Esta es la historia de una familia londinense, los Lamb, poco conocida en España pero cuya importancia en la recuperación y valorización de Shakespeare es indiscutible. Charles Lamb intenta hacerse un sitio en la sociedad literaria del siglo XIX y Mary busca el modo de huir de un a casa en la que convive con unos progenitores al borde de la locura. La pasión que comparten por la obra de Shakespeare es para ambos un perfecto modo de evasión. Sin embargo, cuando un joven y ambicioso librero les asegura haber encontrado diversos manuscritos de Shakespeare e incluso una obra teatral inédita, se sumergen en una estremecedora investigación que les puede llevar a la inmortalidad o al más estrepitoso de los ridículos.

Mostly OK novel about Charles and Mary Lamb and interesting man who enters their life. A lot about Shakespeare too. Couple of unnecessary R-rated bits so it's not recommended for younger readers. ( )

Charles and Mary Lamb are still living at their parents’ home. Charles, an aspiring writer, works as a clerk at the East India Company, and enjoys a drink or three too often at the local pub. Meanwhile his sister, Mary, is trapped in domesticity, caring for her ailing father and her maddening mother assisted only by an aged maid.

The siblings find much-needed escape in reading and quoting William Shakespeare to one another. So, when William Ireland, a 17-year-old antiquarian bookseller and himself an aspiring writer, comes into their lives claiming to possess a “lost” Shakespearean play, the Lambs can barely contain their excitement. As word of this amazing find spreads, all of London is eagerly anticipating star-studded opening night of the play. But is the discovery real or a clever piece of forgery and if so by whom?

Now whilst I rather enjoyed the author's writing style and feel that he must have done his homework, somehow it failed to really grab me. Firstly, this was partly down to my ignorance, it wasn't until after I had finished it that I realised that Charles and Mary Lamb were real people. If I had known this fact earlier, hopefully I would also have known when this novel was set. Instead, I only knew that it was some period after Shakespeare's death. Conversely, once I realised that it featured real people, I was unsure as to whether or not this was meant to be a piece of factual historical writing or simply fiction. Equally I felt that in the end it rather ran out of steam rather than come to some exciting conclusion. Overall, I found this a quick easy read but not a particularly remarkable one. ( )

Londra 1795: Charles e Mary Lamb, fratello e sorella, conducono una vita tranquilla e insignificante, insieme ai genitori, la madre ossessivamente severa e il padre con l'alzheimer. L'unico momento felice della giornata è la lettura di poesie, drammi e testi che i due fratelli fanno insieme la sera. Charles sogna un futuro da poeta, Mary sogna la libertà negata e trova rifugio nell'amore per le opere di Shakespeare. E sarà proprio la passione per il grande bardo ad attrarre i due verso William Ireland, lestofante che rivela di aver scoperto manoscritti inediti di Shakespeare e che conduce la giovane in pellegrinaggio nei luoghi shakespeariani. Per Mary e Charles il sogno di una vita romantica si trasformerà nel più terribile degli incubi.
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"Why, this is a treasure, Mr Ireland. It was once owned by William Shakespeare", 30 March 2016

This review is from: The Lambs of London (Hardcover)
Set at the beginning of the 19th century - not so vastly long ago, yet long enough that antiquarians of the time might have Elizabethan documents among their treasures. In this most enjoyable fiction, Ackroyd conflates two true stories: that of Charles and Mary Lamb, academic siblings living a stifling life with their senile father and authorative mother. And William Ireland: employed in his family bookshop and, like Mary, feeling downtrodden by his parent. Until one day he comes into possession of some writings, including unpublished works,by Shakespeare...
Although the Lambs and Ireland never actually had any dealings with one another, this makes for a great read that really transports you back to London of that era. ( )