Madeleine Brent retro romantic suspense time again! A GR friend reminded me of this one a few days ago, and I was all, oh yeah, that one I read half oMadeleine Brent retro romantic suspense time again! A GR friend reminded me of this one a few days ago, and I was all, oh yeah, that one I read half of and then got distracted and ... never finished? Maybe I'd better fix that! So even though I have a bunch of ARCs I should be reading, here we are.
I enjoyed this one a lot! Chantal is a young woman who's a reasonably good trapeze artist with a mid-sized traveling circus, back around the late 1800s or early 1900s, with a very complicated past personal history. She was raised as a spoiled orphaned heiress through age 13, when her wealthy British family found out that there was a baby switch and her heartless uncle tossed her out. Before she could land in the orphanage they intended for her, she ran away to this circus that happened to be in the area, and they took her in.
Now she's about 17/18 and realizes that her time with the circus will be ending soon. Chantal has plans and hopes for medical school, but things are interrupted by the arrival of a mysterious stranger, a near-death experience for Chantal on the high bar (looks like someone was trying to kill her ...), and two more strangers who whip Chantal away to a brand new genteel British family. Where more drama ensues.
It's a fun read if not terribly deep. As I've said before, Madeleine Brent/Peter O'Donnell is a pretty talented storyteller if not a Great Author. Yes, it's still that same formula that Madeleine Brent books follow over and over: intrepid young British woman in exotic places and deadly peril, and usually two men who are pursuing her romantically. One of them is true love and the other is secretly a dastardly villain, but the author tries very hard to hide the ball on which man is which.
I don't think it's a coincidence that my favorite Brent books were the two I read first, before I started seeing all the plot similarities in these books. But they're quite fun reads when you're looking for a beach book kind of thing, and this one is up there with the better ones of Brent's. ...more
3.75 stars for the title story, “Hunted Down.” In this shorter work from about 1860, Charles Dickens tries his hand at the detective genre (loosely sp3.75 stars for the title story, “Hunted Down.” In this shorter work from about 1860, Charles Dickens tries his hand at the detective genre (loosely speaking). This story is free to read online here at Project Gutenberg.
Mr. Sampson, the narrator, now retired from work, was formerly the manager of a life assurance (insurance) firm. After a brief discussion on how people can be deceiving ("Believe me, my first impression of those people, founded on face and manner alone, was invariably true. My mistake was in suffering them to come nearer to me and explain themselves away."), he settles into telling the story of his encounters with one Mr. Slinkton ... whose name, in classic Dickens-style, already gives you a hint of his slimy character.
Sampson dislies Slinkton on first sight - a lot of it, humorously, is tied to Slinkton's hairdo, which seems to make unspoken but firm demands on how people are to treat Slinkton. But Sampson gradually relents toward Slinkton. As they meet a few more times they discuss the sad case of Mr. Meltham, a young actuary whose girlfriend tragically died, as well as Slinkton's two nieces who have lived with him, one of whom has also passed away. Slinkton also becomes involved in obtaining life insurance from Sampson for another man, Mr. Beckworth. Slinkton's actions seem suspicious, but is he really a villain?
There are a few plot twists and surprises, including a narrator who isn't entirely reliable. Reading it a second time, I can see a lot of great double meanings hidden in Sampson's words. There's a typical Dickensian helpless maiden and a Victorian-type tragedy, along with a bittersweet wrapup.
It's an intriguing and quick read, worthwhile if you have any fondness for Victorian era mystery tales. Apparently it was inspired by Charles Dickens' familiarity with a scandalous case of a poisoner around that time. It's not quite up to the level of Wilkie Collins' or Arthur Conan Doyle's best, but there are some interesting psychological things at play in this story.
Another group read with the Dickensians! group (which has some excellent commentary and analysis in the threads, BTW)....more
2.5 stars. This is a Victorian era romantic soap opera, with all the drama, self-sacrifice and long-windedness that implies.
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Written in 1873 (I2.5 stars. This is a Victorian era romantic soap opera, with all the drama, self-sacrifice and long-windedness that implies.
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Written in 1873 (I read it online at Project Gutenberg), The Doctor's Dilemma begins with an uppercrust, frantic young woman, Olivia, escaping from the rooms in London where she's been locked in for three weeks because REASONS, and haring off as far as she can go ... which ends up being the Channel Islands. There she shelters with a friendly fisherman and his aged mother in a remote cottage on the island of Sark.
