More Sorcery and Cecilia

Last week, I shared the first letter of the Sorcery and Cecilia trilogy as it appeared in the Letter Game, before Patricia C Wrede and Caroline Stevermer decided to turn the letters into a novel called Sorcery and Cecilia, Or The Enchanted Chocolate Pot. This week, check out Kate's reply, written by Stevermer.

10 April 1817
11 Berkeley Square

Dear Cecy,

If you've been forced to listen to Reverend Fitzwilliam on the subject of the emptiness of worldly pleasures for hours together, I feel I ought to write something bracing to cheer you up. (As for the Vanities of Society, it would take a confirmed cricketer to fully understand them -- and I trust once the weather turns fair our good reverend will spend his afternoons out on the pitch where he longs to be instead of indoors boring the earrings off harmless young ladies.) But after three days of a London Season I find it hard to come to the defense of frivolity with any spirit. Perhaps it will make Rushton seem more amusing to you if I complain vigorously. (Don't worry, I haven't said a word to anyone else, not even Georgina.)

First, there was our arrival in Berkeley Square, a very welcome event after a day spent in the coach with Aunt Charlotte complaining of her migraine and Georgina exclaiming, "Only look, a sedan chair!" at every opportunity. It was very late and we were very tired and soiled with our travels, too weary to feel the proper emotions on entering such a grand house for the first time. (Horace Walpole is by no means Aunt Charlotte's favorite author, but the opportunity to hire his London town house for the Season has given her a new appreciation for him and his works.)

Make no mistake, it is very grand. On the outside it is a high, narrow, polite looking house built of brick. On the inside there is a high-ceilinged entrance hall with a marble staircase winding up two flights. On either side of the hall are reception rooms. The one on the right is called the blue saloon. It is very comfortable with a bow window overlooking the Square. On the left side of the hall is the drawing room, much grander than the blue saloon, furnished with lyre-back chairs, delicate sofas and a spinet. There are velvet drapes in the windows and a highly polished marble floor, upon which I slipped and sat down hard as we were being shown about the house. This was my first piece of clumsiness in London, but I suspect it will not be my last. The general effect of the marble floor and ivory drapes is almost arctic. Only touches of primrose and black relieve the whiteness. At the top of the two flights of stairs are the bedrooms. Georgina's looks out over the Square and mine faces back into the lane behind the house. If I crane my neck I can see down into the kitchen garden -- but there is nothing much to look at. Nothing to compare with the gardens at Rushton.

It seemed like a dream to me, following Georgina up and up the stairs -- she like a kind of angel climbing to her proper place, her golden hair bright in the light from the lamps -- me like a ramshackle shadow lurking after her, shedding hairpins and stumbling over the hem of my skirts.

The bedrooms are lovely, but that night they seemed grand and cold and I was a little dismayed to find myself in my own room all alone -- can you credit it, after I schemed for years to get a room to myself? So I slipped in to Georgina to say good night and get my top buttons undone. Georgina was sitting at her window, trying to guess from the darkened glass what direction she was facing so she could say her prayers toward home. I turned her around and didn't tease her, even when I saw the lock of hair she had clenched in her moist little palm --Oliver's, tied up in a bit of pink ribbon. Can you believe it?

Well, as I say, I got her pointed in the right direction and she got me unbuttoned and told me that I had a smut rubbed clear across my forehead and a spot coming on my chin. (As if I hadn't been driven half mad feeling it coming out all day long in the coach . . .) So we parted, she to her prayers and I to my bed, the highest, hardest, narrowest, dampest bed on four lion's paws (London would be grander still if they knew how to air their sheets.)

Our first day in London was spent shopping, which means I kicked my heels while Aunt Charlotte and the modiste went into raptures over Georgina. The second day we were taken to see the Elgin Marbles, which was interesting, and to listen to other people see the Elgin Marbles, which would make the eyes roll right back in your head with boredom. The third day we went back to shopping and I was able to get gloves. Please find enclosed a pair which I think will suit your pomona-green crape to perfection. I bought a pair for myself and have spilt coffee on them already. So you see London hasn't changed me yet.

I feel quite envious about Lady Tarleton's dance. Aunt Charlotte has spoken of Almack's but never yet without looking at me and giving a little shudder of apprehension. She intends to call on Lady Jersey tomorrow. If their acquaintance has been exaggerated (and you know that sometimes people do not care quite as much for Aunt Charlotte as she thinks they do) I don't know how we will obtain vouchers. It is plain, however, that without vouchers for Almack's Assembly, Georgy will never truly shine in society, no matter how lovely she is. For my own sake, I hope I get to go too. It would be a shame to have trodden Robert Penwood's feet black and blue learning to dance and then never to get a chance to put it to the test.

