I was impressed by the range of historical detail in this book-- from button-making to child labor to the circus to the character of various London neighborhoods. And of course William Blake, whose "Songs of Innocence" and "Songs of Experience" are a central theme. I agree with others that Chevalier's themes can be heavy-handed, and it would have been nice to get more than a glimpse of Blake. But I found the fictional story engaging enough that having Blake in a supporting role was acceptable... and perhaps even effective at giving him a mysterious persona? The ending is not a complete resolution, but it's totally in line with the "opposites" theme, and I was relieved by how much happier it was than the heart-breaking Falling Angels. This might be my all-around favorite Chevalier novel, even if certain elements were done better in her other works.

Like most of Chevalier's books based around the back story to a work of art - in this case William Blake books: Songs Of Innocence And Of Experience, And Other Works (including "Tiger Tiger ...").

Harmless enough story and simple enough to read but very simplistic at times - the references to Blake's poems and clumsy and almost all the characters either thinly sketched or unconvincing (with their characters and motivations often clumsily set out in the text rather than described for the reader to judge). Even the opening of the book is full with repeated references to how big London seems compared to Dorset and the book closes with lots of comments from Maggie on how quiet the country is compared to London.

I enjoyed Chevalier's attempt to give a personal face to author/painter Blake. The best part for me was his thoughts on opposites, "what lies between two opposites is us. The tension between two contraries is what makes us ourselves." Interesting thoughts on those in power wanting to stop anyone who questions them--"power unchecked leads to tyranny." How true is that?! The ending did leave me with a few unanswered questions, but then endings that are open-ended leave much for one's imagination.

Perhaps a more fitting title would have been Burned Out. Any flame or heat that the title implies is sadly lacking from this novel and I say sadly because I’ve been a fan of Tracy Chevalier for a while and have read all of her other books.

I found that the inclusion of William Blake as a character in this story was mostly irrelevant as the story really wasn’t about him. I think he could have been cut from the novel and replaced with a fictional character with virtually no change in the storyline. Burning Bright is really about a fictional family, the Kellaways, and their move from the English countryside to London in the late 1700s. The move is prompted by the death of one of their sons, but this event lacked any emotional pull for me as a reader. And that about sums up my reading experience with this book. No emotional pull, a rather dull plot, and flat characters. Admittedly, I skimmed the last 50 pages or so and honestly don’t feel that I missed anything.