strange and random happenstance

Courtship and Curses (Leland Sisters Book 3) by Marissa Doyle
Published by: Square Fish
Publication Date: August 7th, 2012
Format: Paperback, 368 Pages
Rating: ★★★★★
To Buy

Sophie spent years dreaming of what it would be like to have her first season in London. Needless to say her daydreams were nothing like the reality her life has become. When the illness came no one could have guessed the toll it would take on the Rosier family. Sophie lost her mother, her sister, and the assurance of two strong limbs holding her up. She is now crippled and must rely on a cane to support her. Therefore spending months in ballrooms unable to dance escorted by her aunts isn't exactly what she hoped for. That doesn't even take the rumors into account. The fact that the ton has somehow gotten it into it's collective consciousness that she is some kind of malformed freak that can't string two words together, let alone form a sentence, is galling. At least if they see her their misconceptions should be fixed, shouldn't they? But for all that Sophie has endured nothing has cut her to the quick more than the loss of her magic. The illness that ravaged her body also took away what was most precious and secret to her. What's worse is that she has no one to turn to. Her mother taught her in secret, and with her mother gone who can she trust?

Soon Sophie's lack of magic is a major worry. Her father, Lord Lansell, is almost the victim of a tragic accident. The almost had nothing to do with Sophie but with the dashing Lord Woodbridge. In fact Sophie only made matters worse. But soon another "accident" leads Sophie to a startling discovery, many members of the War Office have been "attacked" in these seemingly random ways. Could a French Spy be using magic in order to undermine the British war effort against Napoleon? If this is the case Sophie needs her magic back more then ever! But protecting her father isn't the only thing occupying her time. Lord Woodbridge won't leave her alone. Sure she could see herself prior to her deformity falling for such a man, but that was before. What could he see in her now? As for his cousin Parthenope and her parakeet Hester, they have quickly become Sophie's trusted allies. So why can she trust Parthenope but can't trust her feelings for Lord Woodbridge? It is all too confusing and she really needs her mother. But perhaps Sophie will realize that even with a cane she can stand on her own two feet and make a contribution to the world.

This is THE Regency Magic book you've been waiting for in Marissa Doyle's series. While the first two books were lovely, being set during the time of Victoria they weren't so much Regency and therefore had a different, if still magical, writing style. Courtship and Curses though is all Regency all the time! Tangentially relating to the previous Leland sisters book by following Pen and Persy's mother, Parthenope, and her first season, there's a moral formal, more Jane Austen air to the writing that some people might find too stylized but which I reveled in. There's just something magical about books set during the Regency, whether they contain magic or not. Personally I would never want to do "the season" and as for paying house calls everyday? Spare me now. It's a world that I wouldn't ever necessarily want to live in, yet somehow these books about bygone days of balls and manners just draw me in. Now I don't want you thinking I'm not a connoisseur of this style, because I am. It takes a special kind of author and story to whisk me away and Marissa Doyle did an admirable job of providing me with the cheapest kind of time travel around.

Being fully back in the Regency means that we get war and Wellington. I kid you not that Wellington is one of my favorite characters to be portrayed fictionally. He was such a symbol of the time and such a lightning rod for the war with France that I seriously just want him at every ball being boisterous and opinionated. Of course I always picture Wellington as Stephen Fry from Blackadder and that doesn't hurt. But Marissa Doyle doesn't just use Wellington as a signifier for the war with France or even for comedic purposes, she uses him to show the actual danger that the war represents and also as a sort of catalyst for Sophie to embrace herself and her magic. This entire volume actually serves to remind us of the dangers of life during wartime. In the previous volumes everything that occurred was building to one great and dangerous event that would change everything. Here there is constant peril for members of the War Office. Attack after attack after attack. It's not that it just ups the suspense, it's that you feel the danger more. This isn't your typical Jane Austen with balls and courting, with officers only entering to show off their lovely uniforms. I would say that Marissa Doyle captures more of what Thackeray did with Vanity Fair. The harsh reality versus the rose-tinted glasses.