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One fateful day Olivia slips and falls down a cliff, injuring herself pretty badly. Enter the handsome doctor from the nearby island of Guernsey, and love at first sight. But the handsome doctor is also engaged to a cousin of his, which was a major thing to try to upend back in that day. Also the doctor soon realizes that Olivia is the nameless woman that he saw a newspaper ad for, by someone trying to find her. Sinister or good? He doesn't know. What he also doesn't know is that Olivia has other secrets she hasn't shared ...
Not badly written, for its day, but MAN, does this novel take the long and winding road to the expected ending. Maybe it was originally written as a newspaper serial? Because I can't think of any other reason (besides Victorian, which admittedly does explain a lot) for it to be so lengthy. I have to admit I skimmed most of the second half of it.
Recommended only if you really like old-fashioned romance and don't mind if it’s a super-slow burn....more
The Angel of the Crows is Sherlock Holmes fanfic … if Sherlock were an outcast angelOn sale June 23! Final review, first posted on Fantasy Literature:
The Angel of the Crows is Sherlock Holmes fanfic … if Sherlock were an outcast angel called Crow, Dr. Watson (here named Dr. Doyle) had a paranormal affliction caused by an injury given him by an Afghani fallen angel, and Victorian England were filled with vampires, werewolves and other paranormal beings. In fact, Katherine Addison states in an author’s note at the end that The Angel of the Crows originated as Sherlock wingfic, a type of fanfic in which one or more characters have wings. It’s an idea with potential, but Katherine Addison squanders that potential by spending (I estimate) some eighty percent of the novel simply retelling several of Sherlock Holmes’ most famous adventures with a supernatural twist.
It begins immediately with the first Holmes novel, A Study in Scarlet, in which Holmes and Watson (Crow and Doyle) first meet and become flatmates, and works its way through four more adventures that will be immediately familiar to anyone who’s read many of Arthur Conan Doyle’s stories. The least well-known one is “The Adventure of the Copper Beeches,” and that one would only be called obscure by non-Holmes fan. The framing device for all of this is the search for Jack the Ripper: his murders are happening right while everything else is going on. Crow and Dr. Doyle can’t help but be interested, and interest leads to involvement.
It’s a reasonably interesting novel, even if you’re familiar with the source material, and Addison clearly did quite a bit of research into the Sherlock Holmes canon and Victorian-era crime, with a focus on the Jack the Ripper cases. But I found myself earnestly wishing that Addison had written a more original novel. In The Angel of the Crows, proper angels are tied to a habitation, like a cathedral or even an inn; Fallen angels cause disasters on the level of bombs; Nameless angels have lost their individual identity and their will along with their habitation. Crow is none of these, unique among angels. All this is explained as part of the background and world-building, but Addison never delves deeply into this aspect of the story or unlocks the potential of conflict with Fallen angels. Focusing more on these original ideas would have made for a more compelling novel.
The first adventure of Crow and Doyle, based on A Study in Scarlet, took up the whole first fifth of this novel, and was such a straight retelling of the original (at least, the London-based half of the original) that my jaw was literally dropping by the end of it. The Angel of the Crows does get progressively more creative as it goes along, as Addison includes more twists to the plots of the original Holmes stories. Occasionally an unexpected connection would make me laugh, like this one:
“Introductions!” the vampire said briskly. “My name is Moriarty.”
“Doyle,” I said and, having observed the vampire’s long, curved nails, did not offer to shake hands.
I appreciated Addison’s spin on The Hound of the Baskervilles plot, and she also gave most of the racist, sexist and other outdated parts of Doyle’s stories a much more modern spin. Even gender identity come into play, which would probably make old Arthur roll in his grave. I found myself gradually getting more invested in the story as I got deeper into it.
Still, for readers who are familiar with the Sherlock Holmes stories that Addison wove into this novel, much of the element of mystery and surprise will be lost. Addison should have done much more to transform and subvert the original Holmes stories. I found myself looking forward to the interim chapters about Jack the Ripper, since those events were less familiar to me. Coming from the author who wrote the inventive book The Goblin Emperor, The Angel of the Crows was a bit of letdown.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. Thanks!...more
This is the graphic novel version of Neil Gaiman's "A Study in Emerald," which won the Hugo Award for short stories in 2004. It's a brilliant mash-up This is the graphic novel version of Neil Gaiman's "A Study in Emerald," which won the Hugo Award for short stories in 2004. It's a brilliant mash-up of the Sherlock Holmes universe and H.P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu mythos, a weird but wonderful fantasy variation on a Sherlock Holmes mystery.
So I'm normally not a graphic novel kind of person - I like my reading straight-up, the traditional way, not in audio or graphic novel version - but when I saw this book sitting on the library shelf staring at me I couldn't resist picking it up, since the original "Study in Emerald" is one of my favorite Gaiman short stories. (Really, it is brilliant.)
