The strange adventures of H, is the story of a strong, resilience and intelligent woman who lived in the 17th. She had not an peaceful life, but she is smart, learns to survive and forge her own path, she becomes the owner of her own life.

It feels almost like a biography. The stories start when H its a child, she lived with her father and sisters in a little town, when her father dies, her life will change, she with one of her sister will move to London. Her aunt adores them and H is fascinated with the city, she will had the opportunity to learn to read and become a young lady. But soon her life will change again, it's the year 1665, a year full of disasters. But soon her life will change again, it's the year 1665, a year full of disasters. Second: Great Plague of London. Here is when the story turns up very dramatic.

The title is perfect for the story; such a life have H, one day fortune smiles at her, the next day everything collapses. The characters feels very real, and appropriately historical, as well as the writing style, almost feels like reading some classic novel. It is a story that shows us how hard life could be in the 17th century. And the few options a woman had. H will prove that she ambitious and independent, she will live by her rules and not someone else’s, survival is a matter of skills and wit.

PS: I adore the cover, so beautiful and clever.

If I could give this book more stars I would. It was a sheer joy to read from start to finish.
It was full of drama, angst, thrills, sadness and equal happiness. One minute I was fearing for her life but the next applauding her for her bravery and survival.
I felt like I was experiencing everything H did the entire time, and now I feel emotional towards the end.
Honestly this was a fantastic piece of historical fiction that I am very honored to have read pre-publication.

The Strange Adventures of H by Sarah Burton
This is a rollicking adventure set around the time of the Great Fire of London and tells the story of H. She is brought up by her dour, religious father who shows no compassion when one of his daughters finds herself pregnant. He turns her out and she is left to fend for herself.
Upon his untimely demise the rest of the family are forced to appeal to their relatives to show charity towards them. H and her sister find themselves living in London with their kindly aunt. But life does not run smoothly for H first the household succumbs to plague and then they are devastated by fire.
H uses her womanly wiles to support herself and she proves herself to be a strong, liberated, intelligent, formidable character. The author describes the character is such a way to make her leap off the pages and you find yourself fully involved in the roller coaster ride which is her life.
The period is finely evoked and you are drawn along to the brilliant resolution to H’s Adventures. It is a boisterous and lively story which is at turns tragic, funny, exciting and poignant. I would recommend this to those who enjoy historical novels with strong female characters. Many thanks to Sarah Burton, Legend Press and Net Galley for a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

This is the story of H she doesn't know what the H stands for, she's never asked and she's never been told. Her mother died giving birth to her, her strict father died when she was in her early teens. H and her sister went to Live with her aunt in London as servants but her kind Aunt just wanted the girls company.

The story is set in London around the time of the plauge in the 1600's. Its was strikingly similar to covid times. I was drawn to H from the start. Rather naive it gave her so much charm. I did feel for her and what happened. Her cousin was an absolute monster. I loved how it was written, as if direct from H. Awful events happen but we are spared a lot of the details because it is written this way.

I stopped reading this ebook after three chapters and bought the paperback version. This book is one of those books you just need on your bookcase. The cover is beautiful, I didn't notice the skulls amongst the roses on the ebook. Absolutely loved it.

A fun, unexpected book. Very timely read, with everything going on in the world. Loved it! I fell absolutely in love with H and her tenacity. Would love to read more from this author.

Majestic narrative historical fiction covering historical events that sometimes feel eerie in their similarities to current times. H is a wonderful heroine that perseveres through unspeakable hardships. Very enjoyable. More people should be talking about this book!

I adored this book! H was an amazing character and the historical detail was great. There was humour and sadness and all through it I was rooting for H to end up happy and content.

It reminded me of The Illumination of Ursula Flight who is one of my favourite literary heroines.

An excellent historical fiction read.

It was quite surreal reading a book about the plague during Covid times. I identified with the fear and the want to protect and the need to survive. There was an enjoyable justice that happened to some of the unsavoury characters. The descriptions were so vivid, I could actually picture how the fires of London looked and smelt.

Magical.

