4.75 stars

Why is NO ONE talking about The Strange Adventures of H? Not only is the cover absolutely STUNNING, but the story itself is just *lovingly stares into the distance* perfect. We follow H as she grows up into a strong woman who manages to navigate 17th century England. Not only is it timely as it covers the Plague of London 1666, but it also features revenge plots, family reunions, death, and more angst. All this has propelled Sarah Burton's novel to become my favorite historical fiction story ever.

Before continuing on, I must put a trigger warning for rape and suicide. They are quite prevalent in some areas of the novel.

The story is so wholesome. It made me laugh and cry. A great strength of the novel is the character-work. I genuinely loved Evelyn, Aunt Madge, Godfrey, Janey, Charlie and more. I also hated Sylvia, Roger, Diana and all the people that wronged H. A big theme that is explored is greed and how money affects people/relationships. I think Sarah Burton handles this theme extremely well. She thoroughly examines characters that value money over life in a way that is engaging as all these characters are like real people. I really admire how close you get to the characters. You know how they talk, how they make their decisions, and you can just picture them living alongside you. I love that.

The plot is separated into three segments. H struggles with her mental health and decides to take on plenty identities: first she goes as "H", then as "Doll", then as "Halcyon". All three areas of the plot were heavily investing as they examined different ways of life a woman could lead in 1666 London. Each section gives us a new villain, a new group of allies, and more tension. It keeps your attention all the way through!

There were only two scenes that keep me from giving The Strange Adventures of H a 5 star rating. In my opinion, the prologue is unnecessary. It doesn't really add to anything, and spoils one of the most epic moments in the book. The other scene is quite spoilery, so... (view spoiler on original review; linked below)

Overall, I NEED more people to be talking about this novel. It is truly amazing. If you are looking for a fast-paced, original historical fiction story, this book is for you.

Original review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3272678923

(Thank you Netgalley and Legend Press for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review!)

The Strange Adventures of H by Sarah Burton pulled me right in. I had not heard of this author but when I looked her up, I saw that she is an established author of children's books as well as a professor. I figured this meant she could write well and tell a good story! Very true.
The main character, H, is a child when the book starts and grows up in London during the bubonic plague in 1665 and also the great fire a few years later. I did not realize that a terrible, flu plague was a large part of this book when I chose to read it in early April 2020 while staying home and watching the world struggle with the pandemic of Covid-19. But, when I got to the part where the plague was spreading across London, it was so interesting and creepily parallel to our current time that I just kept reading.
While it is a coming of age story and H is a child during much of the book, it is definitely an adult book. (TW for rape, child abuse, assault) H has to survive on the streets of London after the plague causes her to be separated from everyone she knows and loves. She becomes a prostitute. The relationships between the girls in the house, and between H and her patrons, were well done and I was reminded of Frog Music by Emma Donoghue, which is another excellent historical fiction novel centered around the street life of San Francisco in the 1870s. Neither book glorifies prostitution, but they also do not demonize it. They see the humanity in the people who are living their lives that way during those times.
H has mental strength and self-confidence, but she struggles with self-acceptance. A theme in the book is self-forgiveness as well.
The characters are great and the family drama is intriguing. Also - as I suspected, Sarah Burton can write! I felt like I was reading a diary written in the 1660s and I even looked up a few words (a cup of sack turned out to be a glass of wine!), yet the whole time it was flawless and fast-paced. I really felt the sadness and desperation of London being wiped out by the plague and the fire. I really enjoyed this book and definitely recommend it.

*Many thanks to Sarah Burton, Legend Press and NetGalley for arc in exchange for my honest review.*
I found this debut novel by Ms Burton quite interesting and very much in the sentiment of the 17th and 18th centuries literary classics. The title, 'strange adventures of H', hiding the actual name of the female protagonist, feels like we are reading an actual memoir written by a woman who honestly describes her adventures and misfortunes, and eventually fortunes. H, the narrator, tell us about her childhood and her adolescence years, and what kind of life she led until she was rewarded in later years. Brought up far away from London, orphaned although with several elder sisters, H finds herself under the care of an aunt and considers herself both happy and lucky until she is seduced by a cousin and finds herself pregnant. She flees home and faces the 17th London reality.
I enjoy reading novels by Defoe, Richardson, Smollett or Fielding, so this novel was truly up my street. Two tragic events, the Great Fire of London and the Great Plague that struck in 1666 are depicted very well and with terrific care and thorough research on the side of Ms Burton. The characters are believable and so are their actions, and although the end of the novel was somehow predictble, it did not spoil the pelasure of reading.