It's Victorian days in England Albion, and a doctor, wounded in the Afghanistan war (in this case, by a monstrous being), moves in with a new roommate. Names are never mentioned, but the new roommate is a consulting detective with a deep knowledge of obscure facts. Oh, and he lives on Baker Street. Inspector Lestrade of Scotland Yard comes to beg the detective's help in solving a mystery: an alien noble from Germany has been murdered, emerald blood scattered everywhere. All the nobility and leaders of nations in this world are Lovecraftian aliens, owing to their conquest of the world 700 years earlier. But the thing is, most people heartily approve of government-by-alien-monsters, despite some ... drawbacks. So the detective and the good doctor set off to hunt down the murderers.
I still like the original written version of this story better, but this graphic novel does have about 80-90% of the original version's text (I was doing a side-by-side comparison for most of the novel). The illustrations are appropriately creepy, especially Queen Victoria and her magic tentacles and human mask. :) (view spoiler)[Prince Albert is human, and I just don't even want to think about the human/monster interbreeding going on in this world. (hide spoiler)]
Once you read this, I highly recommend Wikipedia's spoiler-filled page about this book, which includes discussion of the many hints and Easter eggs that Gaiman slipped into this story. Here's a link to the Wikipedia article. The "advertisements" are to die for....more
3.5 stars. Sarah Eden, a well-known author of clean historical romances, shifts gears in this unusual twist on the genre: a cat-and-mouse game between3.5 stars. Sarah Eden, a well-known author of clean historical romances, shifts gears in this unusual twist on the genre: a cat-and-mouse game between Elizabeth Black and Fletcher Walker, two Victorian era authors of “penny dreadful” novels.
[image] Victorian-era penny dreadful novel
They really were a penny! And in all likelihood the writing was dreadful too, although I understand the dreadful part is actually referring to the scary villains and monsters that usually populated these thriller-type books. :)
Fletcher is trying to unearth the identity of a “Mr. King,” who’s overtaken Fletcher as the best-selling author of penny dreadful novels. It’s not just pride; Fletcher, who was once a street orphan himself, needs the money to help fund his secret organization of men committed to helping rescue and educate London’s street children. (What exactly Fletcher and this organization plan to do about Mr. King, other than maybe ask him to join their group, isn't entirely clear. It sort of seems like they have something ominous in mind but ... maybe not?)
Anyway, Fletcher asks Miss Elizabeth Black, headmistress of a respectable girl’s school and author of “silver-fork” novels, to help him track down Mr. King - never dreaming that Elizabeth IS Mr. King. Besides the socially-approved silver-fork novels, she has a fondness for writing the more sensational penny dreadful novels ... and plus they make her way more money, which she ALSO needs to help fund her girl's school. Elizabeth, determined to keep her secret from him - it would ruin her socially and professionally if it became known - agrees to “help” Fletcher, really intending to mislead him. Hah!
There's a subplot about people devoted to trying to improve the lot of poor children and teens in London (spoiler alert: the villains who prey on the poor take exception to having their schemes interfered with) and just a little romance, complete with the trope (view spoiler)["I'll resist falling in love with you and hurt your feelings by avoiding you with no explanation, because I'm not good enough for you" (hide spoiler)].
These chapters about Fletcher and Elizabeth alternate with chapters from the pulpy novels that the two of them are currently writing, in which monsters of various types abound. It’s occasionally a bit slow, the main characters are almost too altruistic to be true, and the other characters are pretty one-dimensional, but overall it’s a fun and quite different kind of book if you like light historical romances. I enjoyed seeing how the chapters from Fletcher’s and Elizabeth’s penny dreadful novels tied into the main plot ... especially when it happened on purpose. :)
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. Thank you!...more
I read Green Dolphin Street as a group read with the Retro Reads crowd. I had such high hopes because I've loved the other two historical fiction noveI read Green Dolphin Street as a group read with the Retro Reads crowd. I had such high hopes because I've loved the other two historical fiction novels I read by Elizabeth Goudge, but this one landed with kind of a thud.
Marianne and Marguerite are two sisters, daughters of a wealthy merchant, who live on the island of Guernsey in the Channel Islands. Marianne, who is five years older than Marguerite, is intelligent but mercurial, and not as conventionally lovely or as well-behaved as her younger sister. They both fall in love with William, who's not in their social class but is a compelling personality. They all hang out together as they grow up but, predictably, it's Marguerite that William falls in love with.
William leaves Guernsey to go to New Zealand to seek his fortune, planning to bring Marguerite there once he's settled and doing well. But he's drunk the night he writes the fateful proposal letter, and accidentally mixes up the sisters' names and asks Marianne to come to NZ to marry him. (The author claimed this part was based on a factual story.) Marianne is elated; Marguerite deeply dejected. And William, when he sees which sister shows up on the boat months later, doesn't know how to undo his mistake. This is back in Victorian days, when you just didn't do that kind of thing.
