The Gifts by Liz Hyder
A young woman staggers through the woods. Something is happening deep inside and as she's thrown to her knees in agony, the world around her stops. When she comes to, she is astonished at the sight of her shadow - it has wings.
Meanwhile when rumours of 'fallen angels' cause a frenzy across London, a surgeon desperate for fame and fortune will find himself in the grip of a dangerous obsession, and the women he seeks in the most terrible danger . . .
THE GIFTS is the astonishing debut adult novel from the lauded author of BEARMOUTH. A gripping and ambitious book told through several female voices and set against the luminous backdrop of nineteenth century London, it explores science, nature and religion, enlightenment, the knife-edge roles of women in society and the dark danger of ambition.
About the author
Liz Hyder has been making up stories for as long she can remember. She has a BA
in drama from the University of Bristol and, in early 2018, won the Bridge Award/Moniack Mhor Emerging Writer Award. Bearmouth, her debut young adult novel, won a Waterstones Children's Book Prize, the Branford BoaseAward and was chosen as the Children's Book of the Year by The
Times. Originally from London, she now lives in South Shropshire. The Gifts is her debut adult novel.
Social Media Links –
Twitter: @LondonBessie(https://twitter.com/LondonBessie ) Website: https://www.lizhyder.co.uk/
Review
‘The Gifts’ has been one of those books which has languished on my massive tbr pile since the initial proofs were sent out. But since I always sign up for far too many blogtours I never get round to the books which I want to read! Well it has been worth the wait as ‘The Gifts’ is a fantastic piece of historical fiction blurred with a touch of fantasy. It was packed full of historical detail that made it a rich and authentic piece of fiction that kept me engrossed!
This the story of four women - Etta, Natalya, Annie and Mary and I loved all four of them! Mary may have just edged over into being my favourite but it was a close-run thing. The feminist themes of the book were extremely well done and I will be looking up the real-life women who inspired these characters. The story really did shine a light on the plight of women in Victorian Britain in all strata of society. It draws on how it was a patriarchal culture and that women had no real legal status unless they were afforded the protection of marriage. Talent was wasted as women were viewed as being intellectually inferior. I was drawn to Mary straight away and loved her development throughout the book. I would have read a whole book about her alone very very easily. She has a bravery that only comes with being that young and was determined to use her intellectual capability despite her gender. Plus I'm always going to be drawn to the person solving the mystery.
The villain of the piece is Edward Meake, reknown surgeon whose ambitions have led to him becoming frustrated by his lot in life. But he is determined that what is owed to him in life will happen and this leads to him turning to greed, jealously and ultimately his obsession with these women. He was a perfectly drawn character that really made me intensely dislike him, so kudos to the author!
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and devoured it in one day! The chapters being short encourage you to have that mindset of ‘just one more chapter’ and before you know it you have reached the final page!
Let me know if you read this one. It was a delight to read!
