I thoroughly enjoyed this piece of escapism and my time out from a hectic world. The story grabs you from the outset and pulls you in and the storytelling really made it worth reading. Characterisation was on point and I know I will be looking out for new publications from this author or similar reads in the future. A recommended read.

Set in Georgian London, the book follows the lives of three people: Anne, a young woman forced into prostitution in order to escape a violent stepfather; Tuah, captured by Dutch slavers and brought to England by the captain of a trading ship; and aspiring writer, Thomas De Quincey. Their parallel stories are told in alternating chapters, in the first person in the case of Anne and Tuah, and in the third person in the case of Thomas.

Thomas comes across as naïve and something of a dreamer, creating imaginary worlds in which everyday practicalities do not exist. As Anne later observes, ‘He looked at the world but all he ever saw was his own strange thoughts’. In fact, imaginary worlds are something of a theme of the book. For example, Anne, focussing on a stain on the ceiling of her dingy room, imagines herself on a ship travelling the seas to distract herself whilst servicing customers. Meanwhile, Tuah has dreams in which he is back on the island of his birth, an island he doesn’t even know the name or location of. At other times, he loses himself in books.

For much of the book, the lives of Thomas, Anne and Tuah unfold quite separately with only the occasional ‘near miss’ or the revealing of a shared acquaintance with a third party. Gradually, their lives begin to interconnect more significantly. One connection between them is opium. The naval captain who brought Tuah to London was involved in the opium trade whilst Anne and Thomas both become consumers of the drug in the form of laudanum. For Anne, initially this is to relieve physical pain but increasingly it becomes a refuge, a way to distance herself from what she is forced to endure. For Thomas, it’s a way to escape the harsh realities of his existence which has left him homeless and penniless. However, as Thomas discovers, excessive use of the drug can unearth nightmarish memories.

Although I thought Thomas and Tuah were wonderful characters, my favourite was Anne. I loved her fortitude and determination, despite all the disappointments and obstacles thrown in her way. ‘I would find a ledge to stand on and keep standing there, whatever winds might buffet, whatever rain might fall.’ I also liked the distinctive, spirited voice the author created for her, describing her first client as ‘a great fat, red-faced gundiguts with lips as thick as rope and eyes like a pig’. Having fallen so low herself, she offers Thomas a lifeline just when he needs it most and is rewarded with the prospect of a different future.

I loved the way the author created a vivid picture of the London of the period: its sights, sounds… and smells. With the eyes and ears of a newcomer, Tuah likens the hubbub of the city to bees at work in a giant hive. ‘A great welter of human voices and animal cries all mixed up with the trundling of cart wheels, the grinding of stone, the hammering of metal, the banging of timber and the mighty creaking and groaning of all those buildings as the restless population swarmed back and forth in their constant frenzy of activity.’ Or how about this description of London in the heat of June: ‘The nights were sticky, full of the smells of the city: beer and dung, smoke and tallow, meat and tar, bread and grease, blood and fish and, hanging over everything, the great stink of the river’.

I had heard of Thomas De Quincey but knew little about his life and, although The Alphabet of Heart’s Desire is fiction, much of it is based on known facts, as the author’s historical note explains. Anne existed in real life too although she quickly disappears from the historical record. So, as well as the author’s own imagining of how things may have played out for her, there’s also space for the reader to reach their own conclusion.

The Alphabet of Heart’s Desire is a wonderfully imagined story that blends fact and fiction, and positively oozes period atmosphere.

Unfortunately, I found this book very difficult to get into. I have attempted it twice but for me I really struggled to connect with the characters and the story. There have been some lovely reviews of this book but for me it just wasn't meant to be.

I enjoyed this read a lot. It gave wonderful insight into the lives that go on behind closed door, in the depths of back alleys and side street, that the middle and upper classes don't know of. How people do all they can to just get by. Thomas de Quincy is a writer, middle class and doing quite well until his fortunes change and he falls out with his family. He is rescued from this destitute life on the streets buy a young prostitute who nourishes him and nurtures him back to health. A relationship develops between them and love blossoms. A relationship also grows with Tuah who was captured and brought to England as a slave from the colonies. I enjoyed the description of the friends and how they friendship blossomed. I was enlightened by the descriptions of London in the 1800s, of the sights and smells and of the length some went to to exist, to survive and to forget about the hardships they suffer. The characters were well chosen and well written as was this book. I highly recommend it.

Thank you Holland House and Netgalley for an ARC of this book.

I don’t read a lot of historical fiction but this book has potentially changed this, so long as other authors can be nearly as good.
The book completely captured me and transported me to a different time period, teaching lots of things about London and this period that I didn’t know. Thank you for providing me a copy of this book to review and thank you for enticing me to a different genre.

This was different - I really enjoyed it. I do love reading about the DIary of an Opium Eater, I think the essay and the author are so interesting as they allow a perspective into a bygone time. This book did the same for me, it fit right in with all the other information and was written very well. I recommend it!

Couldn't read everything. It was way too boring. Not my kind of literature an won't try to read it again

This was an extremely engaging and enjoyable read. I would rate it 4.5 stars if I could! Set mostly in London in the early 1800’s, the book is a fictionalized account of Tomas De Quincey, an author best known for his book "The Confessions of an English Opium-Eater”. As you can guess, opium and its consumption are woven throughout the book. The book tells the story of three main characters from vastly different backgrounds whose lives collide, and intersect. Through this intersection the author captures the era which is a contradiction of gentility and coarseness, creates characters you care about and keeps the story moving forward. I found myself reading late into the night and early into the morning! I felt privileged to receive a free copy of this book from NetGally and the publisher Holland House in exchange for an honest review. It is a book I thoroughly enjoyed reading and would absolutely recommend!