Green Dolphin Street follows their lives and adventures together. There are some harrowing times with the Maori natives, and here Goudge's normally fine sensibilities let her down. It's dated and, to say the least, racially insensitive. This book was written in 1944, and if you can't make allowances for outdated social attitudes, you'll be offended.
Between that and the Drama (with a capital D) between William and the sisters, (view spoiler)[ and the resulting difficulties in William's and Marianne's marriage (hide spoiler)], this just wasn't a book I found appealing. Elizabeth Goudge was a talented author, but I'd definitely recommend The Dean's Watch or The Scent of Water over this one.
A lost girl, about four years old, turns up at the ancient Swan inn and tavern by the Thames River in 1887, Review first posted on Fantasy Literature:
A lost girl, about four years old, turns up at the ancient Swan inn and tavern by the Thames River in 1887, on the night of the winter solstice. An injured man staggers into the inn, holding the apparently drowned girl in his arms, and promptly collapses. When the local midwife and nurse, Rita, arrives, she privately confirms that the girl is not breathing and has no pulse, though she mysteriously has no sign of drowning or other injury. But a few minutes later the girl suddenly lives and breathes again, stunning Rita and the others at the inn.
The girl is wordless, and it’s soon discovered that she doesn’t belong to Daunt, the man who carried her into the inn. Who, then, does she belong to? Several people raise a claim: Robin Armstrong, the wastrel oldest son of a black gentleman farmer, Robert, claims her as his lost daughter Alice. Lily White, an abused woman whose younger sister may have died many years ago, insists (against all evidence) that the girl is her little sister Ann. Helena and Anthony Vaughan, a couple whose two-year old daughter was kidnapped two years ago, claim the girl as their daughter Amelia, although it soon becomes clear that Anthony has grave doubts, though those are undermined by Helena’s passionate conviction and her joy after two years of inconsolable grief.
These and others are unique, interesting characters with strong backstories that flow like tributaries into the main river of the tale. The Swan inn is a place that specializes in storytelling, and the river that runs past the inn and flows in an out of the story throughout the novel, carries its own stories ― particularly Quietly the mythic ferryman, a gaunt figure who appears to those who are in trouble on the water, helping them either to life and safety or to “another shore.” A diverse cast of unusual characters, some tragedy, a mystery or three, a challenging romance, and a little magical realism spice up the plot of Once Upon a River.
Water flows throughout the tale, a potent symbol that Diane Setterfield, for the most part, uses effectively (I did find the closing paragraph too pat). Everyone’s life has been touched by the river to one degree or another. Daunt is a photographer who’s endlessly fascinated by the river. Rita was born to a despairing mother who threw herself into the river, dying just after giving birth to Rita. Helena has always loved boating on the river, until her daughter’s kidnapping and disappearance two years ago.
It had seemed then that her daughter’s absence had flooded Helena, flooded them both, and that with their words they were trying to bail themselves out. But the words were eggcups, and what they were describing was an ocean of absence, too vast to be contained in such modest vessels. She bailed and she bailed, but no matter how often she repeated the effort, she could not get to the end of it.
Setterfield’s language is lovely and her storytelling is beautiful, with depths to it that most fantasy authors don’t aspire to. I also admire her ability to develop multi-layered characters and build a world that I felt wholly immersed in.
Bill’s (my co-review at Fantasy Literature) primary complaint is that Once Upon a River becomes too concrete and obvious in its symbolism, structure and plot. That wasn’t an aspect that bothered me; I’m generally just happy to see symbolism make an appearance at all (I strongly suspect that my literary tastes aren’t as exacting as Bill’s). What did vex me was that the pacing of the novel was so languid until it finally picked up in the final third. But then it was fascinating to see all the various tributaries (plot threads) of the story come together, although Setterfield makes a little too much use of coincidence in tying the threads together and wrapping up her story. Though perhaps one might call those coincidences fate, or Providence, or even Quietly the ferryman watching over the river and the people whose lives are touched by it.
Like the river that is the fluid, adaptable symbol for this Victorian-era story, Once Upon a River meanders at first, but gains force as it flows toward a compelling conclusion. It’s a profound and meaningful voyage that I enjoyed and would recommend to readers who enjoy thoughtful historic tales with a dash of fantasy.
