Deborah Grace`s review of FLOWERS OF VITRIOL

Brooding tale of jealousy and passion,  DEBORAH GRACE 19 Jun 2011

 Flowers of Vitriol

The year is 1817 and the setting is Amlwch, on the north east coast of Anglesey. The `blackened mountain and sulphurous air' bear dubious testimony to the town's status as copper capital of the world and on its streets social strife, borne of hunger and poverty, threatens to erupt into open violence.

Into this volatile and toxic mix, mine superintendent, Thomas Kendrick, brings his young bride, Alys, a capricious beauty whose sexually disruptive presence infects men with a kind of madness. Jealousy, adultery and sexual exploitation inevitably lead to disaster and make for an intriguing and often menacing tale.

With Anglesey providing the inspiration here, as in his debut novel ('A Golden Mist'), John Wheatley appears to be doing for this part of North Wales what Daphne du Maurier has done for Cornwall. In this second novel, the rugged coastline and baleful influence of the vitriol works provide as much drama as the characters themselves. Brilliant, brooding and atmospheric