Do you think a wizard's installation would be a lady-like thing to attend? We passed the Royal College on the way to the Museum and I'm sure I could find my way.

Do tell me all about the dance and mention Oliver a little so Georgina doesn't sigh herself away entirely.

Love,
Kate

I reread the other two books in the trilogy this week and will give you a quick preview of each one...

THE GRAND TOUR starts out with our two couples going on a sort of shared honeymoon trip through Europe—with Thomas' mother along, no less (at least for the first part of the journey)! The letters have turned into Kate's daybook and Cecy's depositions for a magical inquiry after the adventures are over. Because of course these two get into further scrapes, and James and Thomas do their part, as well. This time, the party briefly gets their hands on a vial of oil used to christen monarchs. Soon it becomes apparent that someone is collecting royal regalia, possibly in hopes of setting up a new emperor over Europe. Bit by bit, the foursome tracks down clues and makes magic, trying to stop the thieves, who begin to threaten our heroes' lives once they realize they are being hunted.

Because the romances are already in place, this book is a little less dimensional than Book 1; however, it's still a lot of fun following the quartet all over Europe. Kate and Cecy in particular are as charming and intrepid as ever. It's especially nice to see Cecilia learning and using more magic. As before, any attempts by James and Thomas to keep their wives safe is doomed to failure. Kate and Cecy are adventurous souls, thankfully for readers.

THE MISLAID MAGICIAN takes place, as the subtitle suggests, "Ten Years After," when each of our couples has a brood of children. In the comments of last week's post, we talked about wanting to see books starring the kids. Here we get a glimpse of that, though we read about the adventures of Cecy's nine-year-old twins and Kate's Edward in their parents' letters, which creates a bit of a remove. (There are younger children, but we hear the most about these three.) I was pleased to see that in Book 3 James and Thomas write letters, too. Their voices are just as they should be and a delightful addition to the mix.

Cecilia and James leave their children with Kate and Thomas and set off to the north to hunt down a missing surveyor-magician. They wind up staying with a pair of ill-bred siblings who seem to be keeping secrets. This book gets a little bogged down in talk of ley lines and the new steam trains, but then the effect of some ancient stone circles kicks the story into high gear. Edward's inadvertent kidnapping is also a romp for readers, if not for his mother. Georgina, Aunt Charlotte, Aunt Elizabeth, and Mr. Wexton make an appearance in the book, some more obnoxiously than others, as befitting their personalities. Cecy and James practically have to rescue the bad guys from Aunt Charlotte!

Overall, the adventures in the trilogy are a little staid, yet they seem appropriate for the Regency era, with a certain British formality. Fortunately, the characters' personalities are engaging and lively enough to make up for the sometimes sedate plot points. There's a droll, witty style to the letters and interactions that makes for a very happy read. (Think Jane Austen.)

I would like to see some books about Kate and Thomas' and Cecy and James' children as teens or young adults. Perhaps losing the epistolary format would allow for faster-paced storytelling, though.

In the meantime, I do recommend the trilogy, particularly because of the setting and the thoroughly appealing characters. You'll find yourself wanting to go on an adventure with Cecy and Kate.

One last thing: Caroline Stevermer wrote a related book with appearances by Thomas and Kate. Magic Below Stairs is a short novel about a boy named Frederick who becomes part of Thomas Schofield's household and ends up saving the day with the help of a brownie named Billy Bly. Also a lot of fun!

The two book jackets up top are the print versions of the books, while the set below are the new ebook reissues we're celebrating with a blog tour. The gentleman at the upper right would be George IV while Prince Regent by Sir Thomas Lawrence.

Note: I am working on getting a link to the edited version of Cecy's first letter. Will keep you posted.

Letter Writing, Hot Chocolate, and Magic

Before there was Kat, Incorrigible by Stephanie Burgis, before there was even Downton Abbey, there was Sorcery and Cecilia, or The Enchanted Chocolate Pot, an epistolary fantasy novel which reads like a Regency adventure with a dollop of romance but includes magic as a rather ordinary aspect of British society in 1817.

What's really great about this book (besides the story itself) is that it began as the Letter Game, in which two writers build a story by writing back and forth as characters, not planning ahead in the slightest. When fantasy authors Patricia C. Wrede and Caroline Stevermer played the game, they went all out: the letters turned into a novel! (Book cover above left is from the 2004 print edition. Book cover below right is from the new ebook edition.)