Many thanks to Simon and Schuster for the review copy!...more
99c Kindle sale, April 28, 2018, for this gender-bent retelling of Oliver Twist. Lots of enthusiastic GR reviews so I might bite.99c Kindle sale, April 28, 2018, for this gender-bent retelling of Oliver Twist. Lots of enthusiastic GR reviews so I might bite....more
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, published in 1892, and available for free online reading or downloading here on Project Gutenberg (or many o[image]
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, published in 1892, and available for free online reading or downloading here on Project Gutenberg (or many other places), is a collection of twelve Sherlock Holmes short stories. Doyle's formula for his Sherlock stories gets a little bit worn and visible after you read several of them back to back. But there are some jewels in this collection, and they all have something to offer the interested reader, even if it's only an insight into Sherlock's or Dr. Watson's characters or Victorian society.
My full reviews for these stories are at the links, but I've posted my star ratings and brief comments here:
4* - "A Scandal in Bohemia" - Notable mostly for the appearance of Irene Adler, probably the best and most intelligent female character Doyle ever created.
3* "The Red Headed League" - Reading about a massive crowd of redheads was fun, but otherwise this is a fairly standard Sherlock Holmes story.
2* "A Case of Identity" - The rare swing and miss, it's lightweight and predictable, with a patronizing Victorian view of women that thoroughly irritated me.
3.4* "The Boscombe Valley Mystery" - A son is accused of his father's murder ... understandable since he was found at the scene covered in blood, but of course there's more to the story than that.
3.5* "The Five Orange Pips" - Five dried-up orange seeds in an envelope are ... a serious threat? Apparently so, when they're accompanied by the letters K.K.K. and followed by death. This one is atmospheric and compelling reading, but I'm dinging it for Doyle's complete disregard for actual historical facts about the KKK. This story is also notable for (view spoiler)[being one of the few total fails by Sherlock Holmes (hide spoiler)].
3.5* "The Man with the Twisted Lip" - This disappearing husband case is worth reading for the insights into Dr. Watson's character and for the evocative description of Victorian era drug abuse and opium dens.
4* "The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle" - A missing blue jewel and ... a goose. Doyle slips up again on his research (Sherlock would be ashamed) because carbuncles are, by definition, red jewels (rubies), but that aside, this was a really fun jewel thievery escapade.
5* "The Speckled Band" - A dying young woman, with her final breath, gasps "The speckled band!" And now her twin sister fears for her own life. The best mystery in this collection! Don't miss it.
3.75* "The Adventure of the Engineer's Thumb" - This mystery about an injured engineer involves not only thumbs but a sinister hydraulic stamping machine. I mean, if one of these could take out the Terminator, clearly there's some grave danger here!
3* "The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor" - This story is interesting for its dealing with the once-popular social practice of American heiresses marrying British nobility, Downton Abbey-style. Otherwise, sadly, it's pretty forgettable.
4* "The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet" - A desperate banker tells Sherlock that a valuable gold and beryl coronet has been stolen from his keeping, and the main suspect is the banker's son. A subtler and better mystery than I expected.
4* "The Adventure of the Copper Beeches" - A red-headed governess becomes embroiled in a very odd situation. There's a strange employer, a giant dog that prowls the premises looking for people to eat, and a servant with a surprising story.
These stories are easy to pop down like so many potato chips, but I found I enjoyed them more when I spaced them out a little. Just a suggestion!
Kindle freebie Victorian era romance, sweet and clean and so very, very fluffy. Pretty much it's the literary equivalent of this cute little pup:
[imagKindle freebie Victorian era romance, sweet and clean and so very, very fluffy. Pretty much it's the literary equivalent of this cute little pup:
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Larken was orphaned in a terrible train accident at age 14, sent to an awful orphanage in London, and taken in by a foster family that beat her and worked her to the bone and stole the few remaining possessions she had from her parents. This is all told in a rush in the first ten pages or so. Her foster parents force her to marry some random gentleman advertising for a mail order bride. Not to worry, though, he's only looking for a MOC (Marriage of Convenience) and is probably mean and ugly to boot.
HAHAHAHAHA!
The plot had some potential for something deeper, but every possible bit of drama was smoothed over and resolved (or set aside without comment) before it could gain any substance, sometimes so quickly my head was spinning. (Wait! what about that incipient laudanum addiction?) Everybody's good-looking and kindhearted, except for the obligatory villains. Plus there's a delightful 5 year old boy, the reason for the MOC.
Anyway, it's fine for Kindle freebie romance brain candy if that's what you're looking for. I whipped through it in about an hour and a half. :)...more
One of the more enjoyable Sherlock Holmes short mysteries!
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A desperate banker, Mr. Holder, comes to Sherlock Holmes with a problem that could rOne of the more enjoyable Sherlock Holmes short mysteries!
