The Bedlam Stacks by Natasha Pulley is a fascinating book set in the mountains of Peru during the mid 1800’s. A small party from the East-India company is sent from England to smuggle cinchona tree cuttings out, as their bark is rich in quinine for treating malaria. What they find is truly magical.

Pulley’s descriptions were so fantastical that I often struggled to visualize what she was describing, and I found this tiring. The line between what is real and what is myth or fairy tale is blurred. A beautiful, and dazzling book, if a bit slow paced and at times hard to get through.