We begin with Cecilia, who has been left in the country (Essex, to be precise) while her cousin Kate goes to London. Normally one would expect the two to go to London together, but there was this incident with a goat... At any rate, the aunts have decided to split them up. Doing so does not, however, keep the girls out of trouble.

Here's an image of the very first letter from Patricia C. Wrede writing as Cecilia. Or you can use this link to take a closer look.






























Things aren't quiet for either girl. Kate is at an event and stumbles into a pocket garden where a terrifying woman tries to make her drink poisoned hot chocolate, apparently thinking Kate is Thomas, Marquis of Schofield. Cecilia (AKA Cecy) meets Dorothea, who is far too attractive to every young man in sight, as if she were using some kind of magic. Yet Dorothea is a very nice person. And why is there a charm bag under Cecilia's brother Oliver's mattress? Then Cecilia discovers a young man named James Tarleton skulking about, spying on Dorothea.

The ominous doings prove to be not only complex, but intertwined. Kate steals a book from a magic maker and creates her own charms, while Kate dances with the marquis at a ball and learns far less than she would like. Then she is attacked by magic, and her cousin Oliver disappears.

One thing I really like about this book is that while Thomas and James start off having all the fun (okay, danger) and trying to keep the young ladies out of it for reasons of safety, they fail. Kate and Cecilia are clever, active, and practical. Readers will observe that Thomas and James can only get so far with gallantry and great waistcoats; they really do need Kate and Cecilia's help. Not to mention that two romances are brewing. Make that four romances, actually. Brewing, as I said...

Which brings me back to that enchanted chocolate pot, the center of the troubles Thomas is having with a pair of nefarious wizards. Naturally, Cecilia has a plan. Although this foursome will need more than one plan to solve the various problems created by their enemies.

As Leah Hanson once put it, "[t]his mystery is a perfect combination of Harry Potter's magic and Jane Austen's love stories."

I was happy to reread Sorcery and Cecilia as a participant in a 2-part blog tour to honor the reissue of the trilogy in ebook form (yes, there are two sequels). The book is just as much fun as I remembered. Look for Post #2 next Monday, when you can see how the first letter evolved. In the meantime, drink some non-poisoned hot chocolate and track down this book!

Here's a link to Stephanie Burgis's post about the books.

Note: That would be Patricia C. Wrede to the left and Caroline Stevermer above right. Other good books by Wrede include Dealing with Dragons and the rest of the Enchanted Forest Chronicles, along with Mairelon the Magician and Magician's Ward (recently reissued in one volume as A Matter of Magic) and the new Frontier Magic books. Other books by Stevermer that I like are A College of Magics, A Scholar of Magics, and River Rats.

Update (5-13): The link to the letter isn't working at the moment. I'll let you know if I can get a working link again!

A Review of Wrapped by Jennifer Bradbury

Picture Y.S. Lee's The Agency: A Spy in the House at a tea party with Marissa Doyle's Bewitching Season and a couple of R.L. LeFever's Theodosia books. Be sure to add a mummy as the table's centerpiece, and you're in business with Jennifer Bradbury's new outing.

Did you know that in the 1800's, when Great Britain was fascinated by all things Egyptian, wealthy collectors used to hold mummy unwrapping parties? I'm not sure if that's the specific fact that inspired this book, but it certainly makes for a terrific story starter: our tale begins with the intrepid (well, bored) Agnes Wilkins attending a mummy unwrapping at the home of her soon-to-be betrothed, Lord Showalter.

Each of the guests who helps unwrap the mummy is allowed to keep any trinkets he or she finds in the wrappings. Agnes doesn't admit she has found a small amulet, and when Lord Showalter announces in some agitation that this is the wrong mummy, she is too embarrassed to return the small metal dog's head.

Then the guests who have participated in the unwrapping have their homes burglarized or are attacked, and Agnes turns sleuth. Is there really a mummy's curse, or is this an all-too-human plot of the nefarious Napoleonic variety?

Either way, Agnes finds she would rather spend time investigating the mystery with the help of a touchy, clever assistant curator at the British Museum than flirt with Lord Showalter, who seems to have secrets of his own. But Agnes and Caedmon find themselves in peril of their lives... Naturally!

