Women in modern evening gowns exposed more skin than this in public. Even so: the scandalous and experienced Violet Debenham had stopped talking at the sight of her. A thrill of triumph washed over Maud. [loc. 1781]
Second in the trilogy that began with A Marvellous Light, this novel has a very different setting -- the Lyric, a luxury liner sailing from New York to Portsmouth -- but shares some characters, and has the same balance of romance and magical whodunnit. I was very happy to renew my acquaintance with Maud Blyth, sister of the previous novel's protagonist Robin, and Lord Hawthorne, rude and arrogant ex-lover of A Marvellous Light's other protagonist, Edwin. There are new and fascinating characters, too, most notably theatrical performer Violet Davenport, 'a sophisticated scandal-trap of a girl', and Alan Ross, allegedly a journalist or perhaps a writer of advertising copy, who has a hidden agenda, an unexpected talent, and a chip on his shoulder.
The emotional timbre is quite different to A Marvellous Light, and not only because the focus is on a sapphic relationship rather than a relationship between two men. Maud (who refuses to lie) and Violet (who is always performing) have a spikier relationship than Robin and Edwin, and the dynamic is … not what one might expect. Maud may be naive, but she exhibits considerable backbone, and sophisticated Violet (ruthlessly suppressing her own mistakes) has a lot to learn from her.
There are a number of excellent older women with agency, though poor Mrs Navenby gets a rather raw deal: the same might be said for her parrot, Dorian, who is an African Grey. (I'm ashamed to say it took me a while to spot the literary reference). I’m intrigued by Alan Ross, not least because he’s one of several non-WASP characters who confront the unthinking privilege of Maud, Hawthorne et al: and I’m very much looking forward to discovering more about Lord Hawthorne, who’s much more likeable here than in A Marvellous Light, and who I believe will be one of the protagonists of the trilogy’s conclusion.
Plenty of (sometimes literally) steamy sex scenes, charming descriptions of Edwardian fashion, pornography readings, advancement of the ‘Last Contract’ series arc, and some genuine peril complete the package. Eager to see how this will all be resolved in Marske’s next book!
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advance review copy, in exchange for this full honest review. UK Publication Date is 10th November.
Fulfils the 'featuring a club' rubric of the 52 books in 2022 challenge, thanks to the Forsythia Club (female magicians).
No comments:
Post a Comment