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A desperate banker, Mr. Holder, comes to Sherlock Holmes with a problem that could ruin him: a precious coronet made of gold and beryls was entrusted to him as collateral for a loan. Not wanting to risk leaving the coronet in his banker's safe, he decides it will be safer with him personally (WHUT). So he carries it around all evening and then puts it in a locked bureau in his room when he goes to sleep.
Holder wakes up in the middle of the night: his wastrel son is holding the coronet, which has a large piece broken off and missing. Understandably, he accuses his son. But could the story be more complicated than it appears? Sherlock seems to think so...
I've read several of Arthur Conan Doyle's original Sherlock Holmes works in the last few years, as wFinal review, first posted on Fantasy Literature:
I've read several of Arthur Conan Doyle's original Sherlock Holmes works in the last few years, as well as The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson. In my college days (not long after the Victorian age) I also read Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and H.G. Wells' The Island of Dr. Moreau. Would it be sacrilege to say that I enjoyed this delightful pastiche and tribute to Holmes and other Victorian era fantasy better than most of the originals? What The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter lacks in literary depth, it makes up for in humor and accessibility.
Mary Jekyll, daughter of Dr. Jekyll, who has been gone for many years, is facing a penniless life on her own after her mother’s death. Mary comes across some mysterious papers in her mother’s desk that lead her to believe that Mr. Hyde may still be around (she has no idea he was her father’s alter ego). The reward for Hyde’s capture for his murder of Sir Carew many years ago is very appealing, but Mary’s not certain whether that the reward is still being offered, or who she can trust with her potentially valuable information. So she decides to go to 221B Baker Street, to enlist the help of Sherlock Holmes.
One thing leads to another, and gradually we assemble a very appealing and fascinating cast of characters: Diana Hyde, a wild and irrepressible 14 year old; Beatrice Rappaccini (from Nathaniel Hawthorne’s short story “Rappaccini's Daughter”), with poisonous breath and a burning touch; Catherine Moreau, a woman with disturbingly cat-like qualities; and Justine Frankenstein, an extremely tall and gentle woman who was assembled to be the bride of Frankenstein ― all women who might be considered monsters by society.
These young women, with the help of Sherlock Holmes and some additional characters (it’s nice to see a servant play a substantive role in the plot), work together to solve a series of creepy murders, in which young prostitutes have been found dead with various parts of their bodies missing. To make matters worse, the murders are tied to a secretive society of scientists, the Société des Alchimistes, to which all of these women have a connection as well.
The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter is, on a higher level, faithful to the Victorian era and the works that inspired, but takes some intriguing (and necessary) liberties with the original stories: Mary Shelley deliberately misled her readers when she wrote that Dr. Frankenstein had destroyed his woman creation before giving it life, and Beatrice relates a different ending to “Rappachini’s Daughter.” While these women are generally well-grounded in Victorian times, we see aspects of that society that often don’t appear in literature: Beatrice supports Votes for Women and Dress Reform, Catherine’s atheism is counterbalanced by Justine’s deep religious faith, Diana has been raised by prostitutes and mistrusts men on principle, and Mary finds herself wondering how much more women could accomplish if they were permitted to wear trousers.
These women are a diverse group, each with a distinct and memorable personality and unexpected talents. Though they’ve experienced rejection and cruelty in their lives, and some of them even sexual and other types of abuse, in the process of working together they find support and friendship. They eventually name their group the Athena Club (“We claim the wisdom of Athena, but we identify with her dubious parentage”). It’s refreshing to see these familiar stories through the eyes of the female characters, rather than the men who used and mistreated them.
The sometimes dark plot of The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter is lightened by the humorous banter between these women, especially as ― in a rather meta feature of the book ― they continually interrupt Catherine’s writing of their story with snarky comments and arguments about how the book is being written. These side conversations do sap a little of the tension from the story, since it’s clear that all of these young women have survived the investigation and are still together, but they add a fun and creative twist to the story.
Though a part of the mystery is resolved, there are lingering questions about the the Société des Alchimistes, and another mystery raises its head in the end. Here’s hoping for many more adventures and mysteries for the Athena Club!
I received a free copy of this book for review from the publisher through NetGalley. Thanks!...more
3.5 stars for this satirical Victorian-era novella by Oscar Wilde. Young Lord Arthur, engaged to the lovely Sybil (interesting name choice, there!) go3.5 stars for this satirical Victorian-era novella by Oscar Wilde. Young Lord Arthur, engaged to the lovely Sybil (interesting name choice, there!) goes to a posh party hosted by Lady Windermere, where one of the amusements is the eerily accurate fortune-telling by her pet palm reader, Mr. Podgers. Lord Arthur decides to take his turn:
Lord Arthur smiled, and shook his head. ‘I am not afraid,’ he answered. ‘Sybil knows me as well as I know her.’