One of the harsh realities of war is prejudice. Of course this is something our heroine Sophie has had to face with her deformity. But during a war prejudice is pretty much universally shifted to the country that you are fighting, in this instance France. There are two prominent French characters in Courtship and Curses, Madame Carswell, the widow of Lord Lansell's oldest and dearest friend, and a confidant to Sophie, and the Comte de Carmouche-Ponthieux, a lost love of Sophie's Aunt Molly. Madame Carswell more than the Comte is the subject of much gossip, not just because she's French, but because she's a threat to those older women who want to get their claws into Lord Lansell. Sophie is wonderful in that she stands by her friends. She has known the evil glares of others and tries to protect those who protect her. Yet what I find most interesting is that in one of these two instances her trust actually isn't justified. Prejudices form for a reason, no matter how stupid, and while we should always fight it, sometimes, just sometimes the reason for them rears it's ugly head. And I like that Marissa Doyle doesn't make it so clear cut, because that isn't the way of the world. Not everyone we prejudge is deserving of exoneration, just as we should try to be less prejudiced. Life is full of these contradictions and to have both innocence and guilt shown goes to the heart of life's messiness. Plus, manipulating our prejudices does keep a story going.

Yet the heart of this book is Sophie. What really struck me about this book is that Sophie is a very different type of heroine. With her deformity she has a very different vantage point from anyone else. It's not just that she's more passive in society being relegated to the sidelines of the ballrooms and therefore sees more, it's that the way people viewed deformities during this time was so different that it would be so easy to think badly of yourself. Because deformities were thought to outwardly show an inner malignancy. That obviously Sophie's foot was because she had something very wrong with her, not that she was the victim of a serious illness she couldn't control, despite being a witch. Now most authors would use this set up to give us a "teaching moment" on what it means to be broken and to willingly accept our limitations, or how to overcome this, but thankfully that isn't what Marissa Doyle does at all. Instead we are shown Sophie's very real struggle and her inner turmoil that asks how can we be strong when we think ourselves crippled in mind or in body? Because it isn't the affliction it's the attitude that is important. So while we are "taught" that a positive attitude can overcome anything, we aren't "taught" it with a stick.

This goes even deeper when you look at the "good" and the "bad" people that surround Sophie. Being brought out in society by her Aunts, Sophie's Aunt Isobel is always telling her how lucky she'll be to get a second son with no prospects because of what she is. It's never about WHO she is, but WHAT. I can't help thinking about the analogy of being overweight. I was told my entire life that I was overweight. Looking back at pictures when I was younger I wasn't overweight in the least, yet I believed it. I believed it so much that I developed the mindset that this was something that would never change and therefore what I ate and how I took care of myself didn't matter and I did become overweight as a result. But I don't think that way anymore, or at least I try not to, and it's because of my friends. It's about surrounding yourself with good people, people who see who you are. People who boost you up and not drag you down. That is what Madame Carswell, Parthenope, and Lord Woodbridge do for Sophie. They make her realize that she is special. That she isn't defined by some outward feature that people can point at and laugh. That is why her magic returns. That and a stern talking to by Wellington. Sophie's magic is basically her self-esteem. She learns to love herself and therefore she is powerful. Now that is something we all need to remember!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Blackadder, Courtship and Curses, Deformity, France, Jane Austen, Leland Sisters, Magic, Marissa Doyle, Napoleon, Napoleonic War, Prejudice, Regency Magic, Self Esteem, Stephen Fry, Thackeray, Vanity Fair

Betraying Season (Leland Sisters Book 2) by Marissa Doyle
Published by: Henry Holt and Co
Publication Date: September 29th, 2009
Format: Hardcover, 330 Pages
Rating: ★★★★★
To Buy (different edition than one reviewed)

Penelope feels that she not only let her twin sister down but her heroine Queen Victoria as well. Sure, she was there when Victoria was saved, but the special commendation belongs to her twin Persy and Persy alone. Pen feels like a fraud. And that is why she's in Ireland. It wasn't just that she felt like a third wheel at home with her sister in a constant state of connubial bliss with her new husband. It's that Pen has neglected her magical studies and now is the time to fix this shortfall. If she had tried harder before perhaps she could have actually helped Persy when she needed her help and deserved the commendation bestowed on her by Victoria. So Pen has followed her governess Ally to Ireland and Ally's new home in Cork with her husband. Only Ally is experiencing a common result of getting married and her horrific morning sickness, which seems to last all day, has led to Ally's father-in-law, Doctor Carrighar, taking over Pen's education. Despite how much she wants to better herself, being locked up all day studying, at times with four male students of Doctor Carrighar's who don't appreciate the presence of a female, can be tiring.

