'Intelligent, beautifully written'
The Times
'Historical fiction fans, meet your new favourite author'
Stella Magazine
'Beautifully written, immaculately researched and powerfully imagined'
Lancashire Evening Post
Oceania, 1879.
Syson's novel, a modern take on the literary genre known (after Robinson Crusoe) as the robinsonade, is
a haunting exploration of Lizzie's disillusion with her father's dreams and their damaging consequences
Syson's novel is
richly evocative of a Pacific world in flux, as
cultures clash and individuals battle to find their place amid the ensuing confusion . . . a
very moving story of fathers and children, of faith and disillusion, and of the dangerous consequences of trying to take possession of people as well as land
An
intelligent,
beautifully written story about a dysfunctional family in a sinister paradise
Lushly written, with
immaculate historical detail, it worked for me on many levels
Mr Peacock's Possessions is
a wonderful book, full of drama, courage and aspirations. The language is rich and the characters so humanely drawn
A
thrilling story of
love and
courage,
brutality and
hope all told with equal measures of
deep humanity, i
magination and
élan. Lydia Syson has an amazing gift of bringing history alive through richness of language, dramatic pace and fabulous visual imagery. This is better than watching a film!
With its chorus of vivid voices, Lydia Syson's novel
reminds us why we consumed The Poisonwood Bible and The Underground Railway so avidly
, but it has a (literally)
breathtaking bravura and an intensity all of its own
What a
powerful, rich and fascinating book. Dark historical events are interwoven with the mystery of a missing child on a remote Pacific island in 1879.
Highly compellingSwiss Family Robinson meets Lord of the Flies in Lydia Syson's
superb and
engrossing book. This scintillating story evokes an island paradise which descends into a nightmarish hell as
Mr Peacock's Possessions builds towards
a shocking revelation and a
thrilling climaxThis
tense, evocative, richly-imagined novel conjures the voices of a strange time and place, and makes them universal
As
compelling, mysterious and haunting as the troubled tropical paradise it portrays . . . Syson doesn't just write about the past, she transports us there.
A tour de forceLydia Syson
writes very well about the natural world . . . [and] the dark tensions in family life that overwhelm the Peacocks
Dazzling . . . A
vividly realised, compelling novelMr Peacock's Possessions - one of those rare novels which
keeps you up much later than you'd planned - is
everything I love in a book. What starts out as a wonderful adventure slowly reveals itself as something altogether darker. Then you realise
you can't put it down until you discover the truth.
Swallows and Amazons for grown-upsA
gripping yarn with
unexpected outcomes . . . Syson writes engagingly and evocatively
Syson's eye for character is immediate - her narrative voice reaching out from the page and grabbing the reader from the off. They're drawn into a small but
compelling community, one full of i
nteresting characters and complicated relationships that only becomes more intriguing as the book goes on . . . Syson brings things to a climax that's as rewarding as it is moving - and allows her to examine community, youth and family in a
beautifully drawn settingThat's perhaps the greatest achievement of this novel:
it stays with you.
I've been haunted by it since I finished reading it. I hope very much that it gets the attention and praise it deserves . . . This novel is pleasurable on so many levels
Powerful,
intense and
beautiful, this novel will stay with me for a long time
A
wonderfully written piece from Lydia Syson
Mr Peacock's Possessions is
a gripping novel . . . I'm in
love with Lydia Syson's writing
I
absolutely love this book. It was an
amazing readLydia Syson's
skill as a storyteller, brings Monday Island, the place and its eccentric inhabitants
so vividly to lifeMr Peacock's Possessions was an enjoyable historical read which offered
an intriguing family story within an unfamiliar landscapeThis certainly is
one of the most powerful, brilliantly written booksA
dazzling tale of colonisation and corruption, enterprise and abuse . . .
Lord of the Flies as if written by Barbara Kingsolver, perhaps, with a dash of
The Wicker Man. But I think readers will find various other parallels and echoes in this
vividly realised, compelling novelHauntingHistorical fiction fans, meet
your new favourite author . . .
intense and beautifulMr Peacock's Possessions offers an intriguing and tension-packed exploration of family dynamics, colonialism, loss of innocence, and the perilous power of both possession and obsession . . .
Beautifully written, immaculately researched and powerfully imaginedSyson succeeds splendidly . . . Her main narrator, 15-year-old Lizzie, is utterly authentic: idealistic, frightened and pitiless. The narrative counterpoint between her and Kalala is
deftly balanced. Pa is
a memorable creation, driving and driven
Atmospheric and compelling, Syson's novel exerts a grip that doesn't relax till the very end
Lydia Syson is a Royal Literary Fellow for the Courtauld Institute. She lives in south London with her partner and four children. After an early career as a BBC World Service Radio producer, she turned to writing, often drawing on her family history for inspiration. Read more about Lydia and her books at www.lydiasyson.com or on Twitter: @lydiasyson