Wednesday, September 21, 2011

The Twelfth Enchantment



The Twelfth Enchantment / David Liss
New York: Random House, c2011.
399 p.

I read this book by chance: I've heard of the author and this one crossed my desk at work with an appealing cover, and a setting that caught me -- Regency era with magic. I've read a few that are similar in tone so gave this one a try as well.

In this tale, Lucy Derrick, unhappy 20 yr old orphan living with her parsimonious uncle in England, is being betrothed to a local 35 yr old mill owner. She's none too thrilled about this, when the arrangements are disturbed by the arrival of an enchanted Lord Byron. He delivers a message to her -- she shouldn't marry -- and then collapses, spewing pins (apparently a sure sign of enchantment).

Lucy discovers her magical abilities when she is able to lift the curse from Byron with the help of a local wise woman. She is then drawn into a world of magical creatures, human and non-human alike (gods, wraiths, demons...) and must figure out who to trust and how to decide what to do to make everything right. Unluckily for Lucy, a key figure who she must depend upon is a man who jilted her in her younger years, and who -- true to Regency romance rules -- turns out to be worthy in the end.

Besides Byron, William Blake figures as a character. I've mentioned before that I'm not crazy about real people as characters. But not only real people are represented; fictional icons also have their corresponding figures. Lucy's sister is married to the spitting image of Mr. Collins (of Pride & Prejudice) whose Lady Catherine turns out to be the maniacal mastermind behind the magical villainy that Lucy is fighting. There is also an element of the machinations involving the Luddites and the rise of the industrial age, adding in a mythical depth as well.

I liked it, but wasn't wild about it. It felt like a cross-pollination between Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, and the series of Regency Fantasy-Romance epistolary novels of Patricia Wrede & Caroline Stevermer (of which the first, and my favourite, is entitled Sorcery and Cecelia; or, the Enchanted Chocolate Pot) Plus it held, for me, shadings of the enslaved factory workers of one of my favourite fantasy novels, The Labyrinth Gate. There was a little too much influence for my taste; I'd have liked a shock of the new as well.

Still, if you're looking for a well-written addition to the growing genre of Regency magic, this is a good bet. There's lots of dark magic, books, engravings, ghost dogs, poetry, dresses!, illicit love, betrayal, and of course, True Love. It was a quick read that gave a nod to Austen and the expectations of Regency fiction even as it added its own dark flavour to the era.



9 comments:

  1. I don't know about this book, but I think I need an enchanted chocolate pot!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Softdrink - I LOVE that series, especially for the enchanted chocolate pot ;) I would enchant mine to make it always full...

    ReplyDelete
  3. I looked to see if this was available in the UK and it is, but it's also very expensive - if I were going to spend that much, I haven't read the final one of the Sorcery and Cecelia books, because I love them. If this one turned up in the library (most unlikely - sigh) I would snap it up, though.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I have been meaning to read this author for a while. I am not sure if this is where I want to start, but I do hope to read him at some point.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Oh, bummer! I really like this author and am disappointed that this book isn't up to par. Though I admit this book seems like a big departure for him- not really the sort of author I associate with magical females :-)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Geranium Cat - hope it turns up somewhere in an affordable format!

    Kailana - I've always wanted to read this author as well; but perhaps one of his earlier books would've been a better starting point.

    Aarti - I know! It does seem like a big departure -- didn't expect this book to be this style of story when I saw that he had a new book out :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Oh I loved Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell. I believe it took the author 10 years to write. Can't wait for her next novel(although it could be a while!)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Oh, good fun! I will check this out, it's definitely in my area of enjoyment, even if nothing new. Have you read Kowal's Shades of Milk and Honey yet? It was also quite a lot of fun, and I loved the way the magic played into the story.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Vintage Reading - I know, I loved Jonathan Strange to excess :) Will have to reread -- I have her short stories on deck

    Kiirsten - Thanks for the rec -- I haven't read that one, will go look it up now ;)

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for stopping by ~ I always enjoy hearing your comments so please feel free to leave some!