What happens when J.K. Rowling and Jane Austen's world collide??

[fancying_fantasy]

Many months ago I walked into a little book shop, where the ladies are quite helpful at giving suggestions on what to read. Well when one of the ladies asked me my favorite book genres and authors, I quickly listed off a few fantasy being one and J.K. Rowling and Jane Austen being among the many authors I listed. She practically jumped up and down like a little kid. It was then that she handed me Socery and Cecelia or The Enchanted Chocolate Pot by Patricia C. Wrede and Caroline Stevermer. The book I finished within a day and was pure delight, I regret that I finished it so soon. The blend of magic and regency was just right. Sometimes books with mixed subjects are too much of one. In my opinion the magic was set at the right scale, whereas it wasn't all they talked about in the book. At the end of the book in the authors note you discover the way it was written was by the authors pretending to be the characters. They sent mail back and forth to each other, envisioning themselves in the world of the story. Then they decide to publish it, I wish I had a good friend to do this with. Not too long after finishing it I found that the sequel was out, but I waited for paperback (oh the dreaded wait). The Grand Tour or The Purloined Coronation Regalia while not as good as the first was a great book. Personally Kate is my favorite character probably because she is more of a hopless romantic in the second book, well at least she tends to talk about it more than Cecy (Cecelia). The book lead you to believe there might possibly be a third coming, well after much searching on the internet I found that the third titled The Mislaid Magician or Ten Years After is coming out November of this year!!!! Has anyone read the first two, not many people I come across have read them?
A book recommended, on another site, is Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell By Susanna Clarke. I do own this book, but have yet to read it.
Patricia C. Wrede (one of the authors of the series above) also has written other Regency Fantasy books: Mairelon the Magician and The Magician's Ward. However, everywhere I look these books are out of print.

fancying_fantasy

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

I've read Sorcery and Cecilia two or three times, so obviously I liked it a lot. I tend to disagree with the comparison to Rowling, since Wrede and Stevermer's characters seem to have more depth and originality. Although it's not exactly a serious book either, being the fantasy equivalent of a comedy-of-manners -- and one of the first books most people think of when they're discussing the sub-genre fantasy-of-manners (or FOM). Maybe the best description would be Strange & Norrell lite.

I was eager to read The Grand Tour, but found it disappointing. Cecy and Kate came across a distinct individuals in the first book, but as blissful young newlyweds touring the continent together they began to blur together in my mind -- so much so that I had trouble keeping track of whose section I was reading. I thought the fact that they kept retelling parts of each other's stories slowed the pace to a crawl in spots, as did the incessant rapsodizing about their new husbands. I didn't know there was a third book planned, but now that I do (thank you for that), I'm looking forward to it. If it doesn't fall into the same traps as The Grand Tour it could be a lot of fun.

As for Mairelon the Magician, I liked that one, too, but again found the sequel somewhat disappointing. Sometimes the resolution in a first book (if it was originally written as a stand-alone) just kills all the tension that would have made the second one as interesting.

But if you like S&C and TGT, you will probably like Stevermer's The Serpent's Egg. The feel is more Tudor than Regency, but it's the same mixture of fantasy and romance, with some court intrigue and general derring-do thrown in for good measure. It had a similar genesis to S&C, in that it originated in a letter game. In this case it was Stevermer and someone named Margaret Purdy who didn't participate in writing the final book.

It's nice to have someone here to discuss this kind of book with. There are a few others, but they don't post very often.

 

[fancying_fantasy]

You are quite right about the book not necessarily being a combination of J.K. and Austen. I just couldn't come up with a better known fantasy author to accurately describe the book style, .
The Grand Tour was a let down. Why is it, at least it seems so, that sequels aren't as good as the first???
I'm glad your happy to talk about this book too. I shared b/c not many people have heard of these books and I love to share new stuff, the mystery of the unknown, I suppose. lol

thanks!

 

[Patrick Mahon]

As a bloke who likes Jane Austen and JK Rowling, I'm intrigued by this thread! However, I've just tried to look Patricia C Wrede up on the catalogue of the libraries in my area, and found several references to Star Wars novelisations, but little else. Don't suppose either of you would know if these books are available in the UK? Or if not, who they are published by?

Many thanks,
Patrick.

 

[carrie221]

Oh my gosh I looked this book up and found the The Enchanted Forest Chronicles which I adored when I was younger.

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

You can buy Sorcery & Cecilia through amazon.co.uk, Patrick.

(You can buy The Grand Tour that way, too, but it's not as good, and the only relationship to Austen is the period.)

Another book in the same vein, not mentioned above, is The Labyrinth Gate, by Alis Rasmussen (aka Kate Elliott), but that one has been OP for a long time, and is probably not easy to find.

 

[aarti]

I didn't much like The Grand Tour, either. I thought that one couple (I think it was Cecily? The one who didn't marry the marquis) was not as well-developed as the other as the diary/letter format wasn't used in those chapters. I will probably still read the third book, but it won't be a purchase for me. I actually didn't like the first book as much as other people did, either. The same happened to me with Ellen Kushner's Swordspoint, which I think was described as being "Georgette Heyer writing fantasy." And I didn't think it was at all. Though to be perfectly honest, I don't think I even really understood the =plot= of Swordspoint, so that could be why I didn't much care for it!

 

[fancying_fantasy]

I didn't much like The Grand Tour, either. I thought that one couple (I think it was Cecily? The one who didn't marry the marquis) was not as well-developed as the other as the diary/letter format wasn't used in those chapters.

I agree about Cecelia in the second book. I didn't much care for the fact that she wasn't, oh I don't know the word.

 

[fancying_fantasy]

For all of you I have mislead with this post, I'm sorry. I realize now that I made the big mistake of saying that the books were like J.K. Rowling and Jane Austen combined. I will try my hardest never to make the same mistake again. I just didn't know how to better put it. I guess I need to become better at writing 'book reviews' if I want to post them, sorry.

 

[Lacedaemonian]

Mate you say what you want and make whatever comparisons you feel. Do not worry about other people's opinions. As a rule most people are damned stupid. Same applies to these boards. You convinced me with your arguments. I will never read those books too - just so that at least one person on this dirty hole of a planet agrees with you.

Fantastic review mate.

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

I will try my hardest never to make the same mistake again. I just didn't know how to better put it. I guess I need to become better at writing 'book reviews' if I want to post them, sorry.

This is a discussion group; in discussions people present differing ideas and impressions. That other people's impressions/descriptions of the books differ from yours is no reason for you to feel the need to apologize. (Or to feel that you've been snubbed, either.) It just means that people were interested enough in your post to respond rather than ignore it.

I've made multiple attempts to get people to discuss some of these books, but there weren't enough people around here who had read the books at that time, so those discussions fizzled. But people come and go, and now there seems to be more interest. You've revived the subject, and that's a good thing.

 

[fancying_fantasy]

Ok, thanks. I didn't feel like I had been snubbed, just realized I'd made a poor comparison. Your right though, thanks!