Illumination by Matthew Plampin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I really am turning into a bit of a fan boy when it comes to the books of Matthew Plampin. It’s a tad unbecoming at my age, but I loved “The Street Philosopher”, cared deeply for “The Devil’s Acre”, and now I have to find a place in my heart for “Illumination”. This is set during the four-month siege of Paris in 1870 and sees Jean-Jacques Allix setting himself up as the peoples leader. His young English lover, Hannah Pardy, believes in him whole heartedly but as the story develops, are things as they seem?
It’s a well told and exciting tale, even if Hannah is a bit too sappy for her own good. After all, she has taken herself off to a foreigh country to paint, which was adventurous for her time, so there is no need for her to be so weak. But the other characters engage well and it is, that finest of things, a book you don’t want to put down. So there’s another space reserved on the book shelves for the next one.
The Rocker - The Artist Formerly Known As Zeitgeist. TAFKAZ 
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