This book contains so much I love: time travel, history (both big events and everyday life), fascinating and lovable characters, emotional but not depressing moments and a little twist (which you are encouraged to figure out, but that does not make it less effective). Even better: it delivered on all of these things and worked so incredibly well for me. 

I love that we deal with characters that may be likable, but they are very much of their time (which I feel is often lacking in historical fiction) and that we really feel the passage of time in people, places and the atmosphere. While we face the hardships of all of the time periods and William basically suffers a crisis in each of them, the book has enough sweet moments that it never drags you down. Actually, there is such a good balance in everything Ian Mortimer does: he wants to teach you about history but also tell a very compelling, personal story; he wants to make it realistic but also entertaining and avoid pacing issues; and so on. The two main characters are very different in both lifestyle and philosophy, which also benefited the story. 

The major themes include religion, handled in a way that is interesting to both religious and non-religious readers, what is means to be a good person, what things stand the test of time and, interestingly enough, literacy. I was really affected by the things happening in the book, especially by the little surprises, and it was a bit hard not to cry in the very end. 

This novel was pretty much made for me and if Ian Mortimer ever writes for fiction I need to read it.