Illumination Of Ursula Flight

by Anna-Marie Crowhurst

One of Stylist 's must-read books of 2018 'Original and charming, joyous and funny.' Tessa Hadley

'...[this] debut novel sweeps us away to the world of Ursula Flight, wannabe actress and playwright in 17th-century Britain. Ursula is a spirited and funny protagonist.' Sarah Shaffi, Stylist 'ON THE 15TH DAY OF DECEMBER IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD 1664, A GREAT LIGHT BLOOMED IN THE DARK SKY...' Born on the night of a bad-luck comet, Ursula Flight has a difficult destiny written in the stars. Growing up with her family in the country, she is educated by a forward-thinking father who enables her to discover a love of reading, writing and astrology. Ursula dreams of becoming a famous playwright, but is devastated to learn she must instead fulfil her family's expectations and marry. Trapped and lost, Ursula plots her escape - but her freedom will come at a price. As Ursula's dangerous desires play out, both on and off the stage, she's flung into a giddy world of actors, aristocrats and artistic endeavours which will change her life irrevocably. A gutsy coming-of-age story about a spirited young woman struggling to lead a creative life, this uplifting tale vividly evokes the glittering world of Restoration-era theatre. For anyone who has ever tried to succeed against the odds, The Illumination of Ursula Flight is an inspiring journey of love and loss, heartbreak and all-consuming passion. This is a debut pulsating with life for readers of Jessie Burton, Sarah Waters and Sarah Perry.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical, 17th Century, Audiobook, British Literature, Humor

410 pages, Paperback

First published May 3, 2018

About the author

Anna-Marie Crowhurst has worked as a freelance journalist and columnist for more than 15 years, contributing to The Times, The Guardian, Time Out, Newsweek, Emerald Street and Stylist. In 2016 she studied for an MA in Creative Writing at Bath Spa University, where her debut novel The Illumination of Ursula Flight was born. She lives in London.

Reviews

[Britta Böhler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Utterly charming and delightful but with depth as well.

[Lucy Banks · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

A beautifully bawdy feminist romp - part period drama, part post-modernist mayhem. Loved it.

Ah. You can't beat a lively period novel, complete with a cast of memorable (and occasionally vile) characters and bawdy goings-on. Most of the best ones tend to be written several hundred years ago, yet here we are with a 21st century novel that fits right in amongst them. However, despite its strong mark of period authenticity, it manages to feel wonderfully fresh and feisty.

Ursula Flight is a wilful, gutsy child. Daughter of a parochial lord of the manor, she spends her time getting muddy in woods and putting on plays with the local kids. As a teen, her heart is stolen by the handsome Samuel, but her romantic notions are thwarted when she's told she must marry Lord Tyringham. He's rich, but unfortunately also smelly, bog-eyed and boring as hell.

Ursula, not the sort to be cursed to a life of tedium, soon sets about making her own fun - especially when she meets up with Samuel again at court. Think this is a predictable love story where the woman gets her man? Think again. This book has a delightfully strong, feminist conclusion and the message is 100% clear - Ursula needs no man to 'complete her'. Hooray!

There was so much to love about this book. It's clearly well-researched, because (as far as I can tell, and I'm fairly up on UK history, plus history of the theatres) it's all pretty accurate and this gives it the winning note of authenticity.

Against this convincing backdrop, the author has created a wonderful array of characters. Ursula herself is a delight - unapologetically bold and gutsy, occasionally impudent, and wonderfully ambitious. Lord Tyringham is repulsive and also quite amusing at times; as is Samuel (though for quite different reasons). As for Sebeliah, Lord Tyringham's hypochondriac sister? Hilariously watery and insipid.

However, despite all the liveliness and good humour, there are some serious issues explored here. Ursula's marriage to a man much older than herself is quite painful in places - not least her having to submit sexually to him. After all, this was a regular occurrence for women back then, which when you stop and think about it, sucked massively. The other struggles that females must have faced are also illustrated well - being unable to find employment, being considered a 'fallen women' without a man to look after you, being objectified at every opportunity... the list goes on.

