Formal review to come. Will be cross posted on the usual forums (Amazon, BN, Goodreads, and Amazon UK).

Pretty good, nice writing.  The ending was a little underwhelming.

How ill we remember those we never knew?  Tragically the author Helen Dunmore died earlier this year so Birdcage Walk was her last novel.  How sad such a beautiful story will be her last.
Place and time are important and we begin today with a dog walker coming upon a gravestone for Julia Fawkes in the wooded area in Bristol where centuries ago building had begun on ambitious and beautiful houses. Because of political upheaval following the French Revolution and an economic crash due to war they were then left in ruins.
The novel then heads back to meet Julia's daughter Lizzie, now married to the property developer John Diner Tredevant who is building their own home alongside the villas of Birdcage Walk. Lizzie's mother and stepfather Augustus are radical supporters of Thomas Paine and write pamphlets which to many (including Lizzie's husband) are seen as seditious.
Lizzie is still close to her mother, especially when she discovers her mother is with child again at a late age.Times are generally in flux and disturbances abroad and within the working world of her husband cause Lizzie to question all those around her. Secrets are uncovered which (right from the beginning of the novel) we must seek to unravel as Lizzie finds her life and the city around her closing in to threaten her future.
I found this a brilliant read. It sets events in France in the context of a family in Bristol with emotional and intellectual belief.  The plot is cleverly explored and often takes unexpected turns but you feel drawn into the tight world of Lizzie and those she loves.
Such a shame there will be no more from the author.

Wonderful descriptions of Bristol at the time of great builders . Contrast shown between rich and poor lives. Minor characters given as much importance in their portrayal as the main characters. We follow Lizzie in her search for the truth of her husband's previous wife's death. Diner is portrayed as both attractive and dark ,a dangerous man. Lizzie as a naive woman strongly influenced by those around her.. 
Sad to know this was Helen Dunsmore's last novel.

This was a fascinating novel about a time in history I was entirely unfamiliar with. I enjoyed the characters and the ominous feeling that was laced throughout the entire book. I just found it a little slow in some parts, especially the beginning.

A quiet novel, yet buzzing with life, Birdcage Walk is a landmine of a tale on the human experience. When I say 'quiet'—I mean it. Like humming. Like a whisper. Like a story being relayed secretly in a dark room. In fact, its slow nature made me afraid that it would dip into the realm of boring, but it never did. It moved along with increasing and surprising urgency. 

The narrator, Elizabeth, is not terribly young in age, but incredibly naïve in spirit and awareness. So, we almost have a bildungsroman here, as she grows and changes in small ways throughout the book. Her eyes open and she finds her voice all while being surrounded by a mystery she slowly comes to acknowledge.

Despite its slower pace, I was pleased to find this story an incredibly engaging one with broad, expansive characters and fully realized settings. The atmosphere is tight, constrained, and claustrophobic, as written by Dunmore, pressing down on the reader as Lizzie stumbles her way through this astoundingly important time in her life. 

This is a deep and moving novel with the French Revolution and the events leading up to France declaring war on England as the backdrop. Despite that heavy time in history serving as the background, the focus remains on Lizzie throughout the book. However, Lizzie's mother, Julia, is the reason we dive into the story. 

The novel opens with a man and his dog discovering the grave marker for Julia Fawkes. This man learns that Julia was a pamphleteer in England during the time leading up to the French Revolution. All her work has been lost, and even we as the readers never discover more than a tiny snippet of her writing ability. 

This novel's author, Helen Dunmore died of cancer earlier this year, and I love that there's an afterword in her own voice about her experience writing this book. There's something very poignant about this author writing about another writer whose words have been lost. 

A beautifully and intimately written historical fiction novel with dashes of suspense, mystery, coming-of-age, and drama all rolled into one.

I have enjoyed Helen Dunmore's novels in the past and was looking forward to reading her latest historical story.  Set in the 1790's it depicts the uncertain times in Europe, the loss of the monarchy in France and the financial instability in England.  With politics and finance intertwined with inequality and radical thinking this novel had the ingredients of an unputdownable read. Sadly for me the story line stuttered and I found it difficult to maintain interest in the characters.  
Maybe for me this is a book to come back to in a few years to try again.

This historical novel is a slow starter building on the descriptions of characters and the scenery of 18th century South England. As the book went on I found myself drawn further into the characters and the dark undertones of a story to be told.

An enjoyable book with good depth and I would recommend it.

The setting for this book really drew me to read it. The book gives the feel of that time and transports you back to late 18th century. I enjoyed it, although it was long.

Lizzie and Diner have recently married. Lizzie is learning her new role as Diner’s wife, while Diner is busy trying to make his real estate development business take off. It’s the 1790’s and there is revolution in France. When Lizzie’s mother becomes pregnant, her loyalties are torn and trouble begins to brew in Lizzie’s mind. Will world events upset Diner’s carefully laid plans? Will Lizzie be able to come to terms with the specter of Diner’s first wife, who died before they met? 

This is a complex and delicious story. I really loved the characters that are created here. Lizzie is a delightful young lady who is doing her best to adjust to a husband who is perhaps more demanding than she anticipated. Diner is a bit strange and sometimes I liked him but other times not so much. The mystery of the first wife adds a lot of interest and drama to the story. Basically, I loved this story and highly recommend it.

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.

