O’Connor delves into Victorian London for a beautifully told story

Nuala O’Connor’s portrait of Victorian London is deeply researched but carried lightly across the page

FICTION: Becoming Belle, By Nuala O’Connor, Piatkus, €16.10

Becoming Belle is the second novel from Nuala O’Connor, who is better known as Nuala Ní Chonchúir. Her novels, short stories and poetry explore the emotional life of contemporary Irish women, navigating the terrain between adolescence, emergent sexuality and motherhood. Her style is sensuous, lyrical and uncompromising in its attention to the hidden details of women’s inner lives.

O’Connor brings a historical perspective to this ...