Sally Muirden’s second novel sits well with her first, Revelations of a Spanish Infanta. In each case, the author works through an elaborate historical lens to construct a multi-layered narrative in which the focus is the intimate life of a woman.

In We Too Shall Be Mothers, the dominant narrative operates as a picaresque and dreamy fairy tale in which the life journey of Marie-France, a young woman living in Avignon during the French Revolution, is rich with magical, romantic, and fantastical incidents. This narrative is anchored in the beliefs and ambivalences of Marie-France, articulated thus: ‘We live in a magical world but once you start believing in it you’re truly done for … What if the opposite were true, and once you stop believing in magic you’re truly done for?’ Reader beware. This is a daring dance of a novel, and it requires you to take part. A character remarks: ‘That’s a maze, that dress. There’s a secret way out you’ll have to search for.’ If you willingly give yourself up to the novel’s mazes, you will discover secrets and delights.