Falling Angels by Tracy Chevalier (2001, Hardcover)

Tracy Chevalier is well known as the author of Girl with a Pearl Earring, which is a detailed and superbly researched book which tells the imaginative tale of what may have been the story behind one of Vermeer's most famous and enigmatic portraits. Having read that book, I had to read more of the authors work, and this novel is the next one I chose.
I was intrigued by the premise, which contrasts two families in the dusk of the Victorian era in London. One family clings to the tradition and ceremony of the Victorian age, and the other is looking forward to the modern era. A great deal of the subject matter centers around a cemetery, and perhaps this is why the novel seems to be so eerie. There is meant to be quite a lot of turmoil and action going on within the characters lives, without giving the story away, the plot features illicit romance,abortion and the suffragette movement. Yet somehow for me, at least, most of the characters never quite take life, and retain a rather ghostlike quality throughout.
The research behind the story must have been profound, the details and sense of atmosphere are strongly crafted. It's a fascinating and melancholy read, students of the time period are sure to find a great deal to savor, but if you like your stories to be inhabited by warm, strong characters, you may find this ethereal tale somewhat wanting.