Burning Bright (English)

In the follow-up to her bestselling GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING, Tracy Chevalier again uses a historical artist (this time the Romantic poet William Blake) to fuel her plot. The Kellaways, a poor furniture-making family, move to London during the fraught year 1792, a time when the monarchy lives in terror that the French Revolution will spread to England. There, the youngest son falls in love with the exciting and cosmopolitan Maggie Butterfield--a romance helped, to some extent, by their mysterious and radical neighbor, Mr. Blake. However, Blake has troubles of his own: the Royalists are less than pleased with his controversial poetic aesthetics and personal philosophies. As in Chevalier's previous work, BURNING BRIGHT shimmers with a rich historical atmosphere and dramatic personalities. minimize