll have as strong a reaction to as I did.

In general, I enjoyed this book but there were a few times that I found myself disconnected with the story. I am glad I read it, and think some people will really like it, it just wasn't really for me.

This book is about a woman who was out walking her dog, Jack through an area known as the Birdcage Walk. In the Birdcage Walk is an Old English cemetery. Her dog starts digging in the graveyard and she stumbles upon the raised grave marker of Julia Elizabeth Fawkes. On the marker it leads us to believe that Julia is a writer and was admired by many. So she goes out to the local historian to find information on the Julia person but there is nothing to be had, instead she finds a bit of information on her husband Augustus Gleeson. The story then goes back to the time period of Julia but it's not told by Julia instead by a woman named Elizabeth also affectionately called Lizzie by her mother Mammie, friends, and husband Diner. The book is full of ups and downs for Lizzie, but she grows along the way. Things change drastically for her but she is a smart woman. Often though I found Lizzie to be too passive. She allows herself to taken in by her husband but he is not who she thought he was. She learns things but it's a little too late and has already invested a lot. She also loses a lot but gains some things also. It is also around the time of the French Revolution and her family has friends caught up in the fray.

I was in the middle of 'Birdcage Walk' when news came through of Helen Dunmore's sad and untimely death. I have followed her work since the early days of 'Zennor in Darkness'. Fortunate to hear her speak at a reader event. I was impressed by her erudition and grace.

What a stunning range: from historical novel, to Cold War thriller to ghost story. My particular favourites are 'A Spell of Winter' and 'House of Orphans'. I suspect 'Birdcage Walk', set in her beloved Bristol, will join them. After struggling a little with the dry tone of 'Exposure', I found it a real return to form.

Thank you, Helen. Your readers will miss you greatly.

Central to the story is a young married woman whose remote and mysterious husband does not encourage her close relationship with her mother. A tragedy occurs which only serves to bring her closer to her family and further from her husband. Set in Bristol at the end of the 18th Century, this features strong female characters. Excellent story written so expertly by Helen Dunmore. She will be sorely missed.

Birdcage Walk by Helen Dunmore follows the story of Lizzie Fawkes as she navigates through the turbulent time of the French Revolution. Though she lives in Bristol, England, her mother and step father are heavily interested and support the revolution drawing Lizzie in, much to her husband's disapproval. Her husband, John Diner Tredevant, remains an ominous threat to Lizzie, as his business ventures in the housing market begin to fail as the Revolution gains momentum.

Overall, this was not a bad book. It was well written and flowed well but I honestly wasn't captured. I felt like the time period of the French Revolution didn't add anything to the plot. Had it been set simply in the late 1700's without the historical context, it would have played just as well. The only thing it added was the feminist perspective on the French Revolution since Lizzie's mother wrote political articles.
I was expected a much greater "thriller" style book and it wasn't. There was a tease of a murder but that seemed to be an afterthought. There was no cohesive build to the reveal of who and how so ultimately, I didn't care as much when the reveal happened.. The character of Diner was well written in his creepy bi-polar personality since was good.. The characters were all well written, and I enjoyed how even the more minor characters were fleshed out.
My other disappointment was that the book was not bookended with the opening scene. The story begins in present day with this girl walking her dog into the cemetery and coming across the grave of Julia Fawkes, Lizzie's mother. She's curious so she goes and researches it. But that's it. That's the last that we hear of the character and that kind of irked me a little bit. I felt unsettled with that ending. Either that beginning wasn't necessary or it just needed to come back around and be referenced again.

Overall, it wasn't a bad book. I enjoyed the drama of it and the characters were great. My disappointment was in the parts that could have been omitted and it would have made no difference to the story.

Enjoy Helen Dunmore's writing but felt this book did not flow as well as some of her previous stories. Felt the introduction did not necessarily flow well into the actual story and it plodded in several places. I enjoyed the historical references but not being a French speaker found the lack of translation irritating. On the whole I felt it was not one of her best.

I fell in love with Helen Dunmore some two decades ago when I read a book of short stories called The love of fat men - as often happens with first love it can burn brightly and fade away, that's what happened and since then I've often struggled to even listen to audio versions of some of her recent work. So it was with some trepidation I entered Birdcage Walk.
It was a clunky start and the haste of motion from the main male (but weirdly feminine perspective) of the main character, in having an idea to the pursuance of it felt forced - this clunkyness melted entirely away when the text jumped to 1789. Dunmores usual enigmatic style kicked in at this point and I was hooked.

