A gothic treasure hunt within this story was fun to follow as the narrator a young girl searched through a stately home looking for a lost diamond .
I enjoyed the way the story mixed real life historical facts of the Barnum circus and the victorian love of taxidermy and of heavily decorated feather hats
the story is mostly told I the first person and because of this there were several occasions that I didn't know which time period a particular chapter was set causing minor confusion . There was clearly a significance in the drawings of bird and birdcage at the top of each chapter but I couldn't work it out
The book is very visual and I couldn't help feel that it would make a great film or tv series Netflix will no doubt grab the. rights.
As a doctor I found the medical details regarding the narrators insulin use to be rather confused , for example missing a dose of insulin would be unlikely to cause coma as quickly as needed for the story timeframe
I read a copy on Netgalley UK the book is published in the UK by Headline books 22 June 2023

I found this a difficult book to get into - the first chapters are stilted and the characters and descriptions don’t ring true. However, once Emmy sets out on her treasure hunt and we are introduced to Esther, things pick up and I raced my way through the novel. There are slightly implausible parts but overall a real ‘Girls’ Own’ story. Three and a half stars from me.

I enjoyed reading this book - the descriptions of Victorian New York and the Scottish castle were great - I could almost smell the animal emporium where Hester worked alongside her husband. The character of Emmy and Hester were both likeable and interesting. The last few chapters are exciting and I raced through them to the finale so all in all a good read.
The plot is rich and multi-layered with plenty of nice twists and turns and if I have one criticism it is that there is almost too much layering of plot, making some of the secondary characters a bit supefluous, neither their fate nor their significance ever being fully explained.

3.5 stars rounded down

This took me about 20% to get into and I had half a mind not to finish this, but I'm glad I stuck with it. Emmy Blackwood, our main character, went from insufferable to someone I actually empathised with. The story, while slow at first, soon had me turning the pages faster and faster. Historical drama meets detective novel - making for an overall appealing read. If you do decide to read The Birdcage Library, don't give up on it too soon.

A very enjoyable historical page turner. Though at times the mystery feels a bit overwrought and some characters almost archetypal, I found I couldn't help but be pulled in. Most readers will likely figure out some of the key plot twists before they are revealed, but that didn't stop the book from being great fun.

** this review contains a slight spoiler**

It was the title of this book that jumped out at me first. I do like a bit of historical fiction and this one really intrigued me.

I was grateful to have been accepted to read this book and I’m so glad I was. It was a very clever, captivating story.

It started off for me a little slow and I found myself drifting a little and skim reading. Whilst I was interested I found it to be quite long winded and confusing. Especially as the language used can be a little difficult. However, I am so glad I persevered!

Once it got to Hester's treasure hunt, I was hooked. I couldn’t put it down and literally read that chunk of the book in one sitting! I loved how it kept going back to Hester’s account and her story was so interesting.

I loved the twists and revelations in the book and the storyline as a whole was so cleverly written. I was sad when it ended.

I would actually love for there to be a follow on book! Maybe more of Hester’s life, or life after the bridge! I didn’t want it to end and I had so many questions.

Overall a good read and would highly recommend.

Thank you NetGalley and Headline books for the opportunity to read and review this book.

It's mid 1930s, Emmy, a botanist and plant explorer, has to return to England with her blind father. Restless, traumatised by the loss of her mother and twin sister she needs funds and has to take a contract to catalogue a collection of stuffed animals, no other word for it, in a remote Scottish half ruined castle with some weird inhabitants. The story starts as a fairly straightforward narrative by her. We then jump to Hester's story in the late 1800s - married to Charles, in love with his brother Henry and working in their family business of collecting live wildlife for patrons' amusement and enjoyment. Anything is on the cards but mostly birds by the thousand for their feathers, ostrich plumes being a the height of fashion. An unpleasant trade of the time. Hestor hates the constraints of her life and is apparently murdered by her husband. Nonetheless she leaves clues behind for a treasure hunt. Her relatives own the aforementioned half ruined castle and Emmy takes up the treasure hunt some 30 or so years later. The atmosphere is good throughout from the castle itself to the glitz and glitter of upper class eastern USA - more is better and don't bother about the methods of collection. Hester and Emmy are both strong characters but neither really caught my attention, Emma in particular felt unreal. The story jumps between the two women and it could easily take a few sentences to realise we'd moved from one to the other. The treasure hunt was partly interesting but partly unrealistic too, at least to me. Overall an ok read and the ending was a nice twist. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy

"A dead woman– a stuffed bird– a lost treasure."

The Birdcage Library is a beautifully written work of historical fiction with a treasure hunt at its center.
I was gripped from the start by the gothic atmosphere and the twists and revelations were intelligently crafted.
Looking forward to rereading it upon release and reading more of this author's work.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I read an eARC of this book so thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for allowing this.

The Birdcage Library is a historical novel with two separate perspectives told about fifty years apart. We meet Emmy, our protagonist as she is given a commission to catalogue a taxidermy collection at a remote property in Scotland.

I liked Emmy as narrator, she is intelligent and hardworking, but tormented by her past. She’s desperate to take care of her father, but has suffered setbacks due to the financial crash. She had spent the previous seven years travelling and exploring on the search for rare plants in Australia and several other locations. She’s forced back to the U.K. and has to take on this commission to earn enough to take care of her father. Her psychological trauma drives her to drink and she also has to take insulin, her diabetes often causing her serious problems.

While Emmy works on her commission she starts to learn more about Hester, whose story from the late 1800s we learn about as Emmy explores her diaries. The dual perspective worked really well in this book. It’s commonly used in historical novels but sometimes one of the perspectives can be far more interesting than the other. That’s not the case here where both stories were gripping.

There’s lots I liked in this book: it’s set in Scotland, strong female protagonist, scientific exploration, mystery. The creepy castle in a remote location was excellent, in spite of it being such a wide space, it felt very claustrophobic. The few but odd inhabitants created a constant, oppressive feeling of malaise. This book did atmosphere very well.

Character voices were distinct, they were interesting. Emmy is likeable but flawed enough to never feel dull. Her intelligence shines through and her inquisitive and empathetic mind helps her to unravel what has been purposely designed as a complex mystery.

I thought the mystery itself was clever, I won’t say too much for fear of spoilers. However, I enjoyed the intertwining of different elements to solve the clues.

There is some content that could be upsetting, including harm to animals and abusive relationships. It makes sense within the context of the story and never felt gratuitous.

My feelings on this book are highly positive, it was a gripping mystery. It was intelligently written and felt well researched. I thoroughly enjoyed the jewels of scientific discoveries scattered throughout the story. I did find towards the end that there were some narrative choices I found a bit jarring. I understood why the author made those choices, and how it tied in to the story as a whole. But it felt a bit unbelievable and took me out of a story I’d been fully immersed in up until that point. This is a very small negative in the scheme of an overall enjoyable read.

This is a nice book with an interesting plot but it didn’t completely grip me. I found myself disengaging at points. I still made it to the end and thought it was good overall.

A very enjoyable read that was particularly vivid in a description of the atmosphere and environment that the main character is experiencing. Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for giving me a copy of the book.

3.5 stars
An enjoyable read, that had some great moments that for me added a touch of magic to the story.
Always good to have a strong and likeable character leading the story.
The whole treasure hunt added a fun aspect to a tale, that by the end I was racing through those last chapters just to have it sll sorted.
I was thoroughly entertained.