Historical Fiction of dreams! Set in 1665 & 1666 we follow our protagonist ‘H’ on her journey of survival through London during The Great Plague & The Great Fire of London. Packed full of historical knowledge, there were so many aspects to the fire and the plague that I wasn’t aware of. H is the most likeable character, I couldn’t help but love her.

I love Historical Fiction, so that was a good starting point. The story is set in London in the mid 1650s. It is about a girl called H, the youngest of 6 daughters. On the death of her father, she and her sisters were orphaned. Her Aunt Madge took both H and her sister Evelyn to live with her. Everything goes smoothly until her twin cousins arrive home from school. Roger is not a pleasant character and after bad behaviour to H, he throws her out in the street. So it is a story of survival and the lengths to which she had to go in order to survive. It tells of her fortunes during the Plague and also then the great fire of London. The description of Plague victims and their quarantine is reminiscent of our lockdown for covid 19 today. It is said history repeats itself. Throughout the book I was rooting for H and her friends and loved her ability to overcome all her difficulties.
My thanks to NetGalley for an eARC copy, to Sarah Burton and to Legend Press.

This was an enjoyable look at the plague and the great fire of London. H is the youngest sister of a family of girls who is sent to live with her aunt in London following the death of her father.

Things then take a turn for the worse and H is turned out onto the streets of London. She has a good survival instinct and level of determination and meets a colourful cast of characters.

Really loved this book. All the characters are very well written.

H my never know her name, but despite all the hardships coming her way, she makes her way through life and I loved her as a character.

If you are a sensitive reader this may not be the book for you, but if you can make it through this read (even if with tear-filled eyes), you will be glad to have read it.

I enjoyed meeting the characters in this book slightly more than the story, but I have no doubt that anyone who loves historical fiction will enjoy this thoroughly!

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this!

A wonderful novel full of historical details, well drawn characters and a stunning plot
To be enjoyed without moderation

Many thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this wonderful book

‘The Strange Adventures of H’ follows H through her life in 18th century England, and sees the impact of the plague and then the Great Fire of London on her life, and on those closest to her. Throughout these trying times, H fights to stay alive and to stay herself, something which becomes harder and harder with each path she chooses, and sees her happy ending moving further out of her grasp.
I really enjoyed this debut novel and would recommend for fans of historical fiction. I did feel there was a bit of a slump in the mid part of the book, which is why I gave four stars instead of five, but absolutely still worth the read. I will be watching out for more books by Sarah Burton!

Thank you to Netgalley for a free ARC of this book, which I received in exchange for an honest review.

Quite interesting but I kept feeling as though I'd read it before and the ending was a little disjointed. Ok but not amazing.

H. has never known her full name. After her father has died, her five sisters all go their own way. H. and her sister Evelyn go to live with their caring aunt in London. Once there, her nephew rapes her and a deadly plague strikes down, killing one third of the town's population. Orphaned, homeless and pregnant H. needs to survive on her own strength. But her adventure has only just begun.

The strange adventures of H is a fun historical novel with a modern twist. We follow the adventures of H., a young Englishwoman born into poverty who, after some dramatic personal events, needs to sell her body to survive. And 17th century London proves quite a challenge: from a devastating plague summer, the Great Fire of 1666 to the Shrove Tuesday riots. This novel offers a vivid historical setting for anyone interested in the Restoration period.

But what I liked most about this book wasn't the setting. The characters make this book. They are almost caricatures, whereas the plot is a web of coincidences. The narrator even admits this during the story and jeers at the implausibleness of certain events. Normally, this would put me off. But Sarah Burton possesses such an own voice in her writing that it kept me hooked until the end.

The book is divided into three parts corresponding the development H. goes through as a person: the shy H., seductive Doll and confident Halycon. I liked H. most of the times, despite being very naive (but she's still so young in the biggest part of the book). 'Her adventures' bring her in touch with many different persons. Some you'll love instantly, others you'll loathe. I was quite satisfied with the ending and am curious if Burton plans to write another novel about one of the other sisters.

This isn't the story I'll remember for ages. But I'll look out for more books of this author in the future. She's a new voice in the genre who offers straightforward historical entertainment. And sometimes that's all you need (especially during a global pandemic).

