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The Lambs Of London [Paperback]

Peter Ackroyd
3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
RRP: £8.99
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Book Description

4 Aug 2005

Mary Lamb is confined by the restrictions of domesticity: her father is losing his mind, her mother watchful and hostile. The great solace of her life is her brother Charles, an aspiring writer. It is no surprise when Mary falls for the bookseller's son, antiquarian William Ireland, from whom Charles has purchased a book. But this is no ordinary book - it once belonged to William Shakespeare himself. And William Ireland with his green eyes and his red hair, is no ordinary young man...

The Lambs of London brilliantly creates an urban world of scholars and entrepreneurs, a world in which a clever son will stop at nothing to impress his showman father, and no one knows quite what to believe. Ingenious and vividly alive, The Lambs of London is a poignant, gripping novel of betrayal and deceit.

(20040922)

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The Lambs Of London + Clerkenwell Tales + Dan Leno And The Limehouse Golem
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Product details

  • Paperback: 224 pages
  • Publisher: Vintage; New Ed edition (4 Aug 2005)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0099472090
  • ISBN-13: 978-0099472094
  • Product Dimensions: 13 x 1.4 x 19.8 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 317,328 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Product Description

Review

As always, Ackroyd brings the bustle, stench and hazards of nineteenth-century London vividly to life and keeps readers on their toes until the final page (Daily Mail )

A marvellously adroit tale (Penelope Lively Independent )

Energetic and clever... The Lambs of London ingeniously combines two fact-based narratives and transforms them into a detective-cum-love story (Daily Telegraph )

Historically animated and emotionally fervent. Ackroyd turns the past into a private phantasmagoria of loving fakes and pungent terrors (Observer )

Clever, subtle and touching, often funny and always highly intelligent. A modern novel that requires a second reading - one which will be even more enjoyable and rewarding than the first (Scotsman )

Book Description

'A delicious entertainment... Ackroyd's latest foray into bygone London finds him at the top of his form' Sunday Telegraph (20040922)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Tragically beautiful 24 Feb 2008
By Didier TOP 500 REVIEWER
Format:Paperback
I've read several of Ackroyd's novels (and some of his biographies), and whereas most of those are pretty intricate and 'deep' (by lack of a better word) 'The Lambs of London' is in comparison a very easy book. In a very simple but therefore all the more poignant language it tells the tragic story of Mary and Charles Lamb (brother and sister, both feeling trapped and stifled by the life they lead). By pure coincidence Charles buys a book that supposedly once belonged to Shakespeare from the young bookseller William Ireland, and before long the mysterious William will change their lives forever.

Not only these three principal characters but also the novel's minor characters (Charles' and Mary's parents, William's father, ...) are all beautifully depicted, with their (secret) dreams, hopes and desires leading them on until there's no turning back...

I loved it from the first page to the last.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars A truly wonderful and magnificent read! 19 July 2006
By FAMOUS NAME VINE™ VOICE
Format:Paperback
This is the first book I have read by Peter Ackroyd, but will no doubt be the first of many! I could not put this book down - for someone who has a rule of only to read in bed and at bedtime, I found myself trotting through to the bedroom to retrieve it during the day! I found the whole story captivating from the beginning until the very last sentence! I could believe in the characters and the story was woven with feeling, sympathy and much love, though there appeared to be somewhat of an 'open wound' at the end with regard to the tragic figure Mary Lamb, and her adoration of William Ireland. I loved this book so much, I immediately sought out and purchased 'Chatterton' by the same author.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Ackroyd in London again. 16 Aug 2011
By RR Waller TOP 500 REVIEWER
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Peter Ackroyd is to London what Woody Allen is to New York. He rarely leaves it (apart from the odd visit to Venice - poor Peter!) but why should he? He knows it so well and its historical characters and writers, he is able to weave such wonderful tales.
Taking two great writers seems an assured way to achieve success but to add another guarantees a good tale. Two Lambs and a Shakespeare.
In a world he knows so well, he tells a very enjoyable and interesting story in the understated style he uses so well.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting read
Very interesting book set in old London. Enjoyed it, got book club chatting about lots of interesting facts of London generally.
Published 5 months ago by Pixie
3.0 out of 5 stars Tales from Ackroyd
N.B: ONE READER OF THIS REVIEW HAS COMPLAINED THAT IT CONTAINS A SPOILER.

In a note at the beginning Peter Ackroyd gives fair warning that `This is not a biography but a... Read more
Published on 21 Aug 2010 by Ralph Blumenau
2.0 out of 5 stars not up to scratch
I must say I was rather disappointed by this book! I adored Ackroyd's book 'Chatterton', and see it as one of the best books I've ever read, so I was excited to see that there were... Read more
Published on 22 May 2010 by Larewen Evenstar
5.0 out of 5 stars Very pleasurable read
A wonderfully colourful story based around a famous forgery of alleged works by Shakespeare. Ackroyd describes London scenes and characters as only he can and this is an absolute... Read more
Published on 12 Feb 2009 by John Hopper
3.0 out of 5 stars Not Ackroyd's best
Yes, the story is a bit bland, and the surprise ending barely so. I think I would have liked more about the Lambs, actually.
Published on 26 Feb 2008 by Jezza
3.0 out of 5 stars Puzzled
Whilst this is beautifully written and offers well-observed characters, the true story of Mary Lamb is even more intriguing and heart-breaking than Peter Ackroyd's fictionalised... Read more
Published on 1 Jun 2007 by G Talboys
4.0 out of 5 stars The Lambs of London
I feel bound to offer a counterbalancing opinion to that mooted by Daniel from Bedworth, who did not take to this story of 'Londons [sic] "artistic" [no idea why he put this in... Read more
Published on 1 Oct 2004
2.0 out of 5 stars Another Ackroyd puzzler
The Lambs of London is a work of fiction framed around an event that actually happened. It tells the tale of the discovery of some lost works of Shakespeare and the relationship of... Read more
Published on 28 Sep 2004 by Daniel
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