strange and random happenstance

Glamour in Glass by Mary Robinette Kowal
Published by: Tor
Publication Date: April 10th, 2012
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
Rating: ★★★★★
To Buy

Jane and Vincent have become quite the powerful couple. Working side by side they have elevated Vincent's art, their art, to a new level. The Vincents are the toast of London, with the Prince Regent throwing a dinner in their honor in recognition of the magnificent grotto they have created for his opulent New Year's festivities. Yet being a woman Jane is confined to societal expectations, and the lack of recognition that goes with it. Even newspapers articles praising the work done for the Prince Regent omit her entirely. Jane doesn't want to be easily pushed aside after dinner when the men sit and talk and the women "retire." Jane has no desire to retire! She wants to be next to Vincent discussing magic and politics and all the things that matter in the world, not shut up in some parlor til the men deign to come to them! These after dinner traditions make her realize more then anything how lucky she is to have found Vincent, who views her as his equal.

The question of how to follow up their success leads them to consider a different path. They have some freedom at the moment and they never did have a honeymoon... With the continent recently open for travel with the exile of Napoleon, Vincent suggests a visit to his fellow glamourist, M. Chastain in Belgium. Not only has M. Chastain created a school for glamourists, but he has created a new technique that Vincent longs to see for himself. To travel with her husband and be surrounded by others able to work their craft and to perhaps learn more than she was able to learn on her own is a dream come true to Jane. Though the journey there is not without peril. The continent is not as safe as they had hoped. Troops are rallying for Napoleon and it is rumored that he shall escape Elba and make an attempt on reclaiming his throne.

Being surrounded by glamour is inspirational to Jane and she stumbles upon an idea while playing with M. Chastain's daughter on the steps inside the house. What if you could capture a glamour in glass, thus making it portable? In particular, what if they tried it with Vincent's Sphere Obscurcie, which makes a person invisible, but only in a fixed location. The Vincents don't see this revelation as anything that could be used as a tactical benefit in armed combat, but others do. This discovery could mean defeat or victory at the hands of Napoleon. A discovery the Bonapartists would gladly kill for. Though the return of Napoleon isn't the only hitch that has been thrown into Jane's world. She has discovered she has a condition that will not allow her to work glamour. She is with child. Will Vincent still love her if they are no loner able to work side by side and she where to become a more traditional wife? As she quickly sees, Vincent is already keeping secrets from her and not confiding as much as he used to now that she is no longer with him at all times. Yet, when Vincent is threatened, Jane might be the only one able to save him.

The declaration of my adoration of Glamour in Glass that started the first review I wrote of this book years back now hasn't changed. As I return to this series I am even more enamored of the world Mary Robinette Kowal has created. Each installment in this series just finds me more and more enthralled. Instead of just continuing on the trajectory she created in Shades of Milk and Honey, making more Austenesque books, Mary Robinette instead delves deeper into the time period creating a richer tapestry then Jane Austen ever did. While the mix of magic and the Regency world was what captured me initially, Mary Robinette has added in a level of French history that I am always drawn to, IE, the despotic wacko, Napoleon. How could you not love magic and deceit and Napoleonic spies? Napoleon and his hundred days, sigh. It is literally in my blood to be drawn to his time period. My great great great however many greats need to be there, relative was a high muckety-muck for Napoleon, François Joseph Lefebvre, the Duc de Danzig. Family legend always had it that he had actually abandoned Napoleon during the hundred days, turns out, that wasn't quite the case... but, well, would you like to say you rallied to him? At least François's portrait is still at Versailles...

But the history is just a richness and plot contrivance that aids the deeper themes of the book; that of love and passion. As Vincent has shown to Jane, the most wonderful, the most true art is seated in our passions. The true artist thrives on their emotions and is driven by them. This passion makes us artists capable of things we didn't even think we could do, and I'm not just saying pulling a week of all-nighters sewing beads on a David Bowie puppet, though I have done that. Glamour in Glass pointedly shows how much our passions are able to push us beyond what we thought we could endure and achieve. Being driven by their passions leads to Jane and Vincent's new discoveries and new techniques, such as literally incising glamour into glass to create a portable invisibility field. But the heart of the matter is in their connection, their passion for each other. Because of this Jane is able to save her husband's life, quite literally. She is driven to create an elaborate and ultimately successful rescue attempt for Vincent all by herself because her ingenuity and drive is powered by her passion.