‘Ah! I am a little sorry to hear you say that. The proper basis for marriage is a mutual misunderstanding. No, I am not at all cynical, I have merely got experience, which, however, is very much the same thing.'
Unfortunately, Podgers (on the hush) predicts an ominous future for Lord Arthur: he's going to murder a distant relative. Arthur decides to take fate by the hands and commit the murder sooner rather than later, so he can wash his hands of it and marry his sweet, beautiful fiancee without this burden on his soul. <--- This totally didn't make sense to me but you just have to roll with it.
But fate has its own plans for Lord Arthur.
I never was able to really buy into the nonsensical central premise, but I guess that's the beauty of this parody of the Gothic genre. Oscar Wilde's engaging wit and epigrams raise this story several notches, and the ending was a pleasant surprise.
A Victorian ghost story by Oscar Wilde! [image] 4.5 stars. Wilde deftly combines an occasionally grisly haunting, old-fashioned sentiment, a small droA Victorian ghost story by Oscar Wilde! [image] 4.5 stars. Wilde deftly combines an occasionally grisly haunting, old-fashioned sentiment, a small droplet of romance, and a large helping of dry wit in this 1887 novella about a rather brash American family that buys a haunted mansion in Victorian England. This story makes fun of some British and American stereotypes of the day, but is oddly touching at the same time.
Mr Otis, the American Minister (whatever that means, or meant), moves his family into a mansion called Canterville Chase, despite earnest warnings from the prior owner, Lord Canterville ("a man of the most punctilious honour"), about the ghost that's been haunting the home for 300 years, since 1584. Mr Otis dismisses the story, stating categorically that there's no such thing as a ghost.
The Otis family--the parents, an older son ("christened Washington by his parents in a moment of patriotism, which he never ceased to regret"), a gravely sweet 15 year old daughter named Virginia, and two younger twin boys who would give Red Chief a run for his money--has a surprise coming. There is in fact a ghost and, like a true artiste, he takes a great deal of pride in his work ... you know, appearing in various bloody guises, breaking up engagements, driving people to suicide and such. It doesn't take the Otis family long to admit they were wrong about the existence of ghosts. But the ghost, too, has a surprise or two coming. [image] It's a bit predictable, perhaps, but great fun for a ghost story, and a quick, light and enjoyable read. I love Oscar Wilde's brand of humor.
This is it. The Sherlock Holmes story I was waiting for. It’s a classic!
Update: To end my 2019 reading challenge I’m reading (and in some cases rereaThis is it. The Sherlock Holmes story I was waiting for. It’s a classic!
Update: To end my 2019 reading challenge I’m reading (and in some cases rereading) the dozen stories Arthur Conan Doyle marked as his favorites. “The Speckled Band” is #1, on both his list and (so far at least) on mine. Read it!
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A drawn, frightened woman comes to Sherlock and Dr. Watson for help. Though Helen Stoner is only about 30, she's haggard and graying. She and her twin sister Julia have been living with their stepfather, Dr. Roylott, for several years in a decaying Victorian mansion in Surrey. He's a brutal, harsh man who spent many years living in India (not that that's a clue or anything). The family hasn't got a lot of money any more, but with the girls' inheritance they get by.
Two years ago, Julia became engaged to a marine major. Within two weeks she was dead, mysteriously convulsed by pain in the middle of the night. Her last words:
"It was the band! The speckled band!"
Now Helen, too, is engaged, and she is sleeping temporarily in her sister's room because of house repairs that affect her own room. The night before she came to Sherlock Holmes, she woke in the middle of the night to hear a low whistle--the same sound that heralded her sister's death two years before.
Luckily, she has the sense to dash off to Sherlock Holmes the next morning. Unluckily, she has been followed. Luckily, she has Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson on her team!
Don't let anyone spoil this one for you! It's tense and a great read. I did a little research afterwards and I understand that there are factual inaccuracies(view spoiler)[ with the snake not actually being a type found in India, as well as its supposed taste for milk and ability to respond to a whistle (hide spoiler)]. My advice is, don't fret the details here. Just roll with it and enjoy the story!
