Peter Ackroyd

The Lambs of London Peter Ackroyd

Mary Lamb is confined by domesticity: her father is losing his mind, her mother watchful and hostile. The great solace of her life is her brother Charles, an aspiring writer. It is no surprise when Mary falls for the local bookseller's son, antiquarian William Ireland, from whom Charles has purchased a book. But this is no ordinary book-it once belonged to William Shakespeare himself, or so everyone believes.