Book Review 2025 #8 - Kaoru Mori's A Bride's Story, Vol. 15
A Bride's Story, Vol. 15 by Kaoru Mori
Published by: Yen Press
Publication Date: December 16th, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 224 Pages
Rating: ★★★★★
To Buy
Henry Smith's time in Asia has come to an end, or so his family has decreed. He has been captivated by his study of the Silk Road and the people he has met along the way. But his family are worried about him, his sporadic correspondence might be to blame, and they have "requested" that he return home. His family friend in Ankara, Mr. Hawkins, has been asked to intercede on their behalf as he himself is leaving the conflicted region. The fact that Henry is still alive is a bit of a shock to Mr. Hawkins, but nothing to the shock he will receive. Henry had wished to retrace his steps and say a fond farewell to all those he had met along the way, to try to capture them forever in his mind and on film with a camera he was able to acquire. This would have been a long, parlous, and probably impossible journey with the movement of Russian troops, but Henry has an additional hitch. Awhile back he met a young widow, Talas. They had fallen in love but her duty to her mother-in-law made her say goodbye to the scholarly Englishman. Yet her love for him endured and she has followed him to Ankara. Mr. Smith now intends to take her on this journey as his wife. Not just through their abbreviated sojourn among his past acquaintances, but all the way back to England. Mr. Hawkins begs him to reconsider but Henry's mind is made up. Eventually Henry, Talas, and her beloved horse Chubar, make their way to the Port of Bombay. There they book passage back to England. But Henry's homecoming is anything but welcoming. His mother won't even meet Talas and will do anything to stop them from actually marrying. The scandal would ruin them. Or so she claims. Thankfully Mr. Hawkins comes to the rescue. His family have a disused hunter lodge that Henry and Talas can live while things settle down at home. Henry will work on assembling his copious notes for publication while Talas will keep sheep. English sheep might look different, but a sheep is a sheep and she knows what she's doing. She's a practical woman. She's even considering putting Chubar out to stud. Yet Henry is her opposite, a true dreamer. Which is why he decides that if he presents Talas and his marriage as a fait accompli his family will accept her. They set out for Scotland with his brother and Mr. Hawkins as co-conspirators. But will their plan work? Only time will tell.
I first discovered Kaoru Mori back in 2010 through her manga series Emma. I was so desperate to read this story that was out of print stateside that I ordered the first volume from England. Thankfully the proceeding six volumes were available through my local library. Though, if you are a fan of this manga about a Victorian maid finding love, you will perhaps notice that my library didn't have the final three volumes and I had to wait until they were rereleased in an omnibus format to finally read the ending. And that didn't happen until seven years later. All this is to say that when a Kaoru Mori book comes out you buy it. You do whatever you can to buy that book because before you know it you won't be able to get your hands on it ever again. Yes, I'm looking at you Shirley. You're the holy grail. When A Bride's Story first started getting released in English in 2011 we were spoiled in that twice we got two volumes in a single year. Now it's a volume about every other year. Not that I'm complaining. Kaoru Mori's art is so intricate and amazing, down to the finest detail of fabric or bread, that I can't believe she can even keep to a biannual schedule. From the day I picked up this series I have been captivated but this "slice-of-life tale that is at once wholly exotic, yet familiar." The stories of each and every character have captivated me. They are my friends. We readers have journeyed with Mr. Smith along the silk road and met nomadic tribesmen, overstimulated twins, skilled hunters, sister wives, and blunt bread makers. When he started to head towards Ankara in Vol. 10 it was wistful. Because as readers it felt that once his journey came to an end the series would come to an end. And as he traveled with Talas to Port Bombay it felt like a farewell tour. We weren't just saying goodbye to these characters but this way of life that Russia would soon destroy. Yet this volume showed how this story could continue outside of Asia. We see Talas and Henry struggling and succeeding to make a life. It's a different, solitary kind of life, but I can't help feeling that as long as they have each other they will survive and thrive. Though what touched me most was the quiet moments. Kaoru Mori always has these vignettes that don't tie into the rest of the story but show a moment in time in these characters' lives. Here it was how Chubar was struggling on the sea voyage and how the ship's cat came to befriend and therefore calm him. It was this moment of two animals living symbiotically that brought a smile to my face on the darkest of nights. This series just keeps me in it's thrall. The black and white line work, the characters, their stories, I never want it to end. I can't wait for Vol. 16, but it will be at least two years. Perhaps I should reread it all again? Or maybe reread Emma... You can never have enough Kaoru Mori in your life.
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