4.5 stars. Free novella (not really a fantasy, more a dual timeline mystery) here on Tor.com. Review first posted on Fantasy Literature (along with si4.5 stars. Free novella (not really a fantasy, more a dual timeline mystery) here on Tor.com. Review first posted on Fantasy Literature (along with six other short fiction reviews):
Dr. Daphne Levitt, an American university professor, travels to Great Britain to investigate the murder of one of her ancestors, Daphne Merwin, as part of a book she is writing. The Victorian-era Daphne suffered from an extremely rare genetic disease known as Lewandowsky-Lutz dysplasia or “Tree Man” disease, which can result in crippling wood-like growths, especially on the hands and feet. She ended up as the star attraction in a Victorian freak show, and was married to Professor Lewison Merwin, the proprietor of the quasi-scientific show. The police arrested a habitual drunk, semi-homeless man, Alfred Potts, for her murder, and he was hanged shortly after.
Dr. Levitt feels a connection to her ancestress, especially because she shares a milder form of the same disease. As she reviews the evidence, including a knife and a blood-stained nightgown, she realizes that it is pointing her to a different answer about the murder.
This novelette alternates between excerpts from Dr. Levitt’s book The British Freak Show at the Fin-de-Siècle, passages from the Victorian-era Daphne’s personal journal, and newspaper clippings and correspondence. Together, they create a sympathetic picture of a woman striving to live with dignity against all odds, and her great-great-granddaughter’s search for the truth.
I would rather be back on the streets of London, begging for crusts of bread. Am I insensate, a piece of wood for him to move about as he wishes? Am I the mythical creature he likes to call me? No, I am human, whatever I may appear to be. I breathe, I feel, I love.
Although Tor calls this a fantasy, it’s not actually speculative fiction. Tree Man disease is an actual disorder; a Google image search shows heartrending images of a few people who suffer from this disease. But Theodora Goss has written a touching, quietly tragic tale of a woman who yearned to be seen as human, not as just a strange curiosity....more
Sherlock Holmes and his faithful sidekick Dr. Watson leave London to go to the rural Boscombe Valley in Herefordshire. Charles McCarthy has be[image]
Sherlock Holmes and his faithful sidekick Dr. Watson leave London to go to the rural Boscombe Valley in Herefordshire. Charles McCarthy has been murdered in the woods by a pool, and his adult son James--who had been arguing violently with his father minutes before--was covered with his father's blood. McCarthy was the tenant of another, more wealthy former Australian, John Turner, and the men had known each other in Australia.
To thicken the plot, McCarthy was pushing his son to marry Turner's daughter but James was refusing (that's what the argument was about), and Turner didn't want his daughter to marry James either ... though the daughter (who hired Lestrade to help exonerate James) seems to be on board with the idea.
The evidence looks damning and the son has already been convicted in the court of public opinion, but you can trust Sherlock Holmes to get to the truth of the matter.
Like most of these short stories in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes collection so far, I didn't found the mystery terribly mysterious. I figured out who the murderer was, but not why it happened -- though really there's no way to figure out why without certain facts that you find out only after the identity of the murderer is disclosed. Once again we see that Doyle's version of Sherlock has a bit of a soft spot.
We open "A Case of Identity" with Sherlock Holmes' and Dr. Watson's typical banter, and then they look out the window to see Sherlock's next client. IWe open "A Case of Identity" with Sherlock Holmes' and Dr. Watson's typical banter, and then they look out the window to see Sherlock's next client. I love this description and Sherlock's comments:
Looking over his shoulder, I saw that on the pavement opposite there stood a large woman with a heavy fur boa round her neck, and a large curling red feather in a broad-brimmed hat which was tilted in a coquettish Duchess of Devonshire fashion over her ear. From under this great panoply she peeped up in a nervous, hesitating fashion at our windows, while her body oscillated backward and forward, and her fingers fidgeted with her glove buttons. Suddenly, with a plunge, as of the swimmer who leaves the bank, she hurried across the road, and we heard the sharp clang of the bell.
“I have seen those symptoms before,” said Holmes, throwing his cigarette into the fire. “Oscillation upon the pavement always means an affaire de coeur. She would like advice, but is not sure that the matter is not too delicate for communication. And yet even here we may discriminate. When a woman has been seriously wronged by a man she no longer oscillates, and the usual symptom is a broken bell wire. Here we may take it that there is a love matter, but that the maiden is not so much angry as perplexed, or grieved.”
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Miss Mary Sutherland's problem is a fiancé who mysteriously disappeared from his carriage on the way to the church, after asking her, that very morning, to remember that she was pledged to him, even if something unforeseen happened to separate them. Suspicious, much?
So this Sherlock Holmes short story didn't work for me. The slightness and predictability of the tale, mixed with an unfortunate Victorian view of women -- that they are noble and of delicate sensibilities and are not to have their illusions shattered, even when it would be in their best interest, gah! SO MUCH -- combined to leave a bad taste in my mouth. But it was nice to see a brief glimpse of the softer side of Sherlock Holmes. ...more
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