Just to emphasise, this is not a man-hating book. Yes, Ursula's husband and lover are bad 'uns; but her father is portrayed as a wonderfully progressive type, who takes the time to educate her. There are others that also treat her with the respect she deserves. So it's shown evenly - there's no man-bashing going on here.

Overall, a brilliantly entertaining read. I really enjoyed it.

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ursula Flight is a sheer delight! Set in the time of King Charles and Nell Gwynn, Ursula is irrepressible. Her voice is captured so well by the author and the story as a whole is wittily written. The plays she writes from an early age are the highlights of the book. Such a great heroine, she finds her place, calling in life and learns to be an independent and resourceful young woman, beholden to no one. An inspiring and original story, rich in historical detail. Recommended.

[Eva · Rating 5 out of 5]

December 15th, 1664. The dark night is lit up by a comet, something that wasn’t particularly seen as a good omen in those days. While this comet travels along, Ursula Flight is born and this is how her story starts and the reader is taken on the most delightful journey through her life.

Ursula is one of those characters you just fall in love with the second you meet her. Born into a well to-do family, she’s fun, fierce, determined, inquisitive, imaginative, wise for her age and for the times. She’s most definitely someone to sympathise with and root for. Despite the fact her father, against the custom of the age, begins educating her, life in those days was quite preordained. Ursula will have to marry, willing or not, and all her hopes and dreams might just be crushed.

I found The Illumination of Ursula Flight a most remarkably refreshing and enchanting story. It is exquisitely written, full of complex and intriguing characters and often quite humorous. Ursula’s love for all things theatre shines through via chapters from her diary and plays she’s written during the good times from her childhood but also the hardships she faces later on on in life. I was worried these would put me off but ended up truly enjoying them and found they added just that little bit extra and an even greater insight into the kind of person Ursula is.

I do so love historical fiction and this novel was brilliantly written. It kept me captivated for hours. Maybe some things are a little predictable and maybe some readers might find the story takes a while to pick up but for me, I found myself so immersed that I wondered where the time and the pages had gone. I couldn’t have picked a better novel to kickstart the new year with. Ursula utterly captured my heart and I thoroughly enjoyed going on this journey with her. I loved it so much that it may just be a novel I’ll pick up again some time.

Well researched and hugely entertaining, The Illumination of Ursula Flight is an impressive debut by Anna-Marie Crowhurst and I very much look forward to reading more by her in future.

[Katie Lumsden · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this one. It's great fun, with a wonderful central character, a great exploration of gender in the 17th century and a really interesting use of form. However, I will say I thought the pacing wasn't quite right for me - the last 100 pages were amazing, and I would have loved for that section of the book to behind earlier.

[Leo · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't if I read this in the wrong format (audiobook) or it was my current slightly reading slump that made my reading experience not quite great. Might give this book another go someday but in a physical copy instead.

[Melanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's been less than 24 hours since I finished the book, but I already know that this story will stay for me for some time. Ursula is born at the end of Cromwell's reign and grows up during the restoration of Charles II. Her father indulges her, teaches her to read, instructs her in sciences, languages and mathematics and yet at the age of 15 and a good match is sought for her and she is married off to a man, 20 years her senior that has a lot of property and an influential position. He and his puritan mother and sister do everything to clip Ursula's wings. She processes what is happening to her by writing playscripts, lists and letters. We are entirely in Ursula's head and I know that many people do not like that kind of narrative. We know nothing of the motives of the others in her life, but to me that made this books so delicious. I adored Ursula's voice, the little girl voice at first, the teenage Ursula, the downtrodden Ursula, the Ursula who becomes a woman. For me, this was a wonderful book and Ursula's charm and wit will stay with me for a long time yet.

[Eric Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read Margaret Cavendish's writing for the first time recently and, while I enjoyed its creativity, vigour and sheer oddity, I longed to get a taste of what day to day life would have really been like for an intelligent female writer of the 17th century. Danielle Dutton partly answered this in her take on Cavendish's life in her recent exquisite novel “Margaret the First”. Now Anna-Marie Crowhurst has imagined the dramatic life of a female playwright named Ursula who narrates her own story from her birth in 1664 to the beginning of her writing career. She gives a richly detailed sense of what life would have been like for a privileged upperclass girl growing up on a rural estate. Amidst her narrative we're also given various documents including sketches of plays, letters, lists and notes which not only bring her story to life but chart the evolution of her creative process in becoming a writer.