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher to provide me with a copy of this book in return for my honest opinion.

H is for Hannah, Henrietta, Hephzibah, Huldah, Hagar…? Who knows, but what we do know is that this is a romping yarn that sweeps us along through the two great disasters that hit London in the 17th century, with H’s personal and family disasters the thread linking the two.

The Civil War casts a long shadow and England under Charles II is not the jolly place one might imagine. The novel is similar to the sinners’ autobiographies, which were very popular at the time. In a similar way to Daniel Defoe’s Moll Flanders, parson’s daughter H is a survivor who copes with whatever life throws at her. We know from her elder sister Grace’s experience that a woman’s reputation is fragile. But not for H any repining after being raped by a cousin thinking she will cure him of VD; she neatly splits herself in two, distancing herself psychologically from her alter ego Doll to subsist by turning to the obvious profession open to friendless women with no marketable skills.

Interestingly, the novel is set at a time when more opportunities were opening up to women, albeit only to a few. One of the characters we meet is Nell Gwynn, for whom Dryden wrote plays to exploit her talents as a comic actress. It all helps to build a rounded picture of post-Restoration London.

While sometimes the coincidences in the story appear a little too neat, such as when H’s dog recognises her scent and causes her to be saved from committing suicide, we accept them as part of living in a relatively small community of rogues, villains and ladies of the night frequenting the same pleasure palaces.

In summary, I really enjoyed this novel. I found myself looking forward to having time to read about H’s next adventure.

At first it took me a while to get into this book, but the characters were easy to follow and you could feel empathy with H, the main character. The cast of characters grew and expanded and you could see their faces in the story, so I kept reading and by the end, I was cheering for certain characters and sneering at others. I liked it!

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of this book. This review is my own view on the book.

”It often felt as though it was a daily battle merely to stop ourselves running mad.”

The Strange Adventures of H is an immersive, deeply atmospheric tale of a young girl in 17th century London, whose life crumbles before her eyes in a devastating series of heartbreaks, and her efforts to rise above her circumstances. Pregnant, homeless, and alone, H finds herself embroiled in a life of prostitution to make ends meet.

”I knew that once I had sold my clothes and my hair there was nothing left but my body itself.”

Sarah Burton’s world-building prose begins with an authentic 17th century voice, evoking a sense of reading a narrative actually written during that time period, and is crowned by her evocative descriptions of London’s grimy, plague-ridden streets and scandalous “bawdy houses.” Clearly well-researched, there is much to appreciate here, especially for fans of historical fiction.

”I saw the city as it really was, as it really had become, and it seemed to me as a vision of Purgatory. Scenes of horror and desperation met me at every turn.”

Burton has penned a true testament to the capacity of the human heart to weather an unfathomable amount of pain and loss. The title character, H, is orphaned, unwanted, and beleaguered by loss, betrayal, and hurts of every kind. Truthfully, the heartbreak became too much for me. Even by the halfway point in the book, H had yet to find any real reason to hope that her future might ever improve, and this permeating sense of hopelessness just crushed me.

”All I looked forward to was the relief death would bring, and not one more morning of waking up dreading how I would get through the day.”

I would recommend The Strange Adventures of H to historically-minded readers who are prepared and equipped to deal with tragic situations on every page. Readers who are more sensitive, or need at least a brief infusion of joy now and then, may not fall in love with H’s story.

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A huge thank-you to Sarah Burton, Legend Press, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

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This is the story of H, a woman born to a large family of sisters in the seventeenth century. After the death of her father she removed to the London home of a kind and generous aunt. But the seventeenth century is a perilous time in the capital and H persists through ill-treatment, plague and fire. Separated from her family she finds that prostitution is the only way to survive.

For a book with so many dark themes it never feels depressing or overly weighty. There are many sad, difficult moments but H is so full of heart and determination, she always lifts her narrative above the things that happen to her. She is also surrounded by a host of excellent characters who add humour and depth. The setting is well-rendered and while the plot is outlandish, its twists and turns and coincidences mirror the style of contemporary writing.

It was a pleasure to read from start to finish and is the first book in a long to make me shed a few happy tears.