I think I might have bought this book by accident, thinking it was by Salley Vickers, whose books I have read and enjoyed (maybe my mind mixed it up with Salley Vickers book The Gardener!) but anyway, I’m glad I did because I really loved this book!
Set in 18th Century London, it follows Neva, who as a small child travelled with the circus where her mother (a talented chess player) hid inside a stuffed bear with clockwork parts who challenged punters to games of chess and invariably beat them!
Neva had her own talents, she could read the weather – she knew instinctively what weather was coming anywhere in the world and could predict all kinds of weather with pinpoint accuracy quite far into the future. When her parents are killed in an accident she is adopted by the clockmaker who made parts for the mechanical bear.
Her adopted father encourages her agile and intelligent mind, and also her gift and because she is an exceptionally clever woman in Regency England, she must disguise herself as a man to be able to attend lectures and join in with ‘manly’ discussions.
The book is a magical realism, feminist, historical, love story (yes there is some very sweet romance) and I very much enjoyed it.
Sarah Wray Writer 