FALLING ANGELS

by Tracy Chevalier
 
Beginning on the day of Queen Victoria’s death,Falling Angels tells the story of two households with wildly differing philosophies as they navigate the changing world of London in mourning and beyond.  The relationship between the two families begins, very appropriately, in a graveyard, when they discover their family plots are side by side.  Neither family approves of the monument of the other—one an urn and one an angel—but their two little girls become immediate friends. That same afternoon the girls meet the young son of the gravedigger, who becomes an integral part of their friendship.
 
Chevalier moves rapidly through time and narrators, giving almost every player in her story at least one chance to narrate a short chapter.  But her main characters are the two girls as they grow into maturity, and in and out of friendship.  We see them, and their mothers, confront the struggle for women’s suffrage and how it changes London and their families.
 
I loved the writing style and rapid pace, which made me feel I had been dropped right into the middle of these complicated lives.  Chevalier is able to conjure the era without heavy-handed descriptions, and to make her characters as real and relatable as though they were close friends.
 
If you are looking for a light-ish historical novel for the summer, this one won't let you down! (Lily)