Throw in a secret society or two and the secret codes to match. Be sure and make Agnes a linguistics specialist, the daughter of England's chief spymaster. Yes, it's all a little campy, but it's also a whole lot of fun! Here's Agnes in action, cutting the mummy's wrappings:

Then a metal edge emerged from the cloth in front of me, like a scallop shell half buried in the sand. My pulsed raced as the undeniable excitement of the moment took hold. I glanced up to see if anyone else had seen it yet, but they were all still attending carefully to Showalter's impromptu lecture about Rupert's ankh. So no one noticed as I pulled the item from the wrapping. No one but me saw the object breathe fresh air for the first time in a thousand years. The feeling was unexpectedly thrilling, and I could only imagine what it might feel like to unearth whole temples forgotten to time, like that Swiss man had found at Abu Simbel a couple of years ago.

I started to call to the others, but they were listening raptly as our host delivered a detailed description of a small scroll found by Lady Kensington at the shoulder of the corpse.

There's a bit more talk than action in this book, but the plot as a whole is pleasing, as is Agnes's growing attraction to the unsuitable yet honorable Caedmon.

If you liked any of the books I listed above, let alone Stephanie Burgis's Kat, Incorrigible, you'll probably enjoy Bradbury's novel. Wrapped is fairly predictable, a lighthearted adventure, a mystery and a spy story. There is just a touch of the paranormal for you fantasy fans out there. The author has left room for a sequel, with spying playing a prominent role. And she has kindly added an author's note explaining about the mummy unwrapping parties and spies of the Napoleonic era.

I suggest you unwrap this book!

Note for Worried Parents: This one is wholesome enough for middle grades, though it's being marketed to a Young Adult audience. I think 10- to 14-year-old girls would like it.

Also: Read about the author at Simon and Schuster's website.

A Review of Kat, Incorrigible by Stephanie Burgis

This book is due out in the United States on April 5th, but I cheated and ordered it from England a few months ago because it looked like a lot of fun. So my copy is called A Most Improper Magick and has a different cover, and this review is jumping the gun as far as North America is concerned. But that rather suits the title character, who is nothing if not impulsive.

As Booklist puts it, "This first title in the Unladylike Adventures of Kat Stephenson series evokes Jane Austen, Georgette Heyer, Alfred Noyes, and Libba Bray with tongue firmly in cheek." Which tells you quite a bit about what's in the mix: Regency England, the marriage market, wit, a highwayman, and—I guess Libba Bray's on the list because of the inclusion of magic in this particular setting, with reference to Bray's Gemma Doyle trilogy.

Kat Stephenson has a plan to save her family from financial ruin. Unfortunately, her big sisters tend to keep track of her, and Elissa puts a stop to Kat's swashbuckling enterprise. This is how the book begins:

I was twelve years of age when I chopped off my hair, dressed as a boy and set off to save my family from impending ruin.
I made it almost to the end of my front garden.
"Katherine Ann Stephenson!" My oldest sister Elissa's outraged voice pinned me like a dagger as she threw open her bedroom window. "What on earth do you think you're doing?"
Curses. I froze, still holding my pack slung across my shoulder.

Undaunted, Kat tries to come up with another tactic. Because she is not going to stand by and watch Elissa marry a horrid older man, Sir Neville, playing the tragic heroine just because Kat's brother Charles has gambled till the family is in dire straits. Then there's Angeline, who is secretly tinkering with magic herself and learning that love spells are bound to backfire in unexpected ways. Her subplot is one of the most clever things about this book, along the lines of "Be careful what you wish for."

Besides her sisters' troubles, Kat must deal with a threat of her own, as an organization of magically gifted grown-ups becomes aware of Kat's abilities and puts the pressure on. They are determined to take Kat under their wing and tutor her in magic, but she doesn't trust them one bit.

Kat's father is ineffectual and distracted, but her mother is the more interesting parent, even though she's deceased. Her magical abilities are considered a shameful family secret. It's only because Kat is so nosy that she finds out Angeline has gotten her hands on their mother's magic books. As Kat admits, she isn't above a bit of blackmail when necessary. And she is eager to experiment with magic herself, leading to a whole new plan of attack, not to mention a lot more trouble.

Throw in a highwayman, a wicked stepmama, and a villain with secret, unpleasant motives, and you've got Kat, Incorrigible.

This book is a fairly light read, but it is eminently likable, especially due to the humor, much of which is generated by Kat's exuberant personality. Furthermore, Kat and her sisters are an entertaining trio whose interactions should ring true for anyone who has sisters. (I have four myself, so I know I can relate!)

Book Two is titled A Tangle of Magicks, at least in England. It's due out in April, as well, only across the Atlantic. I'm almost positive I hear Amazon UK calling my name....

Update, 5-25-11: Here's an interview with author Stephanie Burgis at the Enchanted Inkpot!