Read my full review of The Illumination of Ursula Flight by Anna-Marie Crowhurst on LonesomeReader

[Cathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ursula gives us the story of her life in her own inimitable fashion starting with her birth as a comet crosses the sky and her childhood encounter with an actress that sparks her interest in the theatre. Having an unusually enlightened father, Ursula learns Latin, Greek and other languages, studies astronomy and reads every book and play she can lay her hands on. Soon she’s trying her own hand at writing plays, depicting scenes of love, comedy, mischief and a little wishful thinking that are acted out with her young friends.

Unfortunately for Ursula, all the fun and games come to an end when she is promised in marriage to Lord Tyringham. As well as being an unfortunate match, Ursula misses her friends and family and finds herself bored with the responsibilities of being a wife. Things come to a head when Ursula discovers secrets about her husband that the alert reader may have suspected for some time.

Although I found the whole book entertaining, I’ll admit it really picked up for me in the last third when the location changes and Ursula finally gets a chance to take her future into her own hands. Unfortunately, this is not before she has learned through bitter experience that men are not always to be trusted!

The story is told in the distinctive voice the author has created for Ursula and interspersed with excerpts from Ursula's plays, diary entries and personal notes that reveal her innermost thoughts. I really enjoyed the humour in the plays and some of her lists are extremely funny. For example, her ‘Discourse on Matrimony & Wiving for New Brides’ by ‘A Married Woman Who Knoweth’ in which the most useful piece of advice is probably: ‘If all other courses fail you, and you are brought down by worries or woe or other encumbrances suffered by the dutiful wife and feel fit to burst with ill feeling and frustration and love-lack, steal yourself out of doors away from prying eyes and running as fast as and as furious as you can, scream every oath you know in English, and other languages.’ Yep, I reckon that still works. There’s also the particularly saucy list she comes up with later in the book. (Those who have read the book will immediately recognise the bit I’m talking about.) The quirky chapter headings (such as ‘In which we dine en famille and I am perturbed’) also give a sense of the period in which the book is set.

The Illumination of Ursula Flight is great fun and deserves all the curtain calls and cries of ‘Author, Author’ it will no doubt receive.

I received an advance review copy courtesy of publishers, Allen and Unwin, and NetGalley in return for an honest and unbiased review.

[Lisa - *OwlBeSatReading* · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read a lot of historical fiction over the years, but I have never experienced the pleasure that I got from this one before.

To say this was exceptional doesn't do it the justice it deserves.
The reading experience was phenomenal as it was written in diary format, including Ursula’s take on her life written like a play. It was the most unique way I have come across in a long time.

The cover art of this hardback is stunning. It is one of my favourite on my bookshelf and I often pick it up just to have another look at it!

I am strongly considering re-reading this book because I’m sure I would continue to get pleasure from it from multiple reads. I will definitely read more from this author.

To conclude, it was a beautiful book.

[Andrea Zuvich · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Illumination of Ursula Flight is a largely lighthearted coming-of-age historical novel set in 1670s/1680s England and centres on the life (from birth to adulthood) of Ursula Flight. The book begins with a style often used by novels of the 17th century and made me immediately think of Daniel Defoe’s works. This tale is told in the first person by Ursula, a girl who is born into a well-to-do family. Her father gives her a thorough education (which was rare for girls at this time). She takes a keen interest in learning and has a talent for playwriting from a young age. Marriage, loss, love, and adversity bring her towards maturity and self-realisation.

In my opinion, the real magic in Crowhurst’s writing is that she employs the structure of Restoration play dialogue as the format for some of her scenes. The result is brilliant and charming – it really worked. Indeed, I’m not ashamed to say I’m a bit envious – I wish I’d thought of doing this myself in my books!