Set in the 1660s in London, the story follows the life of H following the death of her father. The Plague and the Great Fire impact on her life and she finds herself struggling to survive. It is her close circle of friends that provide the warmth and support to help her thrive.
The book started out at a great pace, with a strong sense of Restoration London. Unfortunately the pace slackened as the story progressed but it did pick up again towards the end. Most of the time, the story was a little too predictable and the ending was rather contrived. The characters were mostly likeable although I didn't particularly like H herself.
Overall it was a reasonably entertaining story.

What an unexpected surprise this book was!
I have to say I did not see it coming when I requested to review this title. I fell for the cover and a story in London more than anything however the story catapulted itself to stratosphere after the first few chapters. T
he extraordinary plot twists, the story, the narration, the characters: I absolutely loved them!
I would not image living in London in 1660s. Our protagonist, born and raised in a poverty-stricken environment that lacks fortune encounters first the plague, then the Great Fire and as if that not enough, experienced first hand The Bawdy House Riots (Shrove Tuesday) within a 3-year period. The soul-crashing life she leads, how her adventures turn out create a most amazing story! My brain short-circuited after the first half; the surprises, twists and turns never end in her story. The misadventures continue within the style of “L’homme propose, le Dieu dispose,” (as Frenchie would say), God laughing at the plans she makes by creating obstacles every step of the way. A beautiful, creative piece of literature for fiction lovers and one of the greatest examples of historical fiction of the year.

Very much enjoyed this read. The author put time into making the reader feel immersed in the time and place of 16th century London. The pacing can be a bit slow but the details added are worth the atmospheric quality. Overall, I would recommend to those a fan of historical fiction.

Started and finished this one all in one day—I couldn’t put it down. The story follows H from childhood; following the death of her religious, overbearing father, H and one of her sisters are sent to London to live with their aunt. The events that follow see H navigating a series of triumphs and tragedies (including the plague and the Great Fire of London), doing what it takes to survive and ensure the survival of those she loves, in a time and place in which women have very little power. H was a wonderful protagonist, the story was complex and compelling, and there are few settings I love more than historic London! ✨

What an amazing book and what a prescient time to have read it. This story takes place during the plague of 1666 in London followed shortly thereafter by the great fire. During the time I find myself now, reading a book of quarantine in a time when little was known about diseases and how they spread, was very interesting.
The tale centers around H, a young orphan, and her sister Evelyn who have been given into the care of their Aunt. During the book, we are taken through different ups and downs in H's life and I found that though it was somewhat depressing subject matter times, it was very uplifting and had a wonderful character arc. The characters were all very well thought out, and I found myself wanting to know more of Godfrey and Jasper than I was given in the book itself. Though I was unfamiliar with the author previously, I feel as though she has a wonderful story laid out in this book and hope to read more from her in the future.
It was a wonderful quarantine book for me, and hopefully, it will be something you will choose to pick up in the future!
This ebook was provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I found the language in the book to be period appropriate, which made it a pleasure to read. I even picked up some new 17th century slang.
The story was interesting but a bit too predictable. The characters were very well drawn and very likeable. The "bad" characters were extremely unlikeable. The strongest aspect of the tale was the wonderfully described life during the Plague time in England.

I really wanted to love this book, the premise of this story is great.
A young girl ‘H’ is orphaned and sent to live with her aunt. There she faces plague, fire and the loss of her innocence. She finds herself cast out onto the streets of London, whilst London is laying under a quarantine order. (Very apt at this dreadful time!)
What follows is the story of her fight for survival. The opening scene is both wonderful and horrible, it’s the sort of scene that stages with you, and so I had high hopes for the rest of the book.
I loved the first half of the book, unfortunately for me, the book then seemed to lose direction. I found the writing hard to follow but the storyline predictable and I’m sorry to say that I skim read the last few chapters.
The character of H was also difficult to like and root for, and for me the love story added nothing but predictability.
I wanted to love this but didn’t, and I’m sorry for that as there are some good points. If the author could continue the skill she showed at the beginning of the book all the way through then it would have been brilliant.

I liked this book and found the plot interesting, the book has a lot of characters and I found it hard to follow at times.

* spoiler alert ** For the most part,this was a good entertaining read.
Involving playhouses,bawdy houses,the plague that run rampant through London,and of course the great fire.
They were all excellent backdrops to the story of H.
There were some amusing bits too,and a couple of central friendships that were quite heart warming.

At times though,it felt over long,and a bit too predictable.
Especially the ending.

Mostly though,it was entertaining