Burning Bright

A Novel

From the author of the international bestseller Girl With a Pearl Earring and At the Edge of the Orchard, comes a stirring eighteenth-century coming-of-age tale

In the waning days of eighteenth-century London, poet, artist, and printer William Blake works in obscurity as England is rocked by the shock waves of the French Revolution. Next door, the Kellaway family has just moved in, and country boy Jem Kellaway strikes up a tentative friendship with street-savvy Maggie Butterfield. As their stories intertwine with Blake's, the two children navigate the confusing and exhilarating path to adolescence, and inspire the poet to create the work that enshrined his genius.
Praise for Tracy Chevalier

"Evokes entire landscapes...a master of voices."
New York Times Book Review (on Falling Angels)

"Absorbing...[Chevalier] creates a world reminiscent of a Vermeer interior: suspended in a particular moment, it transcends its time and place."
—The New Yorker (on Girl With a Pearl Earring)

“Chevalier admirably weaves historical figures and actual events into a compelling narrative.”
San Francisco Chronicle (on Remarkable Creatures)

"Chevalier's signature talent lies in bringing alive the ordinary day-to-dayness of the past...lovingly evoked."
Elle (on Burning Bright)

"Chevalier's ringing prose is as radiantly efficient as well-tended silver."
Entertainment Weekly (on Falling Angels)
© Jonathan Drori
Tracy Chevalier is the New York Times bestselling author of ten previous novels, including Girl with a Pearl Earring, which has been translated into forty-five languages and made into an Oscar-nominated film, a play, and an opera. Born and raised in Washington, DC, she lives in London with her husband. View titles by Tracy Chevalier

About

From the author of the international bestseller Girl With a Pearl Earring and At the Edge of the Orchard, comes a stirring eighteenth-century coming-of-age tale

In the waning days of eighteenth-century London, poet, artist, and printer William Blake works in obscurity as England is rocked by the shock waves of the French Revolution. Next door, the Kellaway family has just moved in, and country boy Jem Kellaway strikes up a tentative friendship with street-savvy Maggie Butterfield. As their stories intertwine with Blake's, the two children navigate the confusing and exhilarating path to adolescence, and inspire the poet to create the work that enshrined his genius.

Reviews

Praise for Tracy Chevalier

"Evokes entire landscapes...a master of voices."
New York Times Book Review (on Falling Angels)

"Absorbing...[Chevalier] creates a world reminiscent of a Vermeer interior: suspended in a particular moment, it transcends its time and place."
—The New Yorker (on Girl With a Pearl Earring)

“Chevalier admirably weaves historical figures and actual events into a compelling narrative.”
San Francisco Chronicle (on Remarkable Creatures)

"Chevalier's signature talent lies in bringing alive the ordinary day-to-dayness of the past...lovingly evoked."
Elle (on Burning Bright)

"Chevalier's ringing prose is as radiantly efficient as well-tended silver."
Entertainment Weekly (on Falling Angels)

Author

© Jonathan Drori
Tracy Chevalier is the New York Times bestselling author of ten previous novels, including Girl with a Pearl Earring, which has been translated into forty-five languages and made into an Oscar-nominated film, a play, and an opera. Born and raised in Washington, DC, she lives in London with her husband. View titles by Tracy Chevalier