But Cork isn't London and Pen convinces Ally to let her run errands. Alone. When she's out one day she fatefully and almost fatally runs into Lady Keating. Lady Keating takes Pen under her wing and soon becomes the female role model Pen is so desperately missing with Ally being laid up and Persy a country away. It doesn't hurt that Lady Keating's son, Niall, isn't hard on the eyes. But then again, Niall is rumored to be the illegitimate son of Queen Victoria's uncle, the Duke of Cumberland. The Duke might not be liked, but he does have the looks, the looks of Niall. The Duke is also at the heart of a plan being concocted by Lady Keating, who just happens to be a sorceress. Due to unforeseen circumstances Lady Keating's plan to get ride of Queen Victoria and install the Duke on the throne has a hitch. She needs a third witch, preferably family, to help invoke the power of the Triple Goddess to get her spell to work. To this end Lady Keating orders Niall to court Pen, whose magical abilities she has recognized. But when does duty to his mother become true love for Penelope? With secrets upon secrets and broken allegiances can anyone get a happy ending? And more importantly, can Pen earn the commendation Queen Victoria gave her?

In Marissa Doyle's first book in this series, Bewitching Season, I felt such a strong connection to Persy and her bookish ways that I quite honestly didn't think I would be able to connect to Pen. Through the filter of Persy's story Pen seemed the epitome of the girly girl of the time, more concerned with couture and a debutante's lifestyle than education and books. Cutting Pen off from her delightful family, and in particular her little brother Charles, seemed a sure way to get me to tune out. Of course I was totally wrong. Pen didn't so much change throughout her sister's adventure as had her eyes opened and Betraying Season is the result of this new knowledge. Yes, I could say that it's because the sisters did a "Parent Trap" and switched situations, with Pen becoming the bookish one, but that isn't it at all. What it is is that we get to see Pen's struggle as she tries to change, as she tries to do better, to be better, and this is a struggle which we can all relate to. And her change isn't overnight, while she does buckle down and commit to studying, she still longs for and misses society and the season she gave up to improve herself. This is what works so well, we constantly see Pen struggling to balance this new life of the mind with her old life of leisure that Lady Keating seems to initially represent; and it's in this struggle that we finally relate to Pen.

The love story is also of a different ilk. Persy quite literally fell for the boy next door in Lochinvar. Their romance was sweet and destined and full of misunderstandings, but was always a given. We, as the readers, weren't there on this journey from the beginning, we came in once it was already set in stone. Bewitching Season was more about the consummation than the journey. Which is where Pen and Niall come in. We get to follow their budding romance every step of the way, from initial attraction to happily ever after. There's a different kind of magic finding someone when you least expect it and connecting and building a bond and overcoming obstacles. By seeing their entire romance unfold we can never be certain that the HEA is guaranteed. There's more fluidity to the outcome by not having it so fated as Persy and Lochinvar were. Plus, there's wonderful misunderstandings that crop up because these two people haven't known each other their whole life. I think this is best exemplified by Niall's hair-brained scheme to "save" Pen from his mother's machinations. The entire time you're thinking, why didn't Niall just tell Pen what was going on? But that's the fun of this book. They're new to each other so they will misstep, and sometimes those missteps are hilarious in their absurdity.

As for Lady Keating being the big bad... I kind of seriously adored her. Persy was facing a foe who was all about his power hungry machinations, whereas Lady Keating is actually far more complex. She's not just evil, but she's definitely not good. She seriously wants what is best for her son, but doesn't bother to ask him. She assumes that her desires for power and fame are aligned with her sons. But Niall isn't that way inclined. In this way I view her as a very Norma Bates character, because she's trying to do what's best for her son but in the only way she knows how. And of course that way is entirely the wrong way to do it. But underneath this veneer she has created she's far more complex than you'd think. She is obviously a woman who is looking for someone to connect to. She doesn't care about her husband or her daughter, because one was a convenience, the other wasn't skilled enough in magic to provide any interest. She "loves" Niall because he is a link to the one person she did connect with, the Duke of Cumberland. But it is in her relationship with Pen that we see all her different layers. She obviously has longed for someone magical to connect with and one wonders, if she had had this in her life earlier, would she be the villain? I honestly don't think she would be, and that human side is what makes her so deliciously complicated.

