ISBN: 9780099532446

Synopsis After a lifetime’s struggle with alcohol, critical neglect and depression, in 1840 the nature poet John Clare is incarcerated. The asylum, in London’s Epping Forest, is run on the reformist principles of occupational therapy. At the same time, the young Alfred Tennyson, moves nearby and became entangled in the life of the asylum.

This historically accurate, intensely lyrical novel, describes the asylum’s closed world and Nature’s paradise outside the walls: Clare’s dream of home, of redemption, of escape.

Bookclub Review Despite being shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize, the group wasn’t very impressed with this book. Members found the writing over-descriptive and difficult to read. The general feeling was that Foulds was trying too hard. He clearly has talent but it still has to develop. The book deals with a number of interesting topics: gypsies, the life of poets, treatment of the mad in Victorian England, but the story doesn’t really go anywhere.