If you were going by the cover alone, you would probably pick up this novel because of the attractive design and the equally attractive name of Zachary Cloudesley. To be honest, that is exactly why I picked it up and once I started reading, I was not disappointed. This is a quest novel starting in 1754 and takes the reader from London to the far flung reaches of the Ottoman Empire. It is exactly the kind of novel that I imagine would be considered by Netflix for a feature film, as it ticks all the diversity boxes, but somehow blends everything in so well that the whole book doesn't strain with the effort of being overly woke. I was hooked from the first chapter as the book opens with a woman in labour with all the associated difficulties that stem from life in the mid-eighteen century. Back then, it didn't matter what class of woman you were, or which kind of midwife you could afford, childbirth was a tricky business and there were no guarantees for anyone's saf...