Paris, 1871. Four young people will rewrite their destinies.
Paris is in revolt. After months of siege at the hands of the Prussians, a wind of change is blowing through the city, bringing with it murmurs of a new revolution. Alone and poverty-stricken, sixteen-year-old Zéphyrine is quickly lured in by the ideals of the city's radical new government, and she finds herself swept away by its promises of freedom, hope, equality and rights for women.
But she is about to be seduced for a second time, following a fateful encounter with a young violinist. Anatole's passion for his music is soon swiftly matched only by his passion for this fierce and magnificent girl. He comes to believe in Zéphyrine's new politics - but his friends are not so sure. Opera singer Marie and photographer Jules have desires of their own, and the harsh reality of life under the Commune is not quite as enticing for them as it seems to be for Anatole and Zéphyrine. And when the violent reality of revolution comes crashing down at their feet, can they face the danger together - or will they be forced to choose where their hearts really lie? Lydia Syson is a fifth-generation North Londoner who now lives south of the river with her partner and four children. After an early career as a BBC World Service Radio producer, she turned from the spoken to the written word, and developed an enduring obsession with history. Her PhD about poets, explorers and Timbuktu was followed by a biography of Britain's first fertility guru, DOCTOR OF LOVE: JAMES GRAHAM AND HIS CELESTIAL BED, and then two YA novels for Hot Key Books, set in the Spanish Civil War (A WORLD BETWEEN US) and World War Two (THAT BURNING SUMMER). LIBERTY'S FIRE is the third of her novels to be inspired, very loosely, by family history: Lydia's anarchist great-great-grandmother moved in Communard circles in late nineteenth century London. Read more about Lydia and her books at www.lydiasyson.com or on Twitter: @lydiasyson Paris, 1871. Four young people will rewrite their destinies Well-researched, passionate and gripping, this is historical fiction at its most absorbing Lydia's debut A WORLD BETWEEN US was named an 'outstanding novel for teenagers' by the Guardian and nominated for the Guardian Children's Fiction prize, in addition to being Highly Commended at the Branford Boase Awards As with THAT BURNING SUMMER, LIBERTY'S FIRE is a crossover read and has great PR potential Lydia tweets at @LydiaSyson and blogs regularly at lydiasyson.com - follow her to discover the history behind her novels and the research that informs her writing process Lydia is available for school and library events in the South London area - contact keynotes@hotkeybooks.com for more information ...a thrilling, daring love story... Known for bringing neglected historical periods to life for her teenage audience, Syson's passionate account of the lives of four youths during those dramatic seventy-two days in 1871 is a riveting yarn. It's impressively thorough and informed by her own fair-minded feminism... The writing is powerful, the events terrifying. This is an excellent history lesson, mixed with romance. Romantic, fascinating and terrifying Thoroughly researched and beautifully written Syson brings history alive through careful detail An impressive cross-over at many levels