At the 17% mark and the characters have intrigued me but the plot and message of the book remain elusive.I'm not a fan of time hopping fiction and I'm kind of dreading returning to the present which I guess is inevitable as that's where the story begins.

By 25 % I can't put this book down. Every character has a life, feelings, backstory and purpose. Lizzie glues it all together from her small world view showing a much broader world perspective and insight than she is credited for by any of the subsidiary characters.

Reaching the 78% mark leaves me feeling sad at the passing of Helen Dunmore this week and marvelling at her ability to draw me in to a story that has political parallels of startling coincidence to the times we live in now. Hopefully no one will be beheaded, but the divisions brought forth by the Brexit vote and general election are mirrored in the opposing viewpoints of Diner and Augustus beautifully and poignantly.

What a great loss to the world Helen Dunmore is.
This book is a triumph, beautifully observed and constructed, a fitting legacy from a great great literary voice.

I read this exquisite novel and finished it the day after I learnt of Helen Dunmore’s death. The news has tinged my reading of the novel and I read ever more deeply into it. She writes in the afterword that after she finished writing and editing this book she was diagnosed with a serious illness; unconsciously she has worked in personal layers into her novel.

This novel deals with death and how one lives on (or doesn’t) after the death of loved ones. It is incredibly sad and poignant in retrospect and one can’t help feeling sad for Dunmore’s family and friends. But, unlike Julia, Dunmore will live on in her writings.

I have had a literary crush on Dunmore ever since I came across ‘A Spell of Winter’ many years ago and have since then devoured everything she has written – be it poetry or prose. The sensuality in her writing is always present – she manages to take you back in different historical periods (or not) with apparent ease, all five senses ablaze and buzzing.

‘Birdcage Walk’ was no different. I loved all the characters in this novel. She captures the complexity of human nature so profoundly. I particularly loved her rendition of the complexity of John Diner and Lizzie’s passion for him. Dunmore has created another Heathcliffe and in spite of the danger bubbling under the surface, she creates a credible comprehension of just why Lizzie married him and loves him (but also fears him). This is a story of marriage, of grief and the cycle of life: death and birth are tightly intertwined.

Helen Dunmore’s deft handling of language is always surprising to me. I am in awe of how she plays with language of the period of time; her depictions of nature and people read like poetry.

‘Birdcage Walk’ is another absolutely excellent novel by Helen Dunmore. One I will be re-reading again soon.

There is a dark tension about Birdcage Walk by Helen Dunmore. This historical thriller/mystery is set in the radical community of Bristol at the end of the 18th century.

Lizzie Fawkes' mother Julia is an iconic pamphleteer in the radical politics of the time, Lizzie moved from town to town with her mother and stepfather until they settled in Bristol where she met her husband John Diner Tredevant, a builder and developer. As the story unfolds, Lizzie's husband and mother pull her in different directions while uncertainty gnaws at the reader.

The period and setting are fascinating, the dark tension is pervasive from early on and builds to a good climax but overall there was something contrived and unsatisfying about Birdcage Walk

I almost gave up this book due to the slowness of the first half, but could not abandon it, and I'm glad I continued. The second half sped up, and I will think about this book for a while.

At the beginning, we learn that a man has killed a woman and buried her body on an island across the river. Next, we meet Lizzy, young wife to Diner, who is building some luxurious houses overlooking the Gorge in Bristol. Lizzy's mother Julia is married to Augustus, and they are eagerly following the progress of the French revolution with a group of friends. Julia dies in childbirth and Lizzy brings her half brother home to raise him, despite Diner's objection. Diner feels the revolution is bad for his business and he is right, no one wants to buy his beautifully built homes and they sit forlornly on the cliff, empty and roofless. As Diner loses more and more of his business and cannot raise funds to carry on, Lizzy begins to fear him, but refuses to let him see it. This culminates in a cold morning on the Avon River.

I was disappointed that the present day man who had adopted a dog from the prelude did not reappear at the end of the book. I thought he would. I learned while reading this book that the author had just died and had finished the book after learning of her illness. This book set a moodiness over me while reading it, and as I said, I will think of it often. Thanks to Net Galley for a free preview copy.