This book was the first piece of historical fiction that I had read in a really long time! I found the premise incredibly interesting and enjoyed the Thomas's journey into London and discovering all the different parts that would typically be hidden from the average person.

This is a multi-layered story set in 1802 London with three main protagonists - Tuah, Anne and Thomas. The novel is conveyed in POV chapters which I really enjoyed. The story involved prostitution, slavery and opium - all the components of the seedy London underbelly of that time. But it also involved deeply realized characters that you come to empathize with even at their worst. I didn't realize until the end that the story was loosely based on real events and that Thomas de Quincy was an English essayist, best known for his Confessions of an English Opium-Eater, which also sounds like an interesting read. I thought this novel was well done up until the end which was a bit too abrupt. I didn't find Tuah's and Anne's ending believable but it was sweet and somewhat expected. There were also a few unanswered questions and loose ends such as why the sister(s) died and whether a certain person sent a certain bank draft. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys historical fiction, especially fiction set in London.

I honestly didn't make it past the first few chapters of this book. The rape of two children in the first two chapters of the book was too much for me. The predominant feeling was despair, but it was simply too dark for me to continue further to see if things improved.

I'm giving it 3 stars because the writing itself was effective, it was just the subject that I couldn't get into.

First of all i absolutely loved this cover and the color that was chosen.

Its a story told by three main characters.

As historical fiction goes it is incredibly well written and it keeps you interested throughout.

4 stars

This was one of those books that when I first picked it up I couldn't get into it so I put it aside to give it another try later... Of course lots of other books got in the way but when I finally decided to give it another try, I couldn't work out why I didn't dive straight into it the first time as this time it completely captivated me instantly.

It's an excellent historical novel, don't let the fact that its based on a real character from history whom you may or may not (as in my case) have heard of, put you off.

Its really 3 interconnected stories which cross over and each one is a story in its own right. The one I liked most was the story of Anna, a young woman forced by circumstances to become a prostitute, which reads a little like The Crimson Petal and The White. The second is the story of Tuah or Abdul, captured as a slave from his island home and brought to England by a series of mishaps. The third and least interesting to me is that of the real character Thomas de Quincy, a dreamy little fellow who never quite amounts to much and ends up addicted to laudanum, and I didn't really like him if I'm honest.

All these characters have a real story to be told and their paths cross (and criss-cross) and the detailed and intricate settings of the back streets of old London, accompanied by the noise and smells and crime therein is what makes it a joy to read for the historical would-be time traveller like me.

Superbly written and delightfully readable I highly recommend this book.

Historical fiction, written with a lot of style and wit. A dedicated reader of this genre would get the most out of the book. The evocation of time and place is transportive, to say the least, though I didn't find myself engaged enough with the characters or their interactions. Lovers of historical fiction might find this an otherwise wonderful, mind-opening read

A poignant story about the changes of fortune in London's early 1800s. Thomas de Quincey is not prepared for the twists and turns that his life will take. Set to life a comfortable life of gentry, study, and ease, it is to his surprise that he is destitute and turned away from the life he has always knows. The loss of his sister, and being shunned from his family opens Thomas' eyes to another world he had never know. There he meets Anne, a prostitute who has known nothing but hardship, and Tuah, a captured black man who now works in service of his former captain. The lives of these three characters is interwoven on the gritty and dangerous streets of London. A clear picture of the tragic, opium ridden, and desperate Victorian age is exacting and precisely written. A great read for fans of historical fiction related to a real historical character.

It was the titele of the book that drew me to it but I honestly did not expect much other than an interesting read. Was I wrong or what?! This is a book which stays with you long after you read it (i am writing the review more than a week later). Three main characters, each starkly different, yet each one faces the ordeals of a difficult life in much the same way - by fighting and learning to survive. And that is the beauty of this book, though it tells a sad story it also reinforces faith in the fortitude of the human spirit. Perhaps the most disappointing character was that of Thomas de quincey, the essayist, who met the love of his life but let the connivance of others take her away and later became an opium addict (about which he has written a book too). Thank you @netgalley (#netgalley) and the publishers for giving me this absolutely engrossing book to read. The author has all my respect and admiration for the exemplary writing.

I absolutely adored this novel! I felt like I could relate in many ways and it had great depth to it thaf you don't find a lot these days. The only reason I am giving this title a 4.5 is because the ending wasn't the best or better yet fell a little short but still would recommend it!😁🧚‍♂️

I enjoyed reading this book. It was very well written, with the language and descriptions drawing in the reader. The storyline was also interesting, the characters and their backgrounds were varied and relevant to the era of the novel. The language used was both true to the period but still very easily read.

My main gripe with this book was the ending, I found it flat and a bit disappointing. I know it was based on a true story but for the purposes of a novel I thought it could have a better conclusion, even if it was made up!

Thank you for the opportunity to read this book

The story is told from the points of view of three people who meet at different points in their lives. There's Anne, the teenage girl who flees home. there's Tuah who was captured by the Dutch and sold as a slave, and there's Thomas middle class man, who'll become the writer Thomas the Quincey.
The blurb promises a meeting between Thomas and Anne, whereby Anne saves Thomas's life. This does not happen until the middle of the book. The slow progress of the book made it a bit tiresome to read and made me wonder how the three people are connected for a long time.

If you are interested in the life of people in London in the 19th century this might be for you. If you are looking for a fast paced historical novel, look elsewhere.

This book was fabulous. The characters were well developed and realistic. The book was exciting and It kept me engaged until the very last page. I loved it!