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Glamour In Glass
Apr. 17th, 2012 09:25 amI now return you to your regularly-scheduled programming:
Mary Robinette Kowal has a problem. The first line of her new novel Glamour In Glass somehow got cut out of the first edition. (For the record, the line is: There are few things in this world that can simultaneously delight and dismay in the same manner as a formal dinner party.) Despite that unfortunate glitch, I found Glamour In Glass simply spectacular.
The story is a loose sequel to her first novel, Shades of Milk and Honey, and is set in Regency England. This is, however, Regency England with a twist – there is a form of magic called “glamour” which allows people to create wonderful illusions. Kowal wanted a magic system that would be primarily reserved to women, so she had to invent something with limited practical use. So, her “glamours” are persistent but not practical. For example, one could create an illusion of a candle, but the candle would not be able to illuminate something.
At any rate, Mary’s heroine, Jane Vincent, having been newly married to the noted “glamorist” David Vincent, starts the novel by being invited to a dinner party thrown by the Prince Regent. At this, she discovers that her husband plans to take her on a honeymoon to the Continent, now opened for travel due to Napoleon’s defeat. So they end up staying in Binche, Belgium, a little town on the road to a place called Waterloo. In the spring and summer of 1815, as the reinstated Napoleon is marching his army north.
This setup creates great suspense, while providing a perfect excuse for Ms. Kowal to leave her characters in the dark. While we await Napoleon’s arrival, the newlywed glamorists work on their skills, including an attempt by Jane to trap illusions in glass. This would have the effect of allowing mass-production of glamour and use by unskilled people. In addition, if Mr. Vincent’s Sphere Obscurcie, a form of invisibility, can be locked in glass, then glamour has a clear military use (pun intended).
The novel is written in the style of Jane Austen, so we get such lines as, “They were occupied for some minutes, then, with duties marital. To disturb their privacy would be indecorous.” Despite that, there’s plenty of action, especially in the last third of the book. In short, Mary Robinette Kowal has produced another wonderful book.
Mary Robinette Kowal has a problem. The first line of her new novel Glamour In Glass somehow got cut out of the first edition. (For the record, the line is: There are few things in this world that can simultaneously delight and dismay in the same manner as a formal dinner party.) Despite that unfortunate glitch, I found Glamour In Glass simply spectacular.
The story is a loose sequel to her first novel, Shades of Milk and Honey, and is set in Regency England. This is, however, Regency England with a twist – there is a form of magic called “glamour” which allows people to create wonderful illusions. Kowal wanted a magic system that would be primarily reserved to women, so she had to invent something with limited practical use. So, her “glamours” are persistent but not practical. For example, one could create an illusion of a candle, but the candle would not be able to illuminate something.
At any rate, Mary’s heroine, Jane Vincent, having been newly married to the noted “glamorist” David Vincent, starts the novel by being invited to a dinner party thrown by the Prince Regent. At this, she discovers that her husband plans to take her on a honeymoon to the Continent, now opened for travel due to Napoleon’s defeat. So they end up staying in Binche, Belgium, a little town on the road to a place called Waterloo. In the spring and summer of 1815, as the reinstated Napoleon is marching his army north.
This setup creates great suspense, while providing a perfect excuse for Ms. Kowal to leave her characters in the dark. While we await Napoleon’s arrival, the newlywed glamorists work on their skills, including an attempt by Jane to trap illusions in glass. This would have the effect of allowing mass-production of glamour and use by unskilled people. In addition, if Mr. Vincent’s Sphere Obscurcie, a form of invisibility, can be locked in glass, then glamour has a clear military use (pun intended).
The novel is written in the style of Jane Austen, so we get such lines as, “They were occupied for some minutes, then, with duties marital. To disturb their privacy would be indecorous.” Despite that, there’s plenty of action, especially in the last third of the book. In short, Mary Robinette Kowal has produced another wonderful book.
