"She lives among the Untrodden ways / Beside the Springs of Dove..."
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William & Lucy:
A Tale of Suspicion and Love by Michael Brown Tarn Publisher
book review by Wendy Strain
A beautiful piece of speculative fiction, Brown attempts to answer a question that has often frustrated literary scholars of Romanticism. Who was Lucy? This is a name that appears during one period in William Wordsworth's life but for whom there is no historical connection.
Wordsworth, the 18th century poet, is frequently referred to as one of the founders of the Romantic era—an era characterized by meditations on nature in which meaning was discovered through symbolic connections. Brown does an excellent job weaving this literary approach within his fiction. He faithfully captures what is known of the famous poet and the mode of thought Wordsworth helped bring to popularity.
At the same time, Brown creates a more modern romance that attempts to provide Lucy with some substance and the reader with plenty of excitement to keep the pages turning. Today's audiences may also find it easy to identify with the theme of uncertain income and mounting obstacles. Wordsworth faces ruin on a number of fronts as the crown engages in a witch hunt for French spies among the outspoken national writers. Supporting both his sister and an illegitimate child in France, he doesn't have the time or the resources to become romantically involved. Meanwhile, Lucy faces significant challenges of her own as her employer begins to take more interest in his children's governess.
Sensitively written with a foot in two centuries, this book provides the kind of retreat from contemporary problems the Romantic era embodied.
RECOMMENDED by the US Review