It is this love and passion that is so achingly perfect. When I think of what true love means, the marriage of true minds, it is the love embodied by Jane and Vincent. Jane is chaffed by the restrictions of her sex, she is a modern and amazingly capable woman who is not of her time. Vincent sees this and loves this in her. They are a modern couple who defy the expectations and mores of the time they live in. Vincent is even willing to buck the Prince Regent so that Jane can partake in after-dinner conversation instead of retiring to her designated seat in the parlor with the other women. They rely on and support each other in a way that makes the heart ache to have something so precious. Their love is so strong that they aren't shoved into the stereotypical romance tropes where the damsel in distress is rescued by the knight on a white steed in shining armor. Their love allows Jane to be the rescuer.

It is this love and passion that is what will last of their legacy. Because what interests me about their chosen art form is it's transient nature. A Glamoural is almost performance art. It is pulled from the ether and will one day return. It is fixed, it cannot move, and is meant to be an adornment that can easily be changed, almost as easy as redecorating. I can't help but think of the three months that Vincent and Jane spent creating the grotto for the Prince Regent's ball. It is a one night spectacle. Created for a single event and then it will be torn asunder. Gone in a flash to be replaced by the next sensation. The thing that always drew me to sculpt and build and paint was that after you were done you had something physically left over. Some tangible proof of your exertions. But then I started doing theatre, and in theatre you build something, you sweat and toil and in the end, after the run, you tear it all down. This was so hard for me to accept. To willingly destroy what you had made because the time limit was done. So while I ponder the inevitability and the end of all things, including this series, at least the love of Jane and Vincent lives on in Mary's "Histories". Their love is one for the ages.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Duc de Danzig, Glamour in Glass, Glamoural, Jane Austen, Jane Vincent, Love, Magic, Mary Robinette Kowal, Mr. Vincent, Napoleon, Passion, Regency, Regency Magic, Shades of Milk and Honey, Spehere Obsurcie, Ten Years

Glamour in Glass by Mary Robinette Kowal
Published by: Tor
Publication Date: April 10th, 2012
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
Rating: ★★★★★
To Buy

Jane and Vincent have become quite the powerful couple. Working side by side they have elevated Vincent's art, their art, to a new level. The Vincents are the toast of London, with the Prince Regent throwing a dinner in their honor in recognition of the magnificent grotto they have created for his opulent New Years festivities. Yet being a woman Jane is confined to societal expectations, and the lack of recognition that goes with it. Even newspapers articles praising the work done for the Prince Regent omit her entirely. Jane doesn't want to be easily pushed aside after dinner when the men sit and talk and the women "retire." Jane has no desire to retire! She wants to be next to Vincent discussing magic and politics and all the things that matter in the world, not shut up in some parlor till the men deign to come to them! These after dinner traditions make her realize more then anything how lucky she is to have found Vincent, who views her as his equal.

The question of how to follow up their success leads them to consider a different path. They have some freedom at the moment and they never did have a honeymoon... With the continent recently open for travel with the exile of Napoleon, Vincent suggests a visit to his fellow glamourist, M. Chastain in Belgium. Not only has M. Chastain created a school for glamourists, but he has created a new technique that Vincent longs to see for himself. To travel with her husband and be surrounded by others able to work their craft and to perhaps learn more than she was able to learn herself is a dream come true to Jane. Though the journey there is not without peril. The continent is not as safe as they had hoped. Troops are rallying for Napoleon and it is rumored that he shall escape Elba and make an attempt on reclaiming his throne.

Being surrounded by glamour is inspirational to Jane and she stumbles upon an idea while playing with M. Chastain's daughter on the steps inside the house. What if you could capture a glamour in glass, thus making it portable? In particular, what if they tried it with Vincent's Sphere Obscurcie, which makes a person invisible, but only in a fixed location. The Vincents don't see this revelation as anything that could be used as a tactical benefit in armed combat, but others do. This discovery could mean defeat or victory at the hands of Napoleon. A discovery the Bonapartists would gladly kill for. Though the return of Napoleon isn't the only hitch that has been thrown into Jane's world. She has discovered she has a condition that will not allow her to work glamour. She is with child. Will Vincent still love her if they are no loner able to work side by side and she where to become a more traditional wife? As she quickly sees, Vincent is already keeping secrets from her and not confiding as much as he used to now that she is no longer with him at all times. Yet, when Vincent is threatened Jane might be the only one able to save him.

