The Adventures of Tom Finch, Gentleman

I thought this was a great idea, the story of how a blind music master makes his way in Georgian London. The book is populated with a cast of good characters including rogues and people from the musical theatre where Tom works. The author is obviously very knowledgeable with the musical background, and brings the colourful world to light with both fictional and real characters (Handel puts in an appearance). I thought the historical background was well researched and liked the use of the historical slang, although I found that this didn't detract from the story or how easy it was to understand. Tom has a variety of adventures, and whilst his blindness is handled sensitively, it doesn't prevent him from living a full life. If I had one criticism, it's that sometimes it felt like this was a series of loosely connected incidents rather than having an overarching plot. It seemed to go off on a tangent at some points. Otherwise, this was an enjoyable read.
I received an advanced review copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily.