Book: Animating Maria

Title: Animating Maria
Author: Marion Chesney
Genre: Regency Romance
Length: 160 pgs

Summary:This is the fifth book of the School for Manners series in which twin sisters Amy and Effy Tribble advertise that they can make eligible matches for any troublesome yong woman. This time, however, they have a perfect client: Maria Kendall. She is pretty, well-mannered, graceful, and has a rich dowry. Unfortunately, there are two problems in Maria’s way: 1) she tends to daydream a lot because 2) her parents are gaudy, self-important, and like Mr Collins about Lady Catherine de Bourgh from Pride and Prejudice, know the monetary value of everything they own (and like to reflect upon that). Her parents have chased away every eligible suitor in Bath, and now Maria journeys to London, where she meets the Duke of Berham. Can Maria climb down from her dreams to see the quality in the Duke? Can the Duke get past the common Kendalls?

Excerpts:
pg 87 – The fact was that that glorious present had made Amy feel attractive and fascinating, and when a good-hearted woman feels attractive and fascinating, she quite often is.

Why should you read this book?
This is one of those light reads that I always suggest to my mother. The romance is traditional, which is my specialty, and means that the physical romance never gets past kissing, or, as in this case, a little petting (and that’s usually after the couple has agreed they’re going to marry). Chesney does a good job of making the characters fun to read about, and you do think about them after you’ve finished the book, which I always consider a victory for the author. I will say, however, that I was a little disappointed by the ending, because Chesney uses a quick fix to get her couple together, and then sets us up for the sequel.

Read this for a good example of traditional romantic fiction and an easy read.

Book: The Secret History of the Pink Carnation

Title: The Secret History of the Pink Carnation
Author: Lauren Willig
Genre: Historical Fiction, Chick Lit
Length: 400 pgs

Summary: Eloise Kelly is a PhD student chasing after the elusive Pink Carnation, a British spy during the Napoleonic Wars. Trekking across the Atlantic in search of primary sources to discover the identity of the Pink Carnation, Eloise discovers the biggest scoop of all time, one that the “finest historians” have missed–the secret history of the Pink Carnation. While reading journals of those involved, she stumbles upon a heady romance that leaves her aching for a little of her own. As from the front flap, “How did the Pink Carnation save England? And will Eloise Kelly find a hero of her own?”

Excerpts:
pg 121 – “Miss Balcourt is not repugnant.” Richard twisted in his chair, and stared at the door. “What the devil is keeping supper?”
Geoff leaned across the table. “Well, if she’s not repugnant, then what’s the–ah.”
“Ah? Ah? What the deuce do you mean by ‘ah’? Of all the nonsensical…”
“You,” Geoff pointed at him with fiendish glee, “are unsettled not because you find her repugnant, but because you find her not repugnant.”

pg 247 – Unfortunately, I knew exactly what I was suffering from. LIPID (Last Idiot Person I Dated) syndrome: a largely undiagnosed but pervasive disease that afflicts single women. [...] As everyone knows, lipids are fats, and fats are bad for you, and therefore ex-boyfriends must be avoided at all costs.
This is what comes of having a bio major as a roommate for four years.

pg 279 – It wasn’t that I wanted Colin Selwick, I assured myself. Good heavens, no! I wanted what he stood for. I wanted someone who would drop a conversation when I appeared, who would worry if I said I felt sick, who would automatically shield me from being jostled without even stopping to think about it.

Why should you read this book?
First of all, just because the author has a PhD in history does not mean she got it all right. If you look at the Amazon reader reviews, you’ll find people bewailing such scenes as a young woman walking around at night, alone on the shipdeck, in her nightgown, talking to a man who had been a stranger not eight hours before. And in the time of Jane Austen! Please keep in mind that this is fiction, and it’s chick lit fiction at that, despite its historical fiction plot.

So, with that in mind, read this book for snappy dialogue, a fast plot, and some pretty funny characters. Pink Carnation has a creative little twist in taking a modern lead reading about a historical lead; the modern story is in first-person, and the historical fiction is in the third. I can’t say it’s an entirely new idea, but I was surprised in any case because I hadn’t realized the novel was written in such a fashion. I will say that I found the historical supporting cast more interesting than the historical romantic leads, Amy and Richard, and that the modern romance between Eloise and Colin should have been fleshed out a little more. But then again, that’s why there are books two and three, right? Another thing to look at when reading this book: the danger of using eye-catching words more than once. The fact that Willig used “stentorian” twice in the book had me laughing just for the fact that she must like that word. (FYI: stentorian is an adjective meaning extremely loud, and almost always describes someone’s voice.)

While I won’t claim this is high fiction, I also don’t think that was Willig’s intention. This is a feel good book to be read in a couple of hours with a certain suspension of disbelief. After all, she’s writing about a fake spy…I think we can give her a little leeway.

Book: The Grand Sophy

Title: The Grand Sophy
Author: Georgette Heyer
Genre: Regency Romance
Length: 416 pgs

Summary: The Ombersley house is in a turmoil. Cousin Sophy Stanton-Lacy has been left by her father, Sir Horace, to find a husband…the problem is, Sophy cannot do any such thing until the house has been put to rights. After all, cousin Cecilia is in love with a foppish poet who has no concept of reality, cousin Charles is about to marry a prosy prig, and no one is doing anything about it! That is, not until Sophy walked through the door…

Why should you read this book?
For one thing, if you’re a regency romance reader you’re supposed to already know about Georgette Heyer. Shame on you if you don’t. And now comes my shocking admission: this is the first Heyer book I’ve ever read. I hadn’t ever heard of Heyer before I started trolling writing blogs a year or so ago, which is scandalous, I know. Heyer is often described as the new Jane Austen, and I can see the resemblences in the writing tone. The Grand Sophy is fast-paced. So fast-paced that I didn’t find an excerpts to post. This isn’t because I was so drawn in the story, but more…the pace was so fast I would almost feel physically tired and had to put the book down.

The book starts with a very long conversation between Lady Ombersley and her brother, Sir Horace. They talk for almost thirty pages! And while it’s an amusing conversation, and we learn a lot of backstory, I almost put the book down because really, what was going on but two people talking about people I don’t care about yet? This book, I feel, would have started better with the arrival of Sophy. Heyer does a good job of defining the characters, so the immense backstory at the beginning is unnecessary.

So, if you’re going to read Heyer, I’m not sure this is the book to start with. I have another Heyer on my list to read, so hopefully I’ll like that one more. Read this book to see how an author can make a manipulative character the hero, keep the pacing fast, give each character definition, and write a snappy love story where the two main characters don’t fawn over one another (they actually argue the entire book).

From the Notebook: Victorian Courting Customs

First thing’s first: someone has randomly thanked me for posting in this journal, and encouraged me to keep up the good work. I don’t know who wrote the comment, but let me thank you for leaving it. Writing is a lonely adventure sometimes. Random, anonymous comments, while frustrating because the commenter remains mysterious, are greatly appreciated. Not to gush or anything, because the comment is a little sparse, but I’ve been having a semi-bad week thanks to school stresses and residual back/leg pain from an injury, and this random comment completely made my day.

All right. Now that I’ve managed to contain my pleasure, I thought I’d treat you all with a little bit of something something from my notes about courtships. I missed Valentine’s Day, but February is the month of love and hey, I am a romance writer, so here’s an excerpt from my research journal:

Courtship at most formal:

• Man wants to marry?
  1. Consider future prospects, financial position –> justify his trying to attract women?
  2. See if chosen women return his affection “with delicacy and caution to avoid compromising her” (can happen even before meeting the girl)
     -Might see her in church, at a ball, be family friend
  3. If haven’t met her before, arrange for mutual friend to introduce him to family
     -If no mutual friend, good sign the idea should be dropped cuz families don’t run in same social circle
• Girl and Guy meet in family circles with at least one married member present…allows girl to “assess his worth”
  -Does he diss women? Does he attend church? Are his hobbies “low and vulgar?”
  -He also can’t be lazy, eccentric, frivolous or foppish
  -He better have enough biz interest to ensure they’ll have future $$ 

  -Also allows him to see if she is attentive to her duties, respectful/affectionate to parents, kind to siblings, mellow…

• If she turns out to be a flirt or he a jerk, they can remove themselves from the courtship at this process and not feel guilty
• Now he can speak to her father. If dad’s agreeable, speak to daughter

Parent’s involvement along gender lines: dad takes care of financial concerns, mom looks at social compatability.

If all looks good, invitations set so couple can meet, give talking opportunities…

Information gleaned from Inside the Victorian Home: A Portrait of Domestic Life in Victorian England by Judith Flanders

In other words, courtship was a business back then. I’m not sure how many happy couples were created out of such a courtship system, but given the number of romantic fiction authors, I hope there were a lot. Or at least a few. But then, given the divorce rate these days, and, knowing that for many couples, the divisive topic was money, maybe we should consider marriage more of a business than we do?

Anyway, Happy belated Valentine’s Day! May your muse bless you with beautiful prose that befits the month of love.

Book: The Slightest Provocation

Title: The Slightest Provocation
Author: Pam Rosenthal
Genre: Historical Romance
Length: 352 pgs

Summary: In the tradition of Romeo and Juliet, Mary Penley and Kit Stansell of the Regency feuding Penley and Stansell families elope, after nourishing a secret friendship from their early teens. Their first year of marriage is one long honeymoon night, if you get my drift, but when Kit is teased by his club friends for only lusting after his wife (how provincial!!), he dallies with an actress and catches a disease such that he can’t go to bed with Mary for a year. This doesn’t stop him from going to other actresses, however, and to get back at him, Mary allows Kit’s best friend to seduce her. Of course, Kit walks in on them, and that’s just the backstory.

When the book actually starts, Kit and Mary have been separated for nine years, during the Napoleonic Wars. Napoleon is finally defeated, and Kit and Mary are returning to England, worried by rumors that there is an insurgency threatening their homeland.

Why should you read this book?
I can see what Rosenthal was trying to do with this book, partially because I read her group blog, History Hoydens. She took an actual event from history, threw in her own fictional characters who would have access to the people involved, and went from there. Rosenthal is completely correct in the debauchery of married Regency couples, so I guess I can’t complain on that aspect, except that, in reading this book, I kind of felt like the plot was completely secondary to Kit and Mary’s lust for one another, which apparently never died even after nine years of separation. Sure, we’re reading about English countryside intrigue, and we’re also learning about Kit and Mary through their memories of one another. Their realization that they got married much too young is apparent, and that they’re trying to work through their history is admirable. I don’t know. I have mixed feelings, but I’m primarily disappointed. The cover is just so pretty, I hoped to read something that would both impress and touch me, but instead, I found myself just making sure I was reading it alone because it felt… naughty haha.

The novel is well-written, but I didn’t read anything that particularly spoke to me, or made me want to write it down as a quote, which is why there aren’t any excerpts with this book. So, I would say this book left me with an “eh” sort of feeling once I finished. Also, why were we paying attention to the lovelife of Mary’s servant? It didn’t really add anything to the story except that it made the character a little more 3D. Take it or leave it, this book probably isn’t meant for my demographic.

Official Rules for Writing Victorian Historical Novels

This is hilarious and something all Victorian novelists ought to read.

OFFICIAL RULES FOR WRITING VICTORIAN HISTORICAL NOVELS
by Sally Zigmond1. There’s always trouble up factory/mill/mine (always referred to as t’factory, t’mill or t’pit).

2. Britain was a smaller place then. It consisted only of The Industrial North (Yorkshire, Manchester and South Shields) and London (West End, sleazy and rich; East End, sleazy and poor, but full of loveable rogues).

3. Rain falls for 360 days a year. On 4 days, the sun is shrouded in smoke, soot and grime or never seen as everyone toils day and night in the factory/mill/mine. Star-crossed lovers always spend one day out on’t moors in brilliant sunshine, make a baby, then return home in a violent thunderstorm, after which they are forcibly parted or dead.

4. The main characters are: rich and wicked factory/mill/mine owner; rich and wicked factory/mill/mine owner’s son; rich and virtuous factory/mill/mine owner’s son; poor and virtuous factory/mill/mine worker; rich and virtuous factory/mill/mine owner’s daughter; rich and wicked factory/mill/mine owner’s daughter; poor and virtuous daughter of factory/mill/mine worker (delete where not applicable).

5. The necessary love interest occurs when a male from list 4 falls in love with a female from list 4 (write names on cards and throw in the air). This inevitably leads to 3 or 1 or both.

6. One of the men is a Luddite. Another believes in progress. They are probably brothers (either rich or poor, but both virtuous). They are at odds until the penultimate chapter when one saves the other’s life (see 1 and 10).

7. The wife of the factory/mill/mine owner is an invalid. The virtuous factory/mill/mine worker is a widower and his daughter is dying of consumption. Only the virtuous contract consumption. The wicked enjoy robust health.

8. The wicked factory/mill/mine owner always cuts wages or lays workers off to pay his or his son’s gambling debts or his daughter’s dressmaker (see 1). Or the virtuous factory/mill owner may be forced to cut wages or lay off workers to pay his wife’s medical bills. His guilty conscience leads him to drink or death (see 1 and 7).

9. There is always a strike at the factory/mill/mine and the wrong (virtuous) man is always accused of being the ring-leader and is thrown in gaol where he dies or is saved by his enemy (see 1 and 6).

10. All factories/mills/mines have leaking roofs, lethal machinery and dangerous chemicals. They always blow up or burn down in the penultimate chapter (see 1).

Should I be worried? I hope not haha…my novel has nothing to do with mines or factories or mills. Maybe it should. Hm. Anyway, article found at Sarah’s Bookarama: http://readeryblog.blogspot.com/2006/03/official-rules-for-writing-victorian.html. Article originally written for Solander December 2001: http://www.historicalnovelsociety.org.

Why Historical Fiction?

In this session, Whitbread award-winning novelist Rose Tremain looks at the issues around writing and publishing historical fiction. (From BBC – Get Writing [here ]).

Why Historical Fiction?
I believe that the ultimate goal of historical fiction is to evoke the past and its characters within that past in such a way as to create a ‘universal story’, one with which the readers of today (no less than the readers of tomorrow) can identify. The prime reason for setting a novel in history is to escape the confines and dictates of a narrow contemporary realism in order to explore the big themes of existence, such as love and betrayal, poverty and riches, success and failure, youth and age, war and peace, truth and lies, honour, friendship and death. Many great writers, including Dickens, Shakespeare and Tolstoy understood that novels or dramas set in past time can be every bit as powerful and ‘relevant’ to contemporary readers as those exploring a familiar quotidian scene.

We live in an age where the diversity and absolute strangeness of human life are more accessible to us than in any previous era, through television and the internet.

Our world vision is immense. That which is ‘strange but true’ – the thing which has actually been lived or done – amazes us because we then go on to ask ourselves whether we could have lived through it or done it or been as this or that person has been. That which is invented – though it may make us understand our lives better or differently, move us, terrify us or make us angry or make us laugh – doesn’t invite or challenge us to attempt identification of this particular kind.