The declaration of my adoration of Glamour in Glass that started the first review I wrote of this book almost three years back now hasn't changed. As I return to this series I am even more enamoured of the world these books have created. Each installment in this series just finds me more and more enthralled. Instead of just continuing on the trajectory she created in Shades of Milk and Honey, making more Austenesque books, Mary instead delves deeper into the time creating a richer tapestry then Jane Austen ever did. While the mix of magic and the Regency world was what captured me initially, Mary has added in a level of French history that I am always drawn to, ie, the despotic wacko, Napoleon. How could you not love magic and deceit and Napoleonic spies? Napoleon and his hundred days, sigh. It is literally in my blood to be drawn to his time period. My great great great however many greats needs to be there, relative was a high muckety-muck for Napoleon, François Joseph Lefebvre, the Duc de Danzig. Family legend always had it that he had actually abandoned Napoleon during the hundred days, turns out, that wasn't quite the case... but, well, would you like to say you rallied to him? At least François's portrait is still at Versailles...

But the history is just a richness and plot contrivance that aids the deeper themes of the book; that of love and passion. As Vincent has shown to Jane, the most wonderful, the most true art is seated in our passions. The true artist thrives on their emotions and is driven by them. This passion makes us artists capable of things we didn't even think we could do, and I'm not just saying pulling a week of all-nighters sewing beads on a David Bowie puppet, though I have done that. Glamour in Glass pointedly shows how much our passions are able to push us beyond what we thought we could endure and achieve. Being driven by their passions leads to Jane and Vincent's new discoveries and new techniques, such as literally incising glamour into glass to create a portable invisibility field. But the heart of the matter is in their connection, their passion for each other. Because of this Jane is able to save her husband's life, quite literally. She is driven to create an elaborate and ultimately successful rescue attempt for Vincent all by herself because her ingenuity and drive is powered by her passion.

It is this love and passion that is so achingly perfect. When I think of what true love means, the marriage of true minds, it is the love embodied by Jane and Vincent. Jane is chaffed by the restrictions of her sex, she is a modern and amazingly capable woman who is not of her time. Vincent sees this and loves this in her. They are a modern couple who defy the expectations and mores of the time they live in. Vincent is even willing to buck the Prince Regent so that Jane can partake in after-dinner conversation instead of retiring to her designated seat in the parlor with the other women. They rely on and support each other in a way that makes the heart ache to have something so precious. Their love is so strong that they aren't shoved into the stereotypical romance tropes where the damsel in distress is rescued by the knight on a white steed in shining armor. Their love allows Jane to be the rescuer.

It is this love and passion that is what will last of their legacy. Because what interests me about their chosen art form is it's transient nature. A Glamoural is almost performance art. It is pulled from the ether and will one day return. It is fixed, it cannot move, and is meant to be an adornment that can easily be changed, almost as easy as redecorating. I can't help but think of the three months that Vincent and Jane spent creating the grotto for the Prince Regent's ball. It is a one night spectacle. Created for a single event and then it will be torn asunder. Gone in a flash to be replaced by the next sensation. The thing that always drew me to sculpt and build and paint was that after you were done you had something physically left over. Some tangible proof of your exertions. But then I started doing theatre, and in theatre you build something, you sweat and toil and in the end, after the run, you tear it all down. This was so hard for me to accept. To willingly destroy what you had made because the time limit was done. So while I ponder the inevitability and the end of all things, at least the love of Jane and Vincent lives on in Mary's "Histories". Their love is one for the ages.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Art, Duc de Danzig, Glamour in Glass, Glamoural, Jane Austen, Jane Vincent, Love, Magic, Mary Robinette Kowal, Mr. Vincent, Napoleon, Passion, Regency, Regency Magic, Shades of Milk and Honey, Spehere Obsurcie