What I really sunk my teeth into here was the expansion of the magical system that Marissa Doyle had previously set up. Ireland has an entirely different feel, magically speaking, and this contrast helps Pen become as adept as her sister, but in a unique way. There are many methods of teaching these varying magics, and I think it really shows how people, even twins, learn differently and connect to subjects in distinctive ways. This "Other" magic very much ties into the very fiber of what it is to be Irish and their myths and legends. The Fairy realm, the Triple Goddess, all of it ties into what makes Ireland so distinctive. I can't help but think of the Irish Fest I used to attend every summer in Milwaukee. Even though it was many many miles away from the homeland, there was a magic to the storytelling and the music and the community. There's just something inherent to the culture of Ireland that encourages this belief in the possibility of magic and Marissa Doyle has tapped into it in this volume. She has made magic even more believable and that's why I, and perhaps even Pen, were able to make this connection that we didn't think was possible.

The magic just doesn't stop at enchantments, but goes further into the bestiary, the "creatures" of Ireland and the magical world. Adding magical creatures into a series that previously had no mention of them is a tricky thing. The main problem that us readers face is the suspension of disbelief. This suspension is often hampered by making the creatures too comical. A funny creature doesn't lend itself to credulity, most of the time. Yet once again Marissa Doyle comes out on top. She introduces the creatures, in particular Corkwobble the clurichaun, which for some reason my spell check actually recognizes as a form of leprechaun, in a very matter of fact way. And this is what makes it work. My paternal grandmother was 100% Irish, though not born there, and she talked about ghosts and creatures, in particular Pookas, as totally existing. I grew up believing in these creatures and nothing will ever shake my belief because when a little old lady sits you down and says it's just the way of the world and sure, you'll see ghosts, there's something so matter of fact that you just accept it. And that is what this book does, it's the way of the world for Pen and Pen just goes with it. And what better way to have an adventure then to be at Pen's side?

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Betraying Season, Bewitching Season, Duke of Cumberland, Ghosts, HEA, Ireland, Leland Sisters, Leprechaun, Magic, Marissa Doyle, Norma Bates, Pookas, Queen Victoria, Regency Magic, The Parent Trap

Bewitching Season (Leland Sisters Book 1) by Marissa Doyle
Published by: Henry Holt and Co
Publication Date: April 29th, 2008
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
Rating: ★★★★
To Buy (different edition than one reviewed)

Persephone and Penelope Leland are about to come out in society. Though Persy would rather not. She is convinced that she will somehow embarrass herself and her twin sister Pen when being presented to the Queen and therefore ruin Pen's chances of a great match. So it's much better Persy just stays at home, in the country, for the rest of her life, and studies magic. London only holds one lure for Persy, and that's Princess Victoria. Princess Victoria is a heroine to the twins. Not only will Victoria be the next queen, but she shares their birthday. And if Persy is truly honest with herself, London has another lure; Lochinvar Seton. Lochinvar grew up near the Leland's estate and they have always been close. Ever since Persy and Lochinvar found a shared love of reading Persy's heart was forever lost to him.

But London holds more worries for Persy than tripping in front of the Queen, her beloved governess and magical tutor Ally has gone missing. This is so unlike Ally that the twins and even their little brother Charles are worried. Even Ally's family don't know what to make of this shocking situation. Sadly shopping for gowns and matching shoes take up way too much time and the search for Ally is continually postponed. Yet as the day of Princess Victoria's birthday draws closer Persy discovers that the Princess is the target of a dangerous plot using Ally and her magical abilities. Will Persy be able to save her heroine, Ally, and get the man of her dreams? Whatever happens it will be a season to remember.

I rarely draw comparisons between books by different authors because all writing is so unique and different. Yet comparisons can be useful in trying to convince someone to pick up a book. Or even, in that most drastic of circumstances, to get someone to avoid a book. So while I hesitate in this review to point out that there is a definite Lauren Willig vibe about this book, the other part of me goes, but it must be said! If you're a follower of my blog you know how much I love Lauren's writing. I think I've convinced you all of that by now. The reason I feel this vibe in Bewitching Season isn't so much to do with the writing style, the London ton, or anything really logical, other then a deep connection with the characters. The reason I love Lauren Willig's books is this connection I feel to her characters. I don't just want to know what happens in all their lives, I NEED to know. I feel what they feel, I love what they love.

