The Unforgetting by Rose Black - Book Review and Blog Tour

The Unforgetting by Rose Black - Book Review and Blog Tour

I'm inviting you to join me and my fellow book bloggers on the Blog Tour for the new historical novel #TheUnforgetting by #RoseBlack published by @orionbooks.

I'm rounding up this tour today with my review of this fabulous new book set in Victorian England. Literary, clever and riddled with secrets its an engaging and enjoyable read with a gorgeous cover. Thank you Random Things Tours for inviting me along.

In the mid 19th century, there is little opportunity for a woman to carve out a career in acting, but that is what Lily Bell dreams of, the bright lights and magic of entertaining folk from a stage.

She thinks her dreams have come true when Erasmus Salt offers her the chance to be part of his spectacular stage show. She sets off to join him and his sister Faye, only to discover that she is not to appear live on stage but is to take the part of a ghost, in a daring illusion Erasmus is desperate to perfect. Aided by his manservant the mute and eerie Balthazar, she become part of a show of smoke and mirrors as Erasmus tries to take her identity away from her.

She is part of a bargain and her step father has sold her, body and soul as payment of a debt and has forfeited any free will Lily may have had.

As her parents believe she is dead she throws herself into the work, falls in love with a travelling juggler but Erasmus has another agenda in mind and ulterior motives which his sister Faye cannot fathom and which leave Lily trapped and alone.

As the Unforgetting begins however, secrets gradually reveal themselves from the past wich looms up to play a part in the future and Lily needs to make one terrible decision, will she live to regret it?

Filled with the magic of the Victorian era theatre, Lilys story is captivating and complicated. She meets some wonderful characters, fairground folk (which confused me somewhat - they refer to themselves as Gyptians - a term I believed was coined by Philip Pullmann for his Dark Materials series?) 

Putting this aside, there are some lovely almost Dickensian characters (and some rather dastardly ones). Fabulous locations from Ramsgate to London through various towns in the UK to the Town Moor in Newcastle. I was thrilled to find my own home town of Darlington even plays a small part, though it doesn't come over in a very good light!!

There is a deep vein of mystery and sadness at the core of this book and I am sure it will appeal to readers who enjoyed The Miniaturist, the Essex Serpent and the Silent Companions. Any book which gets a few more people reading and enjoying well researched and imaginative historical fiction such as this serves a grand purpose and this is a super example of the genre.

Find the book on Amazon or on the publishers website

The Blurb

Power, theatre and ghosts in a Victorian gothic historical, perfect for fans of The Silent Companions, The Night Circus and The Familiars.

When Lily Bell is sold by her father to a 'Professor of Ghosts' to settle a bad debt, she thinks she about to hit the London stage as an actress. But little does she know that the professor intends her to be his very own ghost, part of an elaborate illusion for a fascinated audience.

Obsessed with perfection, the professor covers all bases to ensure his illusion is realistic - and when Lily comes across her own obituary in the paper, and then her own headstone in the cemetery, she soon realises that she is trapped, her parents think she is dead - and soon her fate is to become even darker...

About the author

Rose Black has written stories all her life. Her long-standing fascination with the Victorians and 19th century England underlies this novel. An award-winning freelance writer, she's covered health, overseas development and education. Married, with two children, she lives partly in London and at other times by the sea. In her spare time, she enjoys wild swimming and growing food and flowers on her allotment.