Shades of Milk and Honey by Mary Robinette Kowal
Published by: Tor
Publication Date: July 26th, 2010
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
Rating: ★★★★★
To Buy
Jane and Melody Ellsworth are as different as two sisters can be. Jane is starting to accept the inevitability of her spinsterhood. At 28, there is no hope of finding a husband, particularly when Mr. Dunkirk, the man who holds a special place in her heart, is also the object of Melody's affections. Jane knows her beauty is no match to Melody's. Even if Jane is adept in the magical arts and can make the most fabulous glamours and illusions, she herself knows that men prefer beauty over brains. But more importantly, she would never stand in the way of Melody's happiness. Soon the small group of friends in Dorchester receives a few additions to their ranks. Mr. Dunkirk's younger sister Beth arrives, but the withdrawn and sallow young girl with a mysterious past is nothing to what is happening at the Viscountess's. Not only is her favorite, and need it be said, dashing, nephew, Captain Livingston, is arriving after years away, but she has also hired the famous Glamourist Mr. Vincent to make a wooded wonderland of her dining hall.

Soon everyone is coming and going between the homes with dinners and strawberry picnics, and all manner of enjoyments. Jane starts to hope that perhaps her sisters affections for Mr. Dunkirk are waning, as Jane befriends his sister and starts to hope that he might indeed have feelings for her, not Melody. The course of love never runs smooth though, neither does felicity between sisters. Melody and Jane have a falling out because Melody is willing to do anything to ensnare her man, even fain injury. Can talent and brains when out over conniving beauty? Or will the answer to true happiness be something and someone different than Jane ever thought.

Shades of Milk and Honey is like the best possible Jane Austen mash-up, drawing threads from her entire oeuvre. It's like if Elinor and Marianne had a major falling out with secret engagements to multiple parties. Then on top of everything, throw in some magic! The book is very much a slow burn. For a long time you just enjoy the routine of the characters very much pulled from the pages of Austen. The domesticity of everyday life is here on the pages for us to fall into. But instead of just painting or working on embroidery, the characters are using magic to enhance the world around them. There are the dances, there are the grand diners, and there are the arguments over fabrics at the modiste. Yet under the guise of Jane Austen fanfiction, like the threads of ether invisible to the naked eye used in a glamour, Mary Robinette Kowal is not only building an ending that packs a punch with the sheer number of Austenian endings happening simultaneously, but a deeper story about art and passion and love.

The magical element has this book being categorized as in the vein of Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell. While I can see the connections, one couldn't with two books both set in Regency England and employing the use of magic, but I think they are truly very different. Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell has a far more faerie aspect. But more then that, for all the comparisons to Austen, Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell is a far more masculine book with female undercurrents. Whereas Shades of Milk and Honey is derived more directly from Austen and stays within the female sphere. In fact, I will assert that, despite being of the same subset genre of the other Regency Magic books out there, Shades of Milk and Honey is so uniquely its own that it sets itself apart by the cunning deviations of magical usage.

In all the books I've read over the past few months set during this time and dealing with magic, the magic itself has practical applications. The magic is used for defeating foes, vanquishing Napoleon, this is, after all, the prime time to vanquish him, and other active endeavors. Now I'm not saying that the magic system here won't try to embrace this down the road, I have after all read this series before, but in this first volume the magic doesn't have many practical uses, magic is just art. Magic, or, as I should say, glamour, is just another womanly art, to be lumped in with embroidery, painting, and playing the piano. In fact glamour can enhance these already existing arts with subtle touches. Glamour is a home art, and is a skill that is recommended for a good wife to have. A way to add those special touches that make a house a home. The fact that it is womanly, finally giving a legitimate reason for women to swoon, is also why Mr. Vincent's chosen profession as Glamourist causes consternation to his family.

But Mr. Vincent understands the heights to which glamour can reach, and it's Jane's embracing of this revolutionary knowledge, to her, that calls out to the artist in me. The truth is anyone, given time, can become proficient in art or music. They can be technically wonderful, but that is all there is. Every key may be hit, every brushstroke executed to perfection, and yet there is something missing. This is what Mr. Vincent sees in Jane's art. Her studying and her interest in dissecting Vincent's work has given her technical perfection. But without the passion, without the raw emotions channeled into the art, then it can never be moving, it can never take a good artist and make them great. That passion inside you is what makes you strive, makes you see something and be inspired. Makes you always trying, learning, doing. There's a reason the greatest artists are caricatured as being passionate and emotional people, because deep down, if you don't have this, you won't make it.

The love and passion of art that the character of Mr. Vincent embodies is what pulls you into the story. It's as if Darcy and Elizabeth where dueling artists where their passion was expounded upon more, a Regency Zelda and F. Scott if you will. Jane's development from a retiring spinster to passionate artist because of the revelations gleaned from Mr. Vincent's journal literally took my breath away with it's beauty, simplicity, and passion. The scene where Jane gives way to all those bottled up emotions and creates the grove of trees in her room, it brought tears to my eyes. Taking an art form that during this time period was just an accomplishment for a young lady to possess as she is made the prefect meek wife and channeling that into a way to express all those bottled up and repressed emotions makes passionate glamour perhaps the most magical discovery of all.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Art, Elizabeth Bennet, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Glamour, Glamoural, Jane Austen, Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, Mary Robinette Kowal, Mr. Darcy, Mr. Vincent, Passion, Regency Magic, Shades of Milk and Honey, Zelda

Of all the authors whose work I love and admire I have to say that if there was one whose life I could live for a day I'd choose Mary Robinette Kowal's. She's like my high schooler dream life personified. Firstly, a puppeteer, so she's got the Jim Henson Muppet side down. Secondly writing work inspired by Jane Austen, but not being limited by that framework. Then there's the whole friends with amazingly awesome writers from Patrick Rothfuss to Neil Gaiman. Sigh. But more then anything it's the talent that I am just in awe of. Seriously, she can write, and the awards she's garnered prove I'm not alone thinking this. She has received the Campbell Award for Best New Writer, three Hugo awards, and the RT Reviews award for Best Fantasy Novel, such an underachiever.

Going back to Pat Rothfuss, it's because of him that I first heard about Mary's Glamourists Histories. I'm still kicking myself that I actually met Mary at WisCon when Shades of Milk and Honey was just out but didn't know about the series till a year later, thanks Rothfuss, I was talking to you five feet away from Mary, you think you could have pointed her out a year earlier? But whenever you stumble upon a great series it doesn't matter when it happens, just that you finally found this author whose work you just connect with. Besides writing and doing puppetry she also uses her performance and theater skills to record the audio books of fellow authors from Seanan McGuire to John Scalzi.

But the most interesting thing about Mary is there's a slim possibility she's Jane Austen... as her publishers Tor pointed out on their website when the recreation of what Jane Austen must have looked like was unveiled:

"After an extensive period of research, utilizing forensics, eyewitness accounts, and the expertise of a period costume designer, the Jane Austen Centre in Bath has determined what Austen really looked like during her life in the 18th century. At which point we replied um, no, that’s Tor Books author Mary Robinette Kowal, puppeteer, Pat Rothfuss impersonator, and...regency author."

So let's ask this author some questions shall we? Like when she "discovered" Jane Austen...

Question: When did you first discover Jane Austen?

Answer: Golly... I don't remember when I first knew about her, but the moment I rediscovered and fell in love with her was in Lyme Regis. I'd read Persuasion, but there is something about buying a copy in a second hand shop and reading it in the town itself that makes it really live.

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

Answer: I think she'd likely be amused, given how many parodies and pastiches she wrote herself.

Question: Where do you get your inspiration from?

Answer: People. No, really! That's not as facile as it sounds. What I'm most interested in is the connection between people. Writing helps me understand why people make certain choices and the choices I might make in a similar situation.

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

Answer: It's an interesting cusp period. They had a very scientific approach to the world, but from our point of view a lot of things that were Science to them look like superstition and magic to us. It's very easy to insert magic and treat it as matter-of-factly as the idea of ill humors.

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

Answer: I knew I wanted to write a Jane Austen pastiche. Specifically, I wanted to find out if I could fit Fantasy into a Jane Austen plot mold. So, having decided that, it meant that my main character needed to be a young lady of quality. I also wanted her to be a magic user, which meant that magic had to be largely impractical and decorative, since young ladies of quality never had jobs.

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

Answer: I would break the rules and continue to do both.

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

Answer: Oh... Kind of every chance I get. I hand sew my own dresses, which started as research, and attend events with the Oregon Regency Society. I've spent an entire week wearing nothing but Regency clothes and writing with a quill. Why not? Just because you're grownup doesn't mean you should stop having fun.

Author Photograph © 2012 Rod Searcey

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Glamourist Histories, Hugo Award, Jane Austen, Jim Henson, Lyme Regis, Mary Robinette Kowal, Muppets, Neil Gaiman, Patrick Rothfuss, Persuasion, Regency Magic, Seanan McGuire, Shades of Milk and Honey, WisCon

Glamour in Glass by Mary Robinette Kowal
Published by: Tor
Publication Date: April 10th, 2012
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
Rating: ★★★★★
To Buy

Jane and Vincent have become quite the powerful couple. Working side by side they have elevated Vincent's art, their art, to a new level. Even if the newspapers don't really give Jane any credit. He is the toast of London, the Prince Regent throwing a dinner in honor of the magnificent grotto they have created for his New Years festivities. Yet part of Jane is sad. Being a woman, she is viewed as women of the time are, not as the equal her husband does. She is easily pushed aside after dinner when the men sit and talk and the women retire. Jane has no desire to retire! She wants to be next to Vincent discussing magic and politics and all the things that matter in the world, not shut up in some parlor till the men deign to come to them!

Soon though Vincent receives an invitation from his mentor, M. Chastain, to visit him in Belgium and to look over the school he has created. Vincent and Jane treat this as the honeymoon they never really had time for. To be surrounded by others able to work their craft and to perhaps learn more than she was able to teach herself is a dream come true to Jane. Though the journey there is no without peril. Troops are rallying for Napoleon, it is rumored that he shall escape Alba and make an attempt on reclaiming his throne.

Soon Jane and Vincent stumble upon and idea that would take his Sphere Obscurcie, which makes a person invisible, if in a fixed location, and make it portable, with glass. This discovery could mean defeat or victory at the hands of the French. A discovery the French and the newly escaped Napoleon would gladly kill for. Though a hitch has been thrown into Jane's world. She has discovered she has a condition that will not allow her to work glamours. Will Vincent still love her if they are no loner able to work side by side and she where to become a more traditional wife? As she quickly sees, Vincent is already keeping secrets from her and not confiding as much as he used to, now that she is no longer with him at all times. Yet, when Vincent is threatened, Jane might be the only one able to save him.

I adored this book. I was bereft when it ended. Never in a very very long time it seems have I been so enamoured of the world a book has created. The first book I quite enjoyed, it was quite enjoyable, but it didn't prepare me for the awesomeness of the second. I here refer to the original origin of awesome, like one million hot dogs as Eddie Izzard would say. The mix of magic and the Regency world was what captured me initially. Yet here, Mary Robinette Kowal has taken it further. She has added in a level of French history that I am always drawn to, ie, the despotic wacko, Napoleon. How could you not love magic and deceit and Napoleonic spies? Napoleon and his hundred days, sigh. It is literally in my blood to be drawn to his time period. My great great great however many greats need to be there, grandfather was a high muckety-muck for Napoleon, François Joseph Lefebvre, the Duc de Danzig. Family legend always had it that he had actually abandoned Napoleon during the hundred days, turns out, that wasn't quite the case... but, well, would you like to say you rallied to him? At least his portrait is still at Versailles...

Back to the book. Not only is there this wonderful and believable magic system that Mary Robinette Kowal has created, but Jane is so perfect. She is not of her time. Vincent sees this and loves this in her. They are a modern couple who defy the expectations and mores of the time they live in. The deepness of their love is so romantic, but what's more romantic? The fact that Jane is clever, smart, and, in the end, not a damsel in distress, but the one who saves the day and her husband. If more books would just have kick ass females that where modelled on Jane. Clever, analytical and above all, successful in their endeavours. By not falling prey to stereotypical tropes, by magnificent world building and by creating a couple that truly love each other and depend on each other, Mary Robinette Kowal's series is quickly becoming not just a wonderful and unique series, but an author to watch and to wait for with baited breath.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Duc de Danzig, Eddie Izzard, Glamour in Glass, Glamoural, Jane Austen, Jane Vincent, Magic, Mary Robinette Kowal, Mr. Vincent, Napoleon, Regency, Shades of Milk and Honey, Spehere Obsurcie