I was enthralled by the book throughout, but, for me, it peaked around 75% through, which was the most moving part (I guess that’s because I’m such a romantic). All the peripheral characters, such as Mary, Grisella, Lord Tyringham, Samuel, et al were well-made and I could visualise them clearly. Ursula herself is quite likeable – she’s both very intelligent and quite silly sometimes.

I’m always concerned when reading a work set in the seventeenth century because so often modern authors end up falling into the trap of presentism. Largely, the majority of the book stays very much in keeping with the values of the time, which I found a relief. Women such as Aphra Behn and Margaret Cavendish, although talented women writers (and more!), were outliers in their time and most decidedly not the norm. I mention this because I wasn’t overly enthusiastic about the ending, which I felt had a rather jarringly modern feminist message of “career first/I don’t need a man”. Other readers will undoubtedly disagree with me, and to each their own. This aside, the book as a whole was so enjoyable that this was a minor point for me.

The plot and the characters are well-formed, her research into this period in history is clear and I can tell she has done a great deal of work. I am staggered by the fact that this is Crowhurst’s debut work, for it is beautifully written, witty, and lively. I very much hope she continues to write. She certainly has a fan here.

TSCL rating: 5/5

Read the full review at: http://www.andreazuvich.com/book-revi...

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

A light and fast read with some very amusing segments as Ursula Flight pursues her dreams of independence and success as a playwright in Restoration London. Her success is mixed.... and the pitfalls lying in wait for young attractive women of means are plenty. The pages skipped through the fingers. Perhaps frothier than I expected but still fun with an interesting format, which includes extracts from all manner of Ursula's scribblings. Review to follow shortly on For Winter Nights.

[Joanne Robertson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my days! My first read of 2019 and it has already set the bar very high indeed for the rest of the books I plan to read this year. The Illumination of Ursula Flight is a mesmerising and fearless frolic featuring a feisty female protagonist that it’s pretty impossible not to fall in love with. As with all the memorable heroines who standout in historical literature, the journey of self discovery that Ursula undertakes strips her character back to the bone, revealing every personality flaw but that just made me adore her even more. So move over Becky Sharp and Amber St Clare, Ursula Flight is here to grab your attention from the minute she bursts into the world on the same night that a spectacular comet lights up the sky bringing fear to the population of bad luck to come.

I am a big fan of historical fiction set within this period and so I am very critical if it fails to live up to my expectations! But this book was just perfect in my eyes! The author captured the era with an almost cinematic reality that brought the setting to life with a vivid imagery so that every scene felt authentic and realistically involving. This was a time where women felt undervalued members of society so to see Ursula take her schooling to heart and realise she had a talent that she had to take to the masses meant that I was cheering her on every step of the way. Yes, she made mistakes but that only made her more likeable, I thought, and brought out her determination to succeed.

Ursula is a character I won’t forget in a hurry. Her free spirited and boisterous personality gave the narrative a wonderful humour which cut through the tense drama of the piece whilst still keeping the essence of the historical context. And what helped was the way in which parts of the plot were explored using Restoration plays as this gave the characters a different voice in which to communicate with each other.

In fact it’s hard to believe that this is a debut novel! The uniqueness of its narrative, combined with the quality of the storyline and character development, were woven together with a magically organic perception that means that I won’t forget this book in a hurry. In fact if this book doesn’t make my top 20 books of 2019 then I will eat my copy!! Actually, I’d go as far to say that The Illumination of Ursula Flight is now one of my all time favourite books and one I would happily read again on a regular basis. It’s just so beautifully written and affecting that I can’t recommend it highly enough! I absolutely loved every single page!

[Marianne · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5★s
The Illumination of Ursula Flight is the first novel by British author, Anna-Marie Crowhurst. On December 15th, 1664, a daughter was born to Clifford Flight. Seeing the Great Bear in the night sky, he named her Ursula. At seven years of age, Ursula encountered a Drury Lane actress, and was enthralled with the whole concept of acting. By eight, her father was educating her thoroughly: literature, languages, drama, astronomy and more. Ursula also began writing her own plays and putting them on with friends.

