Robert Burns in Your Pocket: A Biography, and Selected Poems and Songs, of Scotland's Nation... Book

I enjoy a bit of Victorian literature and this really did not disappoint. There was also the novelty value of seeing my name in print all the way through it!

The story of the eponymous David Grieve is told in 4 parts. Growing up in rural Derbyshire, setting up business as a bookseller in Manchester, spending time and falling in love in Paris and finally married and living in Manchester again.

The story itself is well told, interesting and descriptive. It is also a faccinating glimpse into the people and places of the day. It was written in 1892 and is set in the 1860s/70s. She writes the heavily accented speech of the Derbyshire peasantry phonetically which can be hard to read. Thankfully, David loses his accent when he moves to Manchester.

The themes of the book are religion and unsatisfactory marriage. No-one seems to have a genuinely happy marriage apart from the very poorest couple, and theirs is blighted by tragedy. The best that can be hoped for is for an unsuitable marriage to be made to work at least on some level, with a degree of real love. Religion appears throughout the book with people dropping in and out of it and some with ongoing religiious fervour. This element seems to be overplayed although clearly it is reflecting the mood of the times.

I had never heard of Mrs Humphry Ward until finding out about this book, and that was only because of the title, but I am very glad I have read it.