I enjoyed every image and every word in this novel. ( )

Despite the ever-present sinister malevolence hanging in the air throughout this story, I liked it. The characters are well-developed with complex, multi-level inter-relationships, and Juanita McMahon's narration is excellent. ( )

Wonderful writing, interesting story, wish something a little crazier had happened at the end. ( )

I struggled to like this book. I found myself comparing it - unfavourably - with Francis Spufford's 'Golden Rain', since both books were written in the language of the period in which they were set.

The book has a range of characters and a range of subplots. Many of the characters were so loosely defined, as well as the subplots they supported, that I struggled to make sense of them. Maria? Who, really, was she, and what did her social conscience bring to the story? Naomi's contribution to the book underwhelmed me.

Cora, William Ransome, Stella, the Imp, Francis - these all interested me and when they were 'on stage', the story moved onward. Their letters I found illuminated their characters and the story itself and I looked forward to the interludes when they were printed. I believed in each of the major characters in a way I was unable to when one of the many 'walk on' characters was playing his or her part.

I liked the sense of place . I don't know Essex at all, and found the way in which it was described, making it so central to the story itself, sympathetic, and I was absorbed when the area itself became the subject of the writing.

In general though, I was disappointed. I wanted to get this book out of the way so I could get on with something that was for me more rewarding. ( )

It was very well written and definitely had strong Victorian elements. The thought less clerk spurring a vengeful murder attempt and the lost child rediscovered by chance with a friendly poor person were pure Dickens. Even the quirky female characters were not too different from Wilkie Collin's heroines.Of course the explicit sex scenes and adultery were not as openly discussed in your average victorian work. I'm hard pressed to say why I'm not giving it more stars, it was an exploration of love in so many different forms that, to a certain extent , worked. I think the Victorian format left me wanting a more black and white story with an outright happy ending ( )