But at fifteen, her mother saw to it that she was given to a man twenty years her elder in marriage. Lord Tyringham’s position in the House of Lords regularly took him from his Wiltshire estate. Would her husband indulge Ursula’s love of theatre and take her to Drury Lane when he went to London? Would she get to meet the King and Queen?

Crowhurst’s tale follows Ursula through a childhood cut abruptly short, an unhappy marriage, and a short-lived affair that sees her fending for herself in London. Told in a first-person narrative, Ursula shows herself to be clever and determined, although she is sometimes quite shallow, and she is certainly well ahead of her time with regards her attitude and independence. As well as Ursula’s narrative, there are her plays (or parts thereof), her many lists, letters sent and received, her rules, her diary, transcripts of conversations and an agenda.

While there are quite a few unhappy times for Ursula, there’s also quite a bit of humour and, overall, this is an easy and enjoyable read.
With thanks to Allen & Unwin for this Proof Copy to read and review.

[Victoria Gilbert · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was expecting a lot from this after reading some of the reviews. Also the hardback copy was to pretty and enticing to ignore.
The writing is strong and the setting of restoration England was fascinating. It was great to read of the lives of women in this era. I find myself to often in Tudor England or Victorian England!
Ursula is an interesting character and as everything is written in a diary form we really only get to know Ursula.
This is were I struggled, the other characters piqued my interest and I wanted to know more of them. After a while I found Ursula a little predictable and the story along with her.
There were hints of Michael Fabers Crimson Petal and the White and around half way through the book I felt it started to become more of a romp however this was short lived and the wilder side of Ursulas character felt lost somewhat again.
I wanted to love this book. Still worth a read, just a little more vanilla than I was expecting.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Ursula!
Which is fortunate as hers is the only perspective you're going to get...and I still loved it!
Set in 17th-century England, Ursula dreams of being a playwright.
She writes plays to entertain her friends as she grows in a privileged environment and then she is married off at a very young age but plots her escape from the ties that bind her.
Her dreams do not diminish and she continues to seek the life she desires no matter what life throws at her. Her journal is punctuated with funny lists, musings and parts of plays (starring Ursula herself usually!).
I love her pluck and courage and I love that she refuses to be restrained by expectations.
It's an indulgent and amusing read that I thoroughly enjoyed.

[Kaja · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an absolutely delightful book!

This book is written so cleverly and the format made the story even more enjoyable. Ursula Flight is an amazing and strong heroine and the story of her life is really touching, enjoyable and interwoven with so much humor and hope. The book showed how hard life was for women in these times, yet still Ursula kept on being herself and not losing hope for a better life. The ending was really beautiful and so well done. I am so in love with this book.

[Jo · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story of Ursula who wants to be a playwright in 17th century London, despite it being dominated by men and the theatre being no place for a lady. This is a wonderful romp through Restoration England with shades of Tristram Shandy and Moll Flanders.

[Kim Becker (MIDDLE of the Book MARCH) · Rating 5 out of 5]

*4.5 rounded up. 🤓

[Margo · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one is going straight onto my favourites shelf. Though it was was not perfect for a debut novel it was really engaging. Set in 17th century england, this is the story of Ursula, a woman ahead of time.

The terrible way women were treated in the 1600s did not come as a surprise to me. Women were the property of first their Father, then their husbands. They had no rights and owned nothing. No, the plight of women at the time did not surprise me, what did surprise me were the twists and turns this story took and the delightful writing style.

Not the most original set of chacters ever but this story didn't set out to be original, it's purpose was to to tell the story of every woman as it could, and should, have been. I felt Ursulas sadness and frustration but mostly I laughed with her and cheered her on. I felt betrayed mostly by the women in life who let her down as they perpetuated the system that kept them as chattels in a world created by, and for, men.

I listened to the audiobook narrated by Imogen Comrie. The reading was very good.

[K.J. Charles]

DNF on page 2. Literally unreadable--as in, I couldn't read the words. The publishers have chosen to format the epub PDF-style to keep all their lovely pretty layout twiddles, including the folios (ie the printed page numbers, very useful in an ebook, good thinking chaps), as a result of which the type comes up as a point size of maybe 6 on my Kobo Aura. Any attempt to enlarge it knocks off lines at the bottom of the page, rendering the reading experience either eye-straining or fiddly and tedious.

