The Conviction Of Cora Burns by Carolyn Kirby @noexitpress @novelcarolyn

Book Description:

To believe in her future, she must uncover her past…

Birmingham, 1885.

Born in a gaol and raised in a workhouse, Cora Burns has always struggled to control the violence inside her.

Haunted by memories of a terrible crime, she seeks a new life working as a servant in the house of scientist Thomas Jerwood. Here, Cora befriends a young girl, Violet, who seems to be the subject of a living experiment. But is Jerwood also secretly studying Cora…?

With the power and intrigue of Laura Purcell’s The Silent Companions and Sarah Schmidt’s See What I Have Done, Carolyn Kirby’s stunning debut takes the reader on a heart-breaking journey through Victorian Birmingham and questions where we first learn violence: from our scars or from our hearts.

My Thoughts:

I’m not usually a lover of historical books apart from ones to do with the war, reading the blurb for this one though it really intrigued me and I knew I wanted to find out more about Cora’s story. It didn’t disappoint.

Needless to say that Cora didn’t have the best start in life being born in gaol. Then to spend her childhood in a workhouse, I don’t think things could be any worse. The story itself flicks between past and present so we can better understand and get to know Cora. I have to admit I wasn’t to sure about Cora to start with. There is definitely a dark side to her that made me very wary. Whilst I can’t say I fully agreed with some of her actions, I quite admired the person she became.

I think this is a story very much about how we react to our start in life and how events can mould us into the person we become. It’s one that really makes you think. I found the whole era fascinating and whilst glad I didn’t live in those times, it does give a great insight into what life was like back then.

The Conviction Of Cora Burns is a fascinating insight into the 1800’s and into one woman’s life. Cora’s life really draws the reader in and I struggled to put the book down. The story takes some dark twists and turns and I was totally engrossed in what I was reading. A very clever debut novel and an author I will certainly be keeping my eye out for.

My thanks to No Exit Press for an advanced readers copy of this book. All opinions are my own and not biased in anyway.

The Conviction Of Cora Burns is available to purchase from Amazon. (Please note that link used is an affiliate link).