Laura Blundy - Softcover

On a sultry afternoon, Laura Blundy exacts a terrible revenge on her wealthy husband and, scarcely able to believe her crime, flees to her lover. As they contemplate the future, Laura pieces together her troubled past. Destitute on the mean streets of Victorian London, she bore a child at 15, served time in jail and suffered a crippling accident, only to find herself imprisoned by her saviour, the cruel surgeon Lockhart. Billy, the young man who rescues her from the Thames, offers Laura what she yearns for--love, respect and respite from the grief racking her soul. But as Laura's tale unfolds, the lovers discover it was not chance alone that brought them together.

Myerson has crafted a haunting love story, rich in painstakingly gathered detail. Like Suskind's Perfume, the text pulsates with the sights--and stinks--of the city. She also paints a vivid, almost visceral portrait of motherhood and loss. At times, however, the reader's enjoyment of the story is clouded by the Dickensian detail. One can only read so much relentless suffering before longing for a little humour--something which Myerson, unlike Dickens, has not factored into her account. This is an intelligent and deeply moving book, but one needs nerves of steel to reach its deeply rewarding conclusion. --Matthew Baylis

'A lipsmackingly gripping read. This shattering novel gave me goose-pimples on my goose-pimples and consolidates Myerson's reputation as one of our most exciting writers.' -- Val Hennessy

'A richly atmospheric novel which burns in the imagination, and will go on burning for a long time. Lorna belongs in her own time, and yet reaches out through it, telling her story with a candour I found deeply moving.' -- Helen Dunmore

'Myerson confronts the pain and dirtiness of frustrated love that defies convention, morality, even the normal laws of human existence, in a brave, awful, frightening book that will haunt me for a long time.' -- Lesley Glaister, Literary Review

'One of the most powerful books you'll read this year.' -- She

'This novel burns in the imagination' (Helen Dunmore) 'Dark, sexy and insolent. I hope to be startled and challenged by novels. Myerson more than obliges.' -- Jim Crace, Daily Mail

'To have put into words that which is beyond words is a measure of the author's achievement - and her cunning - and the resulting book hits hard in the middle of the night.' -- Elizabeth Buchan, The Times