Ridiculously poor from the publisher. Did nobody check this before putting it on sale?

[Angie Rhodes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read and reviewed for Lovereading..
A wonderful , fun, charming book, Ursula, is the perfect heroine, I would love to see it made into a film.

[Jordan (Forever Lost in Literature) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the definition of an utter delight and I loved it so much! I haven't exactly been in a reading slump, but I've been having issues focusing and getting into some books lately and this could not have been a better time to read this book.

Find this review at Forever Lost in Literature!

The Illumination of Ursula Flight is easily one of the most delightful and charming books I've read all year. It's engaging, unique, distinct in its voice, a little bawdy, and incredibly meaningful. This physical book is also unbelievably gorgeous and whoever designed this beauty deserves a raise.

This story follows Ursula Flight, a passionate young girl with a love of writing and theatre, as she moves through the tumultuous events of her life. Ursula is one of the most captivating and vibrant characters that I've had the pleasure of reading in some time. She is constantly exercising her creativity through her writing and inner dialogue, both of which I loved exploring, and as much as she is a mostly kind and interesting girl, she is full of flaws as well and makes plenty of mistakes that grounds her in reality in the most fulfilling way. She is extraordinarily willful about her desires and actions, but also has the common sense to learn from her mistakes and to make the most of any situation she is in, no matter how dreadful it may be. She's always full of hope, and I think that's one of her most endearing qualities.

The historical backdrop of the seventeenth century was equally vibrant and intriguing to explore. The time period was obvious in the mannerisms of the characters and the realities of what life was like in those times--especially for women--but I loved how Crowhurst still managed to make this time period feel so alive and exciting. It honestly made me want to learn more about the time period and King Charles and more about the theatre during that time period.

Within this delightful background and historical period are a myriad of equally colorful characters that constantly had me laughing, cringing, and everything in between. Every person, no matter how minor their role may be, has something distinct about their personality that brings them to life and adds a certain level of charm to the story that I couldn't help but love. It is also largely Ursula's narrative that makes everything so enjoyable due to of her sharp mind and penchant for making jokes or comments about different characters and events that I loved.

Even though this book is full of delights as I've been describing, it still manages to handle some extremely serious topics, albeit in lighter ways that make these topics somewhat easier to handle. I can't really go into details about these, unfortunately, because to do so would give way to spoilers, but suffice to say that the plight of women in this period is explored to the fullest extent in a way that makes you laugh slightly and nod along in commiseration, but also makes you sit back and consider these topics yourself and how things have or haven't changed over time. I find Ursula entirely inspirational and an incredible role model in relation to the idea that a woman can do anything, no matter what circumstance she may currently be in.

I loved Crowhurst's writing style, which embodied an appropriate seventeenth century style without being too stuffy and was instead vibrant and authentic. There are also excerpts from Ursula's various writings (plays, journals entries, etc.) littered throughout that provided some wonderful breaks in the narrative and allowed for some wonderful insight into Ursula's thoughts and writing abilities. These parts were some of my favorite!

Overall, it's an easy five stars from me. I cannot wait to see what Crowhurst writes next, though I'm not sure anything could ever take the place I have in my heart for this charming book.

[Ginny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! I just finished inhaling this book! The best thing I’ve read since Hamnet! It was funny,charming, suspenseful, thoughtful. It has a unique structure and is an incredibly compelling read. A rollicking good tale! Get hold of the UK hardcover if you can….what a beautiful cover. I think that a lot would be lost or indecipherable as an e-book.

[Ell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Utterly brilliant — The Illumination of Ursula Flight sparkles with wit and spirit. Ursula is one of the greatest heroines in fiction to date!

[Karen Mace · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are looking for a fabulous new character to welcome into your life, then look no further! Ursula Flight is a delight!! From a inquisitive and imaginative child, to a determined and feisty woman, this book follows Ursula in a sparkling debut set in the 17th century.

