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Revision as of 10:00, 17 September 2020
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{{infoboxinfobox1
|title=Gates of Paradise
|author=Beryl Kingston
|buy=Maybe
|borrow=Yes
|pages=288
|publisher=Allison & Busby
|date=October 2007
|isbn=978-0749080716
|amazonukcover=<amazonuk>074908071X</amazonuk>|amazonusaznuk=074908071X|aznus=<amazonus>0749082429</amazonus>
}}
''Gates of Paradise'' is the kind of novel that brings history alive. I didn't know anything much about the poet William Blake before I started reading it. I had come across a few of his poems, but had no impression in my mind of the man himself. However, Beryl Kingston has constructed a very believable Blake, in a historical context which fits well with biographical details that I have since looked up on Wikipedia.
For my personal tastes, I'd probably give three-and-a-half stars; although the characters came to life, I didn't find myself relating to any of them, or caring too much what happened to them. But not everyone wants character-driven novels as I do, so from a more objective perspective, I am giving four Bookbag stars.
Further reading: if you enjoy realistic historical novels, you might like [[The River Flows On]] by Maggie Craig, [[Off the Rails by Beryl Kingston]] or [[The Tinner's Daughter]] by Rosemary Aitken.
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