Historian James Postlethwaite discovers some journals belonging to Lord Carlisle of Elloughton Park and Ginny Farmer, a cinder maid. He decides to delve into the lives of these characters with some help from one of his students, Grace Farmer, with some surprising results. And then the present starts colliding with the past….

This is an enjoyable story and I liked how it was written. It’s told via three voices and mostly in an epistolary format. It’s set in Bristol and London during the present day and the 18thC. The timelines seem to gel together very well. It’s quite an intriguing tale and I liked the characters, particularly Ginny. She certainly had the furthest journey to travel, she’s a survivor that’s for sure! An entertaining and easy read which should appeal to historical fiction fans. ( )