Did not light my fire! (Burning Bright - Tracy Chevalier)

Member Name: dee778

Product:	Burning Bright - Tracy Chevalier
Date:	26/09/09 (78 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Well researched - good detail

Disadvantages: Boring storyline, lack of pace

Tracey Chevalier is probably best known for writing 'Girl With a Pearl Earring' - the 2003 novel that took the UK by storm and was made into an award winning film starring Scarlett Johansson. 'Burning Bright' is her fifth novel, and does not quite succeed in finding the right mix of historical detail and human emotion to recreate the success of her previous novels. American by birth, Chevalier has an obvious love of English history and makes an excellent job of researching and bringing to life everyday events from the past, but on this occasion tries to spread herself to thinly, creating a story with just too many characters and too many dramas.

Perhaps falling into the trap of being too formulaic, 'Burning Bright' is based on the everyday lives of a working class family who come into contact with a famous historical character (in this case the writer William Blake). The centrepiece of the novel is a sweet love story set in 1792. After a personal tragedy, teenager Jem Kellaway moves with his family from deepest Dorsetshire to urban London. There he soon meets the vivacious and streetwise Maggie, the daughter of the local washerwoman, and young love starts to blossom.

There are many different scenarios playing in the background to this story: the French revolution and the working unrest that this causes; the dominating influence of Astley's circus and the way the life of the performers become entangled with those of the Kellaways; and above all William Blake, the Kellaways' next door neighbour.

Jem and Maggie race through London, exploring Westminster Abbey, running through Soho and Haymarket, and sitting in dark Lambeth pubs, thick with smoke from the oil lamps and heaving with humanity. Chevalier describes every detail, every smell, every laugh and shout, and against this well researched historical background several family dramas are played out as Maggie and Jem grow up and acknowledge their feelings for each other.

At this stage Tracey Chevalier seems to feel that the storyline is too simple, and quickly adds more and more characters to the plot: John Astley, the young son of the circus owner, who takes a delight in seducing innocent young girls; Maisie Kellaway, Jem's sister, who develops a crush on John with disasterous consquences; Rosie Wrightman, the Dorsetshire girl who runs away to London to become a prostitute - the list goes on and on, and the dramas unfold in quick succession. Rather than concentrating on a simple storyline and developing the characters to the full, Chevalier draws her story on too broad a canvas, and because she fails to develop the characters properly, the reader fails to form a bond with them.

The blurb for the book indicates that the lives of the Blakes are very much intertwined with that of Jem and Maggie, but I was disappointed to find that the links were very superficial. William Blake and his wife live next door to the Kellaways and demonstrate their alternative lifestyle by wearing the Red cap of the French Revolution and frolicking naked in the garden to publicly enjoy their conjugal rights. Unfortunately these glimpses of Blake tantalise the reader but never develop into a more detailed and rounded character. One of the main themes of the story is meant to be the link between the two young lovers and Blake's most famous set of poems; 'Songs of Innocence and Experience'. Chevalier makes a clumsy attempt to link the growing attraction and sexual awareness of Jem and Maggie to the readings from the book, as well as giving the impression that the two young people act as a muse for Blake. 'Songs of Innocence' is about the hopes and fears of children and traces their transformation as the child grows into adulthood . 'Songs of Experience' look at the ways in which the harsh experiences of adult life destroy this innocence. Although a connection can be seen between the novel and the poems, it is weak and was largely lost on me - I only realised that it existed through reading reviews after I had finished the book!

When this formula was used very successfully in 'Girl with A Pearl Earring', the reader got a real insight into the life, loves and artistic inspiration of Vermeer through the story of his model and muse. Unfortunately 'Burning Bright' does not have the same depth and passion - Blake flits in and out of the main thread of the story, appearing as the eccentric neighbour but never achieving any substance. Like Vermeer, Blake struggled for public recognition during his life, and his talent was only appreciated after his death. It is not difficult to understand why Chevalier chose Blake as the "celebrity character" in her novel. Blake was both talented and unconventional - a supporter of free love, an outspoken rebel in terms of English politics, and a religious visionary. He could have made a fascinating study, and provided a real focus for the story, but this opportunity was lost.

I was very disappointed with this book - having read most of Tracey Chevalier's novels in the past and enjoyed them, I was hoping for great things. The novel would have benefitted from some assertive editing - there is much that is good in it (historical detail, potentially strong main characters, and unusual plot) but it has a loose storyline which rambles along, jumping from one character to the next, and losing the reader along the way.

Published by HarperCollins in 2007
390 pages
ISBN 9780007178369

Available from Amazon - new from £4.99 or used from 1p.

Summary: You can learn a lot about London in the 1700s, but you won't be entertained