Golden Hill by Frances Spufford

This guy is in love with Henry Fielding – wordy, lush prose, swashbuckling and sometimes ribald adventure, innocence abroad in a big bad city….. The story is set in 18th century New York, a dark and dangerous place populated with thieves and drunkards at one level and political manipulators and spies at another. The protagonist arrives from London with a secret personal mission, not revealed until towards the end of the tale, and is thrown into this maelstrom of humanity. I didn’t love the plot as much as the telling, and it did take some concentration to get into the swing of the language – yes, pretty much like Fielding! It was an absorbing, entertaining read and really a terrific first novel for this writer. I’ll be interested to see what he comes up with in the future and whether he develops another authorial voice to match his subject.