I really wanted to like this book but unfortunately found it fairly plodding. Lizzie's relationship with her controlling husband, who bumped off his first wife, is tense and disturbing as you would imagine and the sense of threat makes for nervous reading but so much of the book is devoted to discussion of the French revolution and debate over the politics of it. The character-driven parts of the novel were strong but I feel that a lot of the discussion of the distant revolution (the book never takes us there so it is always abstract) could have been cut back and improved the book no end. I did find myself eager to read more about the characters' relationships. My favourite parts were Lizzie's interactions with baby Thomas, her maid Philo and her stepfather Augustus, all of whom were painted well.

I typically really enjoy historical fiction, but with Birdcage Walk, did not learn much about the French Revolution times, nor were the characters very interesting to me.  The most interesting storyline was when Lizzie's mother had a baby. Sorry to say that I pretty much had to force myself to finish it.

Birdcage Walk by Helen Dunmore

Title: Birdcage Walk
Author: Helen Dunmore
Published: Nov 17
Publisher: Atlantic Monthly Press
Pages: 416
Price on Amazon: Paperback: £3.85 Kindle: £4.99
ISBN: 97808021227143

She is his property, law and custom says so.

It's 1972, the French Revolution is well underway and Lizzie Fawkes has grown up in radical circles. Recently married to John Diner Tredevant who is a property developer heavily invested in the Bristol housing boom and is set to lose everything with the social upheaval from the prospect of war on the horizon. 

Diner is determined to squish his wives independent and questioning nature by coercion and forcing her to live as he wishes. His passion for Lizzie deepens to the darkest parts of the human soul and soon Lizzie finds herself in grave danger.

I got the book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. To be honest I got half way through this book felt nothing had happened yet. I must admit I was bored by this point. I gave up on the book so therefore am unable to give a full review. 
This book was an extremely slow book and it did not engage me in any way. I found I kept waiting for something to happen but it never did. therefore I am only able to give this book a single star rating as I won't be recommending this book nor will I be rereading it again.


Reviews for this book can be found on:
Amazon under Lu's Reviews
Goodreads,
Net Galley,
My Blogs at www.lu-ellensreadingandreviewingblog....
www.lusreviewsblog.wordpress.com

Links to this review can be found on:
Twitter: @lusreviews
Facebook: @lusreviews 
Instagram: lusreviews
Tumblr: lusreviewsblog
Flikr: Lu's Reviews

Loved it! The impact at the end when the writer realized she'd gotten sick while writing the book gave me chills. A very interesting story. The philosophy got a bit over my head at times but a good solid read.

This author had come recommended and I was keen to read this latest novel by her. The story is one of my favorite genres, historical fiction with a healthy dash of suspense. I liked the author's language and the way the story moved as well as the well-researched historical details. I felt for Lizzie , though I was almost frustrated at times because Diner was so controlling. It was a story I found both unsettling and compelling and I am sad to learn it was Helen Dunmore's last book. I will recommend it!

Helen Dunmore was a prolific writer of both children's and adult fiction. She sadly passed away recently after a battle with cancer. Birdcage Walk was her last work of fiction. She states at the end of the book that even though she knew she was ill during the writing of the book, she didn't realise how ill. I think that once I knew this, I myself became aware of the many mentions of mortality, and how you are remembered after you die, and this may have affected my enjoyment of it. It was very dark and sombre - I can't say morbid, because that would infer I took no enjoyment out of it. I found the first half of the book slightly laborious; I was willing for something to happen. It wasn't until about the second half that I began to race through it a bit quicker.

The story is set in Bristol, while in France the French Revolution is under way. Lizzie's husband, Diner, is a builder and he is working on a terrace of upmarket houses overlooking the Avon Gorge. However, is business is bleak, and is set to become bleaker as the Revolution in France spreads its terror across Europe. Meanwhile, Lizzie's mother and stepfather take a keen interest in the actions of the revolutionaries, being careful not to speak out loud where their loyalties lie. With Diner spiralling into bankruptcy, depression and jealousy, how can Lizzie escape the inevitability of the crisis that is looming?

Please make sure you also read Helen Dunmore's 'Exposure'. It is a brilliant story of blackmail, lies and deception.

This novel is beautifully written, quite lyrical in places.  It was of particular interest as it was set in Bristol.  The characters were well drawn and I did feel drawn into the story..  I am not sure how much the sideline of the French Revolution added to it.

I think this may be Helen Dunmore's finest novel yet. As always, the atmosphere, settings and characters were beautifully created. Eighteenth century Bristol was vividly real and obviously very well researched. The principal characters in the novel were practically breathing through the pages. John Diner was brought to life so realistically I felt a genuine sense of unease during the passages spent with his wife, Lizzie. 
Unsettling, beautiful, this is a novel that will stay with me for quite some time.

I have very mixed feelings about this book. It's undoubtedly well written, but it just didn't go anywhere for me and had an odd mood to it. As one of the other reviewers said, the whole thing is given away in the prologue chapters, so there were no surprises and no real revelation of why the characters did what they did, especially Diner, or any psychological insight, for me anyway.
As I read somewhere that the author said, she wasn't aware of her illness until the editing stage of the book, but wondered if she knew unconsciously that she was dying. It might explain the off feeling I had about it.
Not for me then, but I have enjoyed the other books of hers that I have read, especially Exposure.