“A hauntingly vivid story of the Great Plague of 1666, written with spare grace and intelligence, along with a compelling historical realism. A very fine and very moving fiction.” – Dr Rowan Williams
“It’s a rare book that moves so quietly, that delves so deeply into what it feels to love and to face loss. A memorable, slow triumph.” Toni Senior, The Times
Walking with ghosts … some reflections on maps and writing historical fiction
It is 1666 and the bubonic plague still haunts London. Just outside the old Roman walls, where they have lived for six good years, printers James and Ellie White have managed to escape its ravages. The city too has survived, but now sits in a cloud of wounds. After over a year, something like everyday life has been restored, and the preacher Solomon Eagle wants a book printed, in which he moralises on the meanings of the plague and the judgements of God.
James and Ellie accept his commission and set to work but James is plagued by a breathless trepidation. Then everything changes when the unexpected happens.
Caught in the dream-like place between the past and their future, with former lives to unlive and a grief they can hardly speak, they must hold onto each other, and their love, in order to survive.
Lyrical and visceral in equal measure, All the Colours you Cannot Name is a compelling and deeply tender story of love and death.
All the Colours You Cannot Name can be purchased directly from Seren Books, from Amazon, Waterstones, or an independent book shop near you.
Joad R Wren 