William and Lucy by Michael Brown Review

Book Description:
It’s 1798. England is at war with France as 28 year old William Wordsworth meets 17 year old Lucy Sims. They fall into a love burdened by social prejudice, crushing debt and dangerous
rumors that threaten to send Wordsworth to the gallows for being a French spy. Meanwhile, Lucy’s employer plans to seduce her and make her his mistress. William and Lucy’s relationship hangs in the balance, until fate steps in and ... their love becomes part of literary history. 

One of the most romantic poems in the history of English literature ‘She Dwelt Among The Untrodden Ways’ was written by William Wordsworth. The subject of his poem was a young woman named Lucy—she is one of literary history’s most enduring mysteries. 
Who was Lucy? Where did she come from? Did she ever exist? No one knows. This is their story…


About the Author
Michael Brown has won 3 Emmy Awards, an ACE Eddie Award and a Lifetime Career Achievement Award as a film editor. He is a member of the Directors Guild of America & the Writers Guild of America and has sold ten scripts to ABC,CBS, & NBC. He lives in southern California with his wife, Holly. This is his first novel.


My Thoughts:
William and Lucy by Michael Brown is speculative fiction about renowned poet William Wordsworth and Lucy , based on the poem, She Dwelt Among the Untrodden Ways that takes place in the late 1700's England during a war between England and France. The "Lucy" in this novel is Lucy Simms, a governess for two children of a local squire and his wife. William being a poet and Lucy a painter, find themselves drawn to one another, maybe because they are both artistic or there is such a thing as love at first sight. William lives with his sister Dorothy but they are not very affluent because making a living as a poet is rather difficult. Lucy loves her charges but is afraid that she may have to leave due to the unwanted advances of her boss, the Squire. Circumstances beyond Lucy's control makes her decide that she can no longer stay as governess and she flees during the night in a horrific storm. Once the children find that she is gone, they run away to try to find her and William also finds that she is gone and decides to go after her. What ensues is bittersweet and tragic story, I do not want to give away the ending but I will say that I found the story sad and inspiring at the same time. The author was able to interpret the poem into his own idea as to who Lucy was and why she was an inspiration for the poem. Lucy's real identity still remains a mystery and some historians think that Lucy may have been a real woman or just a figment of the Wordworth's imagination. Will we ever know, maybe not but I recommend reading this book for anyone who loves poetry and historical fiction.
I received a copy of this book for review from Michael Brown and was not monetarily compensated for my review.