The Second Sight of Zachary Cloudesley: The spellbinding BBC Between the Covers book club pick

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Longlisted for the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction 2023 and the Goldsboro Books Glass Bell Award 2023. Abel Cloudesley, knowing his son to be well-cared for takes on a dangerous job in Constantinople, which is going to change his life and that of his son. If you are an inveterate reader, the odds are good, better than good actually, that fellow readers or close friends (sometimes, happily, they are both) that at some point they will recommend a book to you. A book, they will assure you with a mix of solemnity and enthusiasm, is Continue Reading I was mesmerised by this whole story, Zachary and his second sight and the inventions that were part of his life. There are so many personal stories going on in the book. Yet because each of these characters is so unique, it never became overpowering or confused. Best Books Set in the 1920s — from Stories That Shimmer with Champagne and Social Change, to Rip-roaring Reads Covering Crime, Colonialism and Beyond.

The mid-18th century was the zenith of Enlightenment thinking. Science was racing ahead in every direction, largely freed from the constraints placed upon it in previous centuries by the cold hand of church authority, political turmoil and widely held superstition. Discovery and innovation flourished in the fields of astronomy, anatomy, philosophy, botany, zoology, agriculture, commerce, navigation and literature. The pace of change must have seemed breathtakingly fast to those in the midst of it, though many were, of course, still eking out the barest of livings much as they had for generations - and in those lands newly colonised by European powers the brutality of slavery was often accompanied by grotesque genocidal acts on indigenous populations. At that moment, we know something is unusual. Newborns aren’t known for fixing anything or anybody with a penetrating gaze. Abel is so overcome with grief, that it falls to Alice’s maid, Kate, to locate a wet nurse who has a tiny daughter of her own. Mrs Morley and Leonora become major characters and remain in Zachary’s life for many years. The year is 1754. He has had an interesting life already, having spent time in Constantinople, and as the story progresses, he ends up there again. But first, the baby. Zachary. His mother, Alice, dies as she delivers him. Abel doesn’t know what to do.

But then a near-fatal accident will take Zachary away from the workshop and his family. His father will have to make a journey to Constantinople that he will never return from. And, years later, only Zachary can find out what happened. This gathering together of disparate souls, which also includes Abel’s aunt-in-law, Frances, who’s a rich, feisty independently minded woman who delights in challenging convention, is what gives The Second Sight of Zachary Cloudsley its sizably moving beating heart. A beautifully crafted historical mystery that will take the reader from 18th century London, across Europe and, finally, to the bustling city of Constantinople. A beautifully written fairy tale, I loved every wonderful word in this book and found myself in stunned silence throughout.

I cannot believe I am telling you of it now, but to convince you that Zachary is remarkable, gifted in ways even the child himself cannot perceive.’ An original coming-of-age tale... enjoyable and imaginative debut' Sunday Times (Historical Fiction Book of the Month) A contemporary classic, The Remains of the Day is Kazuo Ishiguro's beautiful and haunting evocation of life between the wars in a Great English House, of lost causes and lost love. When a life-changing accident happens to Zachary, Abel blames himself but, it leaves Zachary with yet another gift, one where he can see the future. To protect his son Abel makes a bad choice that is jumped upon by someone in high government and puts Abel in a terrible position.courtesy IMP Awards) The really great animated films, the one that capture your heart and delight the eyes, are the ones that give you something to really connect to and which make you feel like you’ve come home. Yes, home. That might seem like an odd thing to say about Continue Reading History Makers: Female Writers Dominate the 2023 William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award Shortlist In the beginning, I really liked this story and read the first half in a few days, but I felt it lost it's way about halfway through and it took me over a month to finish it off.