Rivals in the City (The Agency, Book #4)

by Y. S. Lee

Candlewick Press

978-0-7636-5914-1

293 pp.

Ages 12+

March, 2015

Since wowwing readers with her first book, A Spy in the House (Candlewick, 2010), in the Mary Quinn Victorian mystery series, Y. S. Lee has gripped readers with the authenticity of her social and cultural landscapes, the complexity of her plotting, and the intricacies of relationships between her characters.  The stories provide a glimpse into life in Victorian England, though not always a pleasant one, while tantalizing readers with convoluted mysteries that have former homeless thief turned spy Mary Quinn and her love interest and fellow investigator, engineer James Easton, looking over their shoulders constantly.

In Rivals in the City, Mary Quinn and James Easton have set up their own enterprise, Quinn and Easton, though Mary's former Agency employers, Miss Anne Treleaven and Mrs. Felicity Frame, now estranged, connect with the young couple separately to enlist their help with regards to the first investigation Mary ever pursued (The Spy in the House, Candlewick, 2010).  Seems the shipping magnate Mr. Henry Thorold, accused of insurance fraud and piracy, is now dying in Newgate prison, and everyone is anticipating the return of his wife, Mrs. Maria Thorold, who had attempted to murder James while fleeing accusations of being the true perpetrator of the piracy and countless deaths of Lasgars.  Thorold's daughter, Angelica, too is scheduled to return to her father's bedside from her studies in Austria.

While everyone is watching for the appearance of the devious and dangerous Mrs. Thorold, Mary and James are distracted somewhat from their discussions of marriage–a wholly beneficial state for Victorian men but not so for women of the day–by matters demanding their personal attention.  James and the family firm of Easton Engineering have been contracted to build a series of new underground vaults for the Bank of England's storehouses of gold, and Mary is becoming acquainted with a young Chinese boxer who holds the secrets to her father's past.  Can the two continue on their path to matrimony without being steered off course by the interests of The Agency's former matrons or by those who purport to have their interests at heart?  Can the truth of Thorold's crimes be revealed without further danger from the elusive and deadly Mrs. Thorold?

Y. S. Lee plunges the reader into the grimy underworld of criminal activity of 1860s London while tempering it with the loveliness of a first and true romance, all of it revolving around the unique Mary Quinn.  Y. S. Lee’s protagonist has grown into a strong young woman, still hampered by her past of shame and loneliness, but enjoying the benefits of her accomplishments, including independence.  Perhaps she has such a bountiful future because she does not deny her past.

This was her London: brutal, coarse, dangerous.  It was part of her history.  It had molded her character.  But she would not allow it to shape her destiny. (pg. 67)

And that future includes the gracious James Easton whose wits and engineering prowess are only shadowed by his thoughtfulness and insight.

She’d changed him more than he’d ever dreamed possible.  He was no longer entirely at home with his peers, thanks to her.  If he lost her now, what on earth would become of him? (pg. 80)

You can see how these two incredible characters create a story on their own, irrespective of a grand mystery wrapped up in the criminal activity involving the British Museum and the Bank of England.  There’s much to delve into in Rivals in the City: the history, the mystery, the atmosphere, and the romance.

And while Y. S. Lee is 4 for 4 in The Agency series, sadly there will be no Book #5.  Y. S. Lee has written that, “The publication of Rivals also marks the end of the Agency quartet – the last Mary Quinn adventure, the last time I write dialogue between Mary and James, and probably my last romp through London, 1858-1860.” (Retrieved today from a post dated March 10th, 2015 at http://yslee.com/tag/the-agency/) So, enjoy this finale for Mary Quinn, as I did, but look forward to other novels by her true birth mother, Y. S. Lee.

Mad Miss Mimic: Q & A with author Sarah Henstra

Sarah Henstra

author 

of Razorbill's newest #YACanLit 

and historical romantic mystery

Mad Miss Mimic

Razorbill

978-0-14-319236-7

272 pp.

Ages 13+

For release May, 2015

reviewed yesterday

and trailer posted here

has graciously agreed to allow 

CanLit for LittleCanadians 

to explore her writing world 

and learn more details about her and Mad Miss Mimic.

 *   *   *   *   *   *   * 

HK:  Mad Miss Mimic delves into a great number of issues. When you set out to write Mad Miss Mimic, which was the issue (stuttering and mimicry, explosives, overuse of opium, morphine and laudanum, etc.) that spurred you on and why?

SH:  The first idea that started to grow in my imagination into something like a story was Leonora’s ability to mimic other people’s voices. A talent like this could mean trouble for an upper-upper class girl like Leo who is expected to speak with perfect decorum and sincerity at all times. She’d have to keep her mimicry tightly under wraps, right? But what if she couldn’t keep it under wraps? What if she couldn’t control when she falls into mimicry or whom she imitates? What if, despite her beauty and her good connections and her inheritance, Leo has to be hidden away from society for fear of gossip? What if she keeps accidentally scaring away the eligible bachelors who come to court her? Now that would be a story!



HK:  Did you always intend to make Mad Miss Mimic into a historical romantic mystery, or did the plot take you there without your knowledge?