Shades of Milk and Honey by Mary Robinette Kowal
Published by: Tor
Publication Date: June 7th, 2011
Format: Paperback, 304 Pages
Rating: ★★★★
To Buy
Jane and Melody Ellsworth are as different as two sisters can be. Jane is starting to accept the inevitability of her spinsterhood. At 28, there is no hope of finding a husband, particularly when Mr. Dunkirk, the man who holds a special place in her heart, is also the object of Melody's affections. Jane knows her beauty is no match to Melody's. Even if Jane is adept in the magical arts and can make the most fabulous glamours and illusions, she herself knows that men prefer beauty over brains. But more importantly, she would never stand in the way of Melody's happiness. Soon the small group of friends in Dorchester receives a few additions to their ranks. Mr. Dunkirk's younger sister Beth arrives, but the withdrawn and sallow young girl with a mysterious past is nothing to what is happening at the Viscountess'. Not only is her favorite, and need it be said, dashing, nephew, Captain Livingston, is arriving after years away, but she has also hired the famous Glamourist Mr. Vincent to make a wooded wonderland of her dining hall.

Soon everyone is coming and going between the homes with dinners and strawberry picnics, and all manner of enjoyments. Jane starts to hope that perhaps her sisters affections for Mr. Dunkirk is waning, as she befriends his sister and starts to realize that he might indeed have feelings for her, not Melody. The course of love never runs smooth though, neither does felicity between sisters. Melody and Jane have a falling out because Melody is willing to do anything to ensnare her man, even fain injury. Can talent and brains when out over conniving beauty? Or will the answer to true happiness be something and someone different than Jane ever thought.

This is like the best possible Jane Austen mash-up. It's like if Elinor and Marianne had a major falling out with secret engagements to multiple parties. Then on top of everything, throw in some magic! The book is very much a slow burn. For a long time you just enjoy the routine of characters very much pulled from the pages of Austen. Instead of painting or working on embroidery, they are using magic to enhance the world around them, but that is a very quibbling difference. There are the dances, the dinning and the arguments over fabrics at the modiste. Yet under this Mary Robinette Kowal is not only building an ending that packs a punch with the sheer number of Austenian endings happening simultaneously, but a deeper story. The love and passion of art and the character of Mr. Vincent is what pulls you into the story. It's as if Darcy and Elizabeth where dueling artists where their passion was expounded upon more. The revelation that happens through Mr. Vincent's art literally took my breath away with it's beauty, simplicity and passion. It also doesn't hurt if, like me, you keep picture Mr. Vincent as Tony Curran as Vincent Van Gogh from Doctor Who.

The magical element has this book being categorized as in the vein of  Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell. While I can see the connections, one couldn't with two books both set in Regency England and employing the use of magic, but I think they are truly very different. Jonathan Strange has a far more faerie aspect, which the excerpt from the second book in this series indicates that Mary Robinette Kowal may start to take that direction as well, but you still don't have that feeling in this first book. Also, for all the Jane Austen vibe in Jonathan Strange, it is a far more masculine book. There are woman, but not really of key character narration variety as here. This is far more a book derived from Austen, versus the entire new world that Susanna Clarke created, but that isn't to dismiss the world building here. The "Glamour" and folds and magic is such an intriguing and fascinating aspect to this world that it binds the book into a cohesive and compelling whole more so than the narrative. Jane and Mr. Vincent are rightfully the heart of this book and I can not wait till I get to read more of their adventures... I only wish I could pick up the next volume right this minute. If you are a fan of Austen, I really think that this book needs to move to your "to be read" pile right now, and yes, I assume, like mine, it's a pile... maybe even two or three. Also, if you need further convincing, I picked up this book because Patrick Rothfuss told me to, or at least the next one in the series.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 2 comments  

Labels: Glamour, Glamoural, Jane Austen, Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, Mary Robinette Kowal, Mr. Vincent, Patrick Rothfuss, Shades of Milk and Honey, Tony Curran