Sparks of Bright Matter

In 18th century London, a little knowledge is a dangerous thing. A lot of knowledge is deadly.

More than anything young alchemist Peter Woulfe wants to turn lead into gold. Until he meets the elusive and alluring Sukie one hot summer night and his life changes forever. Streetwise Sukie wants to sell a mysterious stolen book to her favourite pawnbroker Nico, until she meets his beautiful wife Katia.
A gang of dangerous men pursue the missing book through the grimy underworld of 18th century London - and Katia realises the one thing she really wants is about to disappear forever.

Everyone is burning for something ... even you.
Could an encounter with a book change your life? Could this one?

A riveting story of love and transformation that takes us back and forth through time from the raging furnaces of an alchemist's lab in Georgian London to the mists and magic of a remote Irish mountain.

Review

'Thrilling and intoxicating - a dazzling debut' -- Evie Woods ― author of The Lost Bookshop

'Think Hilary Mantel, Neil Gaiman, Susanna Clarke crossed with Liam O'Flaherty, Lady Gregory, WB Yeats and the Celtic Revival - all expertly blended into a cracking page-turner that's as exquisitely deep, beautiful and metaphysical as it is fast-paced and brilliantly plotted' ― The Irish Times

'A captivating story, weaving together so many emotions with such beautiful descriptions that you feel you really are standing by the shoulders of the characters' -- Philip Paris ― author of The Last Witch of Scotland

'A debut novel of great imagination and originality' ― The Sunday Times

'With a cast of lost souls in search of the ineffable, Sparks of Bright Matter takes us from the mystical landscape of rural Ireland to the metropolis and back again. The prose is subtly rendered and assured, the story as visceral, twisty and perilous as the backstreets of 18th century London' -- Karen Powell ― author of Fifteen Wild Decembers

'From rural Ireland to London and Paris, this is a tale of folklore, fate and the pursuit of magic, but above else, this is a stunning book about humanity' -- Lisa Redmond ― LisaReadsBooks blog

About the Author

Leeanne O' Donnell started her storytelling career working in radio with RTE and BBC, and has made a number of award-winning radio documentaries. Sparks of Bright Matter is her first novel, which she wrote from her home on the foothills of a mountain in the remote south west of Ireland.