Girl in a Blue Dress by Gaynor Arnold

The subtitle of this book is A Novel Inspired by the Life & Marriage of Charles Dickens.  I've actually never read any Charles Dickens, although I've seen several movies based on his novels.  I really enjoyed the book, but I'm sure I would have enjoyed it even more if I had.  There were many references to his writings with names changed.  This made it a bit of a guessing game for me, but the story was strong enough even without knowing all of the references.  The book is narrated by Dorothea Gibson, estranged wife of Alfred Gibson, and begins with Alfred's death.  Dorothea looks back over her life, both with and without Alfred.  It was this author's first book, and I thought it was very well written.  I rate it 4 out of 5.