I become insanely worried about these characters that are fictional to other people but to me are old friends. Despite never reading anything my Marissa Doyle previously I felt this connection. I felt like I was visiting old friends. I felt as if I've known Persy my whole life. She is SO like me, we're kindred spirits. She's bookish and doesn't like large gatherings, preferring studies over balls, oh how I can relate! Yet she's drawn into this glitzy world just for the hope of seeing Victoria! Just replace Victoria with I don't know, David Tennant, and that's me in a nutshell. With all the mix ups and crossed signals, my heart was breaking with worry that things wouldn't work out. And that's the greatest gift a writer can give, to make you care so much that you don't believe the happily ever after is guaranteed.

I can not stress enough the importance of a good relatable heroine. Shy bookish girls, come to me! But what is great about Persy and Pen is that we're getting a one-two punch. I thought at first that it would be gimmicky having twins, but instead I really liked how this played out. Because outwardly they are the same, but inwardly, and especially to Lochinvar, they are so very very different. Everyone in the ton kind of views them as curios, yet they are so complex. While we spend the most time with Persy, her being the primary heroine, it's interesting to see the contrast with Pen, who wanted all that Persy didn't. Yet Pen isn't all she seems as well. Yes, she wanted nothing more than to have the perfect season, but instead of looking for her own happiness, she is secretly trying to secure her sisters. Complicating matters further is Persy becoming, not secretive, but self-reflective and not sharing her secrets with Pen.

The divide that opens up and is eventually sealed between the sisters is a right of passage for anyone who has a close friend or sibling who you grew distant from. There's just so much that I relate to that I want to just take these girls out for a night of magical fun. Returning to Lochinvar, can I just say how perfect he is for Persy? Despite his good looks, he's literally a spaz. He loves learning, and schooling, and books, and damn, that really is the perfect man now isn't it? The only character that worried me was Charles. Precocious younger siblings or relations can easily mean the death of a good story. They are the bane of everyone, especially the Brady Bunch. But somehow Charles walks the fine line between overly cute and annoyance just perfectly. It doesn't hurt that he actually wants to help and that his suggestions often are very useful.

But just having a bunch of great characters wandering around does not make for a good book. There needs to be a story, a narrative that is equal to the characters. While I have always loved Historical Fiction, the lure of living in another time, it's always a more satisfying read when there's that hint of history. The merging of fact and fiction elevates a story to a new level. It's not just about the setting, but about the reality it imbues the narrative with, even in a magical world it gives it a good grounding. Here the story is entwined with Queen Victoria's rise to power. I have to admit I have a strong fondness for the young Victoria, and no, it has nothing to do with the Julian Fellowes movie of that name. I have a fondness for the miniseries Fellowes so blatantly ripped off, Victoria and Albert, staring another Victoria, Victoria Hamilton, and the lesser Firth, Jonathan.

The struggles with her mother and Sir John Conroy that were brought to the small screen here crackle with the same animus, but with an otherworldly threat to the young Victoria. It's like the idea of Queen Elizabeth's adviser, John Dee, actually having magical powers and using them, but brought forward to Victorian times. Seriously, I was insanely happy about these magical underpinnings being logically placed in a historical context. Merging characters I loved and bringing historical figures I love and making them into flesh and blood people interacting with these characters, oh yes, I am a happy girl. And oddly, what made me happiest was the little detail that Victoria did a drawing of her dog Dash. It's always the little things that help inform the bigger picture.

Though in the end it comes down to magic. Does this book actually use magic well? The answer is damn right it does! As Marissa mentions in her profile post she loves "starting out with history and then layering magic in underneath it, I tend to prefer real-world historical settings where magic is secret and known only to a few, rather than alternate history where magic is an accepted part of the world." This is an interesting take, because usually, at least in most Regency Magic books, magic is known about and regulated, yet here, here it is a secret. So what's delicious about this idea is that this could conceivable be what really happened! Yes, Marissa is stating that just perhaps a Regency was averted and Victoria became Queen unimpeded due to magic. It's a wonderful idea isn't it? That magic is all around us but we're just not away of it.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Bewitching Season, Dash, David Tennant, Historical Fiction, Jonathan Firth, Julian Fellowes, Lauren Willig, Magic, Marissa Doyle, Queen Victoria, Regency Magic, Secrets, Victoria and Albert, Victoria Hamilton

Marissa Doyle was raised in a family of readers, which just might be a prerequisite for becoming a writer, I haven't looked into that. Growing up in Massachusetts, where she still lives, she has an affinity for the ocean and is happiest near or on the water, sailing Cape Cod. Being raised in Massachusetts means being steeped in this countries history, I mean, have you been to Boston? This might have a lot to do with her love of the past. In fact it was history, not writing, that she majored in in college, getting a degree in history and archaeology at Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania. Somehow she got distracted after graduation and the history she studied and the non-fiction she stills reads is now to inform her own writing of historical YA and fantasy for all ages. One piece of advice she's learned in her varied career is that "quite often, real life is far stranger and more wondrous than any fiction." It's these little oddities combined with real people and places that makes Marissa's writing stand out among typical Regency Genre fare.

