Sparks of Bright Matter: 'A debut novel of great imagination and originality'- THE SUNDAY TIMES

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Description

In 18th century London, a little knowledge is a dangerous thing. A lot of knowledge is deadly.

When ambitious apprentice chemist and secret alchemist Peter Woulfe is tasked with caring for a mysterious illustrated book, the Mutus Liber, he quickly realises that the grimy underworld of Georgian London is even more dangerous than he first believed.

Soon the book is stolen by the light-fingered Sukie and Peter finds himself being pursued by threatening men who are willing to do anything to get the book back. Where in teeming London might Sukie be found Why is Peter so enthralled by her And what is it about the Mutus Liber that is so enticing As the search for the book becomes an urgent game of cat and mouse, it seems that the key to Peter's present dilemma might only be found in half-remembered events from his childhood, and then further back still, in the mists of Irish myth.

A spell-binding and unputdownable tale about spirit and matter, love and lust, and reality and magic.

Reviews

'Thrilling and intoxicating - a dazzling debut' -- Evie Woods * author of The Lost Bookshop *
'A captivating story, weaving together so many emotions with such beautiful descriptions that you feel you really are standing by the shoulders of the characters' -- Philip Paris * author of The Last Witch of Scotland *
'A debut novel of great imagination and originality' * The Sunday Times *
'With a cast of lost souls in search of the ineffable, Sparks of Bright Matter takes us from the mystical landscape of rural Ireland to the metropolis and back again. The prose is subtly rendered and assured, the story as visceral, twisty and perilous as the backstreets of 18th century London' -- Karen Powell * author of Fifteen Wild Decembers *
'From rural Ireland to London and Paris, this is a tale of folklore, fate and the pursuit of magic, but above else, this is a stunning book about humanity' -- Lisa Redmond * LisaReadsBooks blog *

Author Bio

Leeanne O' Donnell started her storytelling career working in radio with RTE and BBC, and has made a number of award-winning radio documentaries. Sparks of Bright Matter is her first novel, which she wrote from her home on the foothills of a mountain in the remote south west of Ireland.