Synopsis: Babies are secretly exchanged in the dead of night… Eliza grows up with no knowledge of her true family. All is well until she is suddenly told to leave her home. Going to London in pursuit of the man she thinks is her father, she is thrown into prison for theft. A series of adventures follow; leading Eliza from bawdy house to the theatre, and to the King’s palace. At the back of it all is a need to discover her true identity.

Review:This book is filled with fascinating historical detail from the Restoration period. Hooper has obviously researched the period meticulously and this is the novel’s greatest strength. Real characters from the period walk its pages. King Charles II, Nell Gwyn, Highwayman Claude Duval and playwright Aphra Benn are the best known. Prison and theatre life are vividly portrayed. There are robberies, seductions, Fleet marriages and Tyburn hangings.

Mary Hooper is known for her two books At the Sign of the Sugared Plum and The Petals in the Ashes. These were simply-told and well-realised stories. In Eliza Rose, Hooper has attempted a novel of greater scope, but not, in my opinion, with the same degree of success. Some of the characters remain disappointingly flat. The plot is painfully predictable and the romance between Eliza and Valentine is awkwardly handled.

This is well worth reading for anyone interested in this historical period, but if you want to be swept off your feet by the story, you are likely to be disappointed. Most appropriate for the 11-14 age range.