While she's known for her writing, writing isn't all she does, being a wife and mother to children both human and fluffy bunny shaped. Marissa is also into collecting 19th century fashion prints. And if you love fashion, there's a pretty good chance you're into sewing of some kind. Marissa has "a strong drive to create, so when I'm not writing I'm quilting or knitting or needle-pointing or reupholstering furniture or sewing." I've always wanted to learn quilting, do you think Marissa might have time to teach me? Then again, I don't want to take her away from her writing... or her bunnies... As for the more clothing side of sewing, she's a member of the Society for Creative Anachronism, which helps lend her books a veracity that sometimes is sadly lacking when the author doesn't even know what a Regency silhouette looks like. As for her "surprising fact" about the comfort of corsets (see below) I do agree they can be comfortable... thus again adding to the historical truth that her books hold. But enough from me, let's hear from Marissa.

Question: When did you first discover Jane Austen?

Answer: I read my first Austen in my mid-teens...and it wasn’t Pride and Prejudice. I loved (still do!) old books, and found a very small leatherbound volume of Sense and Sensibility and Persuasion in a used bookstore. Persuasion is still tied with Pride and Prejudice as my favorite Austen. Oh, I did try P and P as a much younger girl, and couldn’t get past the beginning because I found Mrs. Bennett way too irritating. In my defense, I'll say that twelve-year-olds don’t always have the best-developed sense of irony.

Question: What do you think Jane Austen would think of her impact with so many literary offshoots, from parody to pastiche?

Answer: I expect she would be both bemused and amused, and would lampoon herself quite mercilessly to Cassandra and Fanny.

Question: Where do you get your inspiration from?

Answer: A better question might be where don’t I get inspiration from. Everything is grist for the mill: historical factoids, random snippets of conversation, artwork, dreams, music, casual brainstorming...you never know where the kernel of a plot or character might come from. It's why I always have a notebook and pen everywhere--my purse, my car, my bedside table. The bedside table pen lights up, in case I need to write something down in the middle of the night.

Question: What makes the early 19th century mesh so well with magic?

Answer: I’m not sure it’s just the early 19th century—I think almost anything before 1945 (and the first nuclear bomb) meshes well with magic. Maybe because science didn’t have all the answers yet (not that it does now, but it’s trying hard) so there seemed to be more room for magic in the world. And because in the 19th century, there were still so many physical remains of earlier centuries that hadn’t fallen to the wrecking ball of “progress” and development—remains that might have contained more than just historical presence.

Question: The world building and system of magic varies greatly in the regency fantasy genre, how did you go about creating yours?

Answer: The magic in my books very much runs in families, and in the female line (with a few notable exceptions.) I like being able to give girls power in an era during which girls and women didn’t have many rights and privileges. And because I love starting out with history and then layering magic in underneath it, I tend to prefer real-world historical settings where magic is secret and known only to a few, rather than alternate history where magic is an accepted part of the world.

Question: If you had to choose between writing only period literature or only fantasy literature, which would win?

Answer: Oh, that is a cruel, cruel choice! I think I’m going to have to say fantasy literature, just because while I’ve got ideas for two or three straight historical novels, I’ve got ideas for many fantasy stories, with settings from completely made up worlds to the here and now (and a few historical periods other than the 19th century...would those count?)

Question: Be honest, have you ever dressed up in Regency clothes just to pretend for a moment you are in the past?