SH:  I started to think about Mad Miss Mimic on a research trip to London. Mornings were spent at the British Library, reading about mourning customs during the Victorian period. In the afternoons I would ramble all around the city, searching out tiny shops in back alleys and sitting under trees in the public gardens. Because of my academic work my mind was already in the nineteenth century, I guess. I love London for the way history is crammed cheek by jowl with the modern commercial stuff. Right behind a Topshop there’ll be a cobblestone lane with huge wooden doors on iron runners and a trough to feed the carriage- horses—that sort of thing. So the historical setting came first, followed by the romantic mystery plot.



HK:  As a professor at Ryerson, your teaching of Gothic literature and women in literature has undoubtedly helped enhance your own writing.  Whose writing most influenced your own?

SH:  I’m a big believer in the role repression plays in romance: the steamiest scenes result from what the lovers are unable, or unwilling, to say to one another. Nineteenth century fiction perfected this formula: Jane and Rochester, Catherine and Heathcliff, Lizzie and Darcy. So I had lots of models to work from.

I was teaching Bram Stoker’s Dracula while writing Mad Miss Mimic, so that book in particular made an impact on mine. The newspaper articles written by Leo’s cousin Archie and scattered throughout the novel are a structural trick I lifted straight from Stoker. In fact, at one point Dracula led me astray when it came to historical accuracy in my manuscript. Stoker has his characters employ all the latest gadgets and medical theories and communication technologies to outmaneuver the vampire (who wants to colonize the ‘new world’ of London but is stuck in the past). Telegrams, phonographic recordings, cinema shows, blood transfusions, steamships— Stoker geeked out about all this newfangled stuff in his 1897 novel.

In one of Mad Miss Mimic’s last rounds of editing, my hawk-eyed copy editor/fact-checker flagged a scene in which Archie is speaking to Leo while trying to meet his deadline for reporting the train derailment. I’d described Archie typing furiously and then tearing the paper out of the typewriter with a flourish and handing it off to the printers. Except that my novel takes place in 1872, and the first QWERTY typewriter—which of course gets heavy play in Dracula—wasn’t manufactured until 1873. Oops!

HK:  I find so much to love about youngCanLit but I'm especially enamoured with writing that is rich and evocative and your writing is both.  I wrote down quote after quote, loving how your words mean so much more than their simple meanings, such as this one passage:

“Where I balanced now, though, was a world askew. Oh, it was still peopled by beer-sellers and fishwives and scavenging children, but all these poor souls went about their business in perfect ignorance.  They did not know what I knew.  How could they?  They had not leapt as I had. They couldn't possibly see how disordered the world had become, how its most basic elements had been shuffled and scattered and turned on end.” (pg. 158)

What experiences (e.g., education, workshops, reading, etc.) were most important in shaping your writing?

SH:  I’ve been reading for pleasure and keeping some kind of journal since I was very young. I first learned to write fiction by copying out passages from my favorite books and writing my own stories in the style of my favorite authors—in other words, through mimicry! Graduate school taught me to read texts more carefully, to notice how they were put together and what effects they created for readers. But what taught me how to write novels was writing a novel. It’s such a long, solitary task, and when you’re finally finished the first draft is when the real work begins! Nothing can really prepare you for that ahead of time.



HK:  This is your first novel.  Was Mad Miss Mimic the book that you always dreamed of writing or are there still more books in your future?

SH:  Mad Miss Mimic is the first novel I finished—there were others I got partway through, including a first installment of a YA fantasy trilogy. I have more ideas for books than I’ll ever be able to write in this lifetime. Luckily, I’ve discovered that writing is like yoga or multivitamins: doing it every day makes me a healthier, happier person. So stay tuned…!

 *   *   *   *   *   *   * 

Many thanks to author Sarah Henstra for answering these questions for CanLit for LittleCanadians and to Vikki VanSickle, publicist extraordinaire, for facilitating this author interview.

Mad Miss Mimic

by Sarah Henstra

Razorbill

978-0-14-319236-7

272 pp.

Ages 13+

For release May, 2015

Fitting in is a dilemma for young people the world over and throughout time, whether it be contemporary Canada or 1870s London.  But the constraints of Victorian England were highly embedded in the strict social hierarchy of the day.  Young women of standing, such as seventeen-year-old Miss Leonora Somerville, niece of the Countess of Hastings, were expected to make suitable marriages, partaking in endless social engagements, while the men were to engage themselves with business and politics.  But, as lovely as she is, Leonora’s stammering and learned ability to mimic others–she has heard them call her Mad Miss Mimic–have put her at a great social disadvantage, and one which her older sister Christabel, wife of Dr. Daniel Dewhurst and mother of two, is determined to hide–afterall, “Madness will take the shine off gold” (pg. 21)–in order to procure an engagement for Leonora and finally move her out of Hastings House.

Currently, Christabel’s efforts are focused on the wealthy merchant seaman Mr. Thornfax, a new business partner of Daniel’s and the son of the Lord Rosbury.  And all Leonora has to do it not speak.  But when Mr. Thornfax asks her questions directly, she has no choice but to answer, unconsciously mimicking her sister.

“Mimic had leapt in to rescue me from trouble. She’d allowed me to adopt my