Another thing I loved about this book was the way the story was written. It's all from the pen of Ursula, such as diary entries (think of the historic equivalent to Adrian Mole, or Bridget Jones!), alongside plays she wrote and performed in linked to episodes in her life that she witnessed or imagined, and it just made for such a light and refreshing read that was full of laughs, spirit and had that feelgood factor that just made me want more!

Ursula was born on the night of the comet, and throughout her childhood she always felt different to many others. She is from a well to do family and is educated by her father who she idolises. Her relationship with her mother was a little more difficult and that was also a revealing side to the story as her life progresses.

The historical side to the story is also very well done and you never feel like you're just looking back, you feel like you're a fly on the wall as she travels to various places, experiences new things and the expectations placed on her as a female of the time. But Ursula has different ideas and isn't afraid to speak her mind and this can lead to problems for her when she's expected to know her place and stay quiet.

With an education behind her she is never happy to just settle for a domestic life, and her dream is to write plays for the theatres of London. And with such a determined character such as Ursula, you never doubt her desire to achieve these ambitions, despite those around her doing their best to thwart them. She has to overcome a number of hurdles put in her way but she even approaches these with a wonderful sense of humour and humility.

I adored this book and especially Ursula, and found it to be a truly unique reading experience. An amazing debut novel and I will be eagerly awaiting more from this author!!

[Roz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely LOVED this book. It was exactly what I was in the mood for, the type of story I enjoy, and a subject that I enjoy. If there were a book written for me, well, this could be it.

Having said all of that, Ursula Flight is a light, enjoyable read. While there are parts that have disturbing subject matter, the way in which it is written as scenes from a humorous play takes the sting out while leaving an observant reader with disturbing knowledge. This method also got through these scene a lot faster, moving the plot.

Ursula Flight was a fantastic character. The reader meets her while she is fairly young, and observes her growth and journey as a girl and then woman born centuries before her time. Even at her lowest, she is still the type of character one wants to support and shout for.

The ending of this book was the cherry on the cake. But I will leave you to find out what happened.

[gem · Rating 3 out of 5]

A beautifully written historical novel that will appeal to fans of Alison Weir, Philippa Gregory and Anne O'Brien.
Set in 17th Century England this is a stunningly inventive novel that focuses on Ursuala Flight. Her narration is partly formed by diary entries and scripts, and this is a really interesting addition and allows the reader to get additional insights into her character and what she is thinking and feeling.
I've read quite a few books set in the same time period and this one is wonderful, it is so detailed in it's descriptions that you'll feel as if you have stepped back in time.
Thank you to netgalley for the chance to read this.

[Berna · Rating 5 out of 5]

4,5 stars rounded up to 5.
I simply loved Ursula Flight as a character. She has become one of my favorite heroines. She is a survivor who also has hope/wit in every point in her life.
The writing style of the book was also very good.

[Alenka of Bohemia · Rating 5 out of 5]

You know those "historical" fiction books in which all of the people are really just modern characters dressed in fancy clothes. Aren´t they the WORST? And when you combine them with a teenage heroine, you have a disaster (that gets incredibly popular and you just roll your eyes and pretend you are not jealous because you are broke). Terrible, am I right?

Well, ladies and gentlemen, URSULA FLIGHT is here to save the day, the year and maybe even a decade. In this coming-of-age story, we are following Ursula since her birth to her 19 years and it is glorious because whatever happens to her and whatever she does she does both thinking and acting according to customs, education and logic (no matter how faulty or toxic) OF THE SET PERIOD. THANK YOU, Anna-Marie Crowhurst, the history nerd in me has just had a mental orgasm.

And she still manages to come off as an incredibly inspirational feminist character. That too is not the only thing this book has to recommend itself. It has some incredibly sad, heartfelt moments, but at the same time manages to be, for the most part, laugh-out-loud funny. The classic narration is interlaced with some of the scenes from Ursula´s life presented as scenes of a theatre play, lists or pamphlets, all of which offers yet another dimension to the reading experience.

Oh and if you cannot tell, I REALLY loved this! Why isn´t it on your TBR yet, hmmmm?