The Dresskeeper by Mary Naylus

REVIEW COPY: Prospera Publishing.

Released: 30 November

Back cover: Have you ever pretended to be someone else?Picky Robson thought things couldn't get any worse. Her life is a boy-free aone, she's being bullied at school, then mum announces she has to look after gran every weekend for the foreseeable future. One night, unknowingly tempting fate, Picky slips into a flouncy old dress from the depths of an ancient chess and finds herself back in 17th Century London. But she is not alone. A weirdo in a wig is trying to kill her - mistaking her for a girl called Amelia. Who is Amelia? Can Picky change the past by exposing the murderer? And will she make it back alive?

This was a pleasure to read. Penelope – aka Picky – was such a great character to spend time with. She had such a humorous voice throughout that I found myself laughing out loud. The time travel aspect of the story was handled really well and added to the story. Mary Naylus did a great job of balancing the past and the present throughout the book – I was equally interested in both. The present dealt with the issues of bullying, self image and an absentee father – all of which were handled with care by the author – while still managing to keep the book lighthearted. The mystery of the past was really intriguing and I didn’t work it out. I loved seeing 17th century London through Picky’s eyes (and her humorous observations) – it really brought it to life and was the perfect way to bring a modern voice to historical fiction.

Overall this was great fun! My only quibble would be that it ended too quickly – I would have like to known more about what happened both in the past and the present – but that's just testament to how much I enjoyed it. I will certainly be keeping my eye out for her next novel The Plaguemaker in 2010.

You can read the first 3 chapters here