Answer: You know what? I have been in entire ROOMS full of people dressed in Regency clothes doing that very thing. Not to mention Victorian clothes and medieval clothes. I met my husband in the Society for Creative Anachronism, for goodness’ sake. This totally doesn’t faze me. Surprising fact: Regency and even Victorian corsets can actually be very comfortable, because they offer excellent back support. All those old photographs you see of alarmingly straight-backed women? Don’t feel too sorry for them—underneath all those layers of clothing they were slouching against their corsets, which were doing the actual work of holding them up.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: 19th Century, Bunnies, Cape Cod, Corset, Knitting, Magic, Marissa Doyle, Massachusetts, Notebook, Persuasion, Pride and Prejudice, Quilting, Regency, Regency Magic, SCA, Science, Sense and Sensibility, Victorian, YA

Last year when I conceived of "Regency Magic" little did I think it would resonate with you, my readers, so strongly. I do Strange and Random Happenstance for my own amusement, and of course the free books. I never set out to appeal to the masses or go viral, though I do so love Google Analytics and seeing how many people stop by and from where, hello Turkey! If you're reading this it's because you like the same types of books I do or at least our interests are of a similar bent and therefore you might consider picking up a book I've reviewed. But last year your love for "Regency Magic" blew me away, and totally threw off the curve. Never since that freak occurrence of my running an exclusive with Kerry Greenwood at the same time as the new season of Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries have I had so many people stop by. I seriously thought I was alone in my love of books like Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell and the Glamourist Histories. Of course you exist in the abstract, because otherwise these books wouldn't get published, I just rarely meet you. I have friends who like them, and a rare few who love them, but usually when I start to wax rhapsodic about Susanna Clarke most people tune me out. So not only was this just fabulous to my blog numbers, more importantly it warmed my heart. Hello all you Regency geeks who love your "After Austen" to be that little bit magical! I didn't know you were out there, can we be friends?

Needless to say, but I will anyway, this response made me instantly contemplate a followup. And it wasn't just you, my readers, it was also authors reaching out to me. Other writers in this lovely niche genre going, "Hey, I wish I'd heard about this earlier!" To which I usually responded, "Hey, I wish I'd heard about YOUR writing earlier!" So the worry about trying to find more books became moot. I had an entire reading list of new books about England's Regency with a magical bent. I can not tell you the joy I've had finding out about all these new authors along with getting around to reading authors I just didn't quite have time for last year. Not only that but last year I had three authors who were able to participate, Stephanie Burgis, Caroline Stevermer, and Mary Robinette Kowal. This year I reached out to double that many authors and within minutes almost all of them had signed on. So I hope you'll welcome them all with open arms: Zen Cho, Marissa Doyle, Galen Beckett, Beth Deitchman, and Heather Rose Jones. Who knows what magical discoveries will happen this year as March and April are turned over to strange and random happenings! So let's get to it! Author interviews, reviews, and a bewitchingly good time? I think it's guaranteed! Or at least in the cards.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:01 AM 3 comments  

Labels: Beth Deitchman, Caroline Stevermer, Galen Beckett, Heather Rose Jones, Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, Kerry Greenwood, Marissa Doyle, Mary Robinette Kowal, Regency Magic, Stephanie Burgis, Zen Cho

Yesterday was a wonderful day for my mailbox. Happy unbridled joy at finding not one but two books waiting for me! One was completely unexpected and the other was a wonderful treat. The first reason for exclamations of joy is I received an ARC of Elizabeth Kostova's The Swan Thieves from Little Brown! (Yes, I know, the exclamation marks are going to get old, but as Terry Pratchett would say: "Five exclamation marks, the sure sign of an insane mind," and I have never said that I'm of sound mind). I've been impatiently waiting for her to write another book since The Historian came out four years ago and January looked too far away. Yeah for ARCs is all I have to say, can't wait to sink my teeth into this book. Art, tormented geniuses, sign me up!

The other arrival was Marissa Doyle's Betraying Season, direct from the author! I was beyond lucky to win this from her blog last week, in an unprecedented event (ie, I never win any books from all the competitions I enter). But what is beyond cool, the cool part being it was signed to me, Miss Eliza, the beyond cool part was the awesome door hanger, that says "Her Ladyship is Engaged." I so want to just hang this around my neck and everytime someone tries to interupt my reading just point to the sign. Might get old to some people, but it would always be priceless to me! You should be sure to check out this, as well as her previous Leland Sisters novel, Bewitching Season. Reviews shall be forthcoming soon...I hope to go on a reading binge here...determinded in fact! There's just too many good books out there and I'm determined to make the time.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:01 AM 4 comments  

Labels: ARCs, Betraying Season, Bewitching Season, Elizabeth Kostava, Her Ladyship is Engaged, Leland Sisters, Little Brown, Marissa Doyle, The Historian, The Swan Theives, Won