The Weather Woman

I loved this book! I was transported back to a time where women were treated very differently and how each day was a struggle.
Gripped throughout!

Isn’t it thought provoking when you realise that many of the same issues and problems people have today in 2022, were around in the very early 1900’s. Problems with drink, gambling, immigration, and self-image. Neva struggled with her identity. This may have been that her father encouraged her to disguise her true self during her early teens to protect her from people’s prejudices regarding her ‘gift’ of predicting the weather. She enjoyed the freedom of being able to express her views and talk about intellectual things without being reprimanded or ostracised for talking out of place. People today struggle with their identity just like Neva did and there are any number of help lines that we would be referring many of the characters too.

The author also describes in such vivid detail the frost fairs, London, the gambling dens and Victors workshop that you can feel the cold nipping at you toes and you feel that you could hear the clocks ticking.

Overall, I feel that Sally Gardner tells a compelling story that undulates between the swinging fortunes of the Friezland family that keeps you turning the pages. Would definitely recommend.

I do not normally enjoy historical fiction, but Sally Gardener is a great storyteller, keeping you engrossed in a tale full of heroes and villains that reminds of Charles Dickens. The protagonist Neva has a unique and magical gift that fascinates people as much as it scares them. She was adopted into an unconventional household which fully accepted her for her exceptional gift but is forced to negotiate her way in a world that does not allow women to participate fully in society, let alone being different. There is adventure and romance, as well as beautifully imagined machinery to create illusions to allow Neva to share her gifts with an audience. A fun read that thanks to the vivid images described takes you back to a different time.

I loved the historical aspect of this book and learning about the London Frost Fairs. I don’t know how they coped with the cold! Victor Friezland was such a kind man to take over the care of little Neva and he was exceptionally clever. He made extraordinary clocks and machines; he found an ingenious way of keeping Neva’s weather predicting skill a secret. This was his way he felt to protect her. I was really touched to read about their father daughter bond and how their family grew over time. Whilst maintaining a safety net around Neva. A good book has a mixture of characters and takes you on a journey. Neva’s story certainly did that, with plenty of plot twists, with lots of intrigue and dastardly deeds going on with less salubrious characters. It was such a good page turner that I didn’t want to put it down. It was one of those books that you needed to find out where the story was taking you, regardless of meeting your friends or getting up for work the following day. I will be recommending this book to all my friends. Loved it!

The opens by the River Thames at a Frost Fair just as the ice begins to melt, this immediately captures your interest and introduces the two main characters, a young girl and a maker of clocks and automatons.

The main characters are well portrayed and reflect the period in history in and around London where it is set. The rich lifestyle, the gambling dens, the poor living in squalor, the family abuse, marrying within your social class, the need to produce a son and general discrimination against women. The smoke and fogs in the city which could last for days.

The many characters, good and bad, rich and poor work well in this bac drop. Their lives have surprising effects on each other turning up at times unexpectedly.

A wonderful “feel good” read with endings which catch the reader unawares.

- Anne Balme

A very enjoyable read with an aura of magic, fantasy and mystery.

A small girl who was rescued into a loving family had a special gift that couldn’t be explained. At that time, women had no standing and weren’t taken notice of.

With the girl’s father’s expertise, she was able to use her gift but was hidden from sight.
Her imaginary friend proved to be necessary in her quest to share her story.
After meeting Henri at one of her performances, the writer alters her style and after the gentle beginning solves a mystery with dire consequences and dangerous situations.

Like an enjoyable fairy tale this story has a beginning which is interesting and mysterious, a middle where all the story lines come together and a conclusion when the “bad guy” gets his just desserts, and everyone lives happily ever after.

Reviewed by Vera Taylor, a member of the Worsbrough Library Readers’ Group.

This is my Book of the Year, I loved every minute of reading it! Beautifully written, it was a winning combination of appealing characters, vivid landscape and period, all dusted over with a sense of otherworldly magic.
The central story of Neva and her attempts to live a free and meaningful life true to her intellect and talents, at a time when the opportunities for women were so circumscribed, was totally engaging, felt appropriate for the historical period but will have a modern resonance for many readers. There are so many well-drawn characters, heroes and villains, and as the various love stories and plots play out, there is always a tinge of ominous darkness in the background, keeping you reading and hoping that it will all work out well in the end.
I know that this is a book that I will want to go back to and read again, for the sheer pleasure of re-immersing myself in the world that Sally Gardner has created. Thank you for making the copies available to our book club!
Victoria Ryrie, Hunstanworth Village Hall Book Club

The Elgin Library Evening Reading Group thoroughly enjoyed this book. Here are some of the reviews received.
'An enchanting story which held my interest the whole way through, it is a sort of Jane Austen meets Charles Dickens. We see the seedier side of London of the regency period, the poverty, child labour, families scratching a living, the lack of hygiene and sanitation, and drunkenness Then the cruel and corrupt aristocracy with no thought for others. But this is balanced by the heroes of the story the kind, thoughtful caring family, conscious they are ‘living in sin’ but discreetly. Those who remember their sad childhood and give to the urchins by the river.
The love interest of couples separated by misunderstanding but eventually reunited leaving you with a happy ever after feeling.'
'I very much enjoyed this book. I loved being immersed in the setting of Georgian London with the trickery and magic shows of the time. I thought the book was well researched with historical facts used to enhance the story rather than as a history lesson as sometimes happens.
I always believed that women had more freedom in pre Victorian times but this book reminds us of the restrictions they were under, particularly when it comes to educational enlightenment and also the fear and prejudices directed at anyone perceived as different.
The characters were well defined and I felt I got to know them. The storyline drew me in. However the best thing for me about the book was Sally Gardener’s style of writing. Her descriptions, similes and pace of storytelling kept me interested right to the end.
A big thumbs up from me.'