Two time frames are skilfully linked in Michèle Roberts’s latest novel. In London in 1851, Joseph has been employed by the social reformer Henry Mayhew to help research his articles, which entails interviewing prostitutes in Southwark. Meanwhile in 2011, Madeleine loses her job as a lecturer and moves into the same neighbourhood, where she is haunted by echoes of history.

In a book filled with streetwalkers wandering through London (the city “alive as a strange creature”), the author peels away the layers of place to reveal the past pulsing within. The river snakes through this story, but as well as London’s pathways and waterways, Roberts explores the human heart and, in lyrical language, locates beauty in unexpected places.

• The Walworth Beauty by Michèle Roberts is published by Bloomsbury (£16.99). To order a copy for £14.44 go to bookshop.theguardian.com or call 0330 333 6846. Free UK p&p over £10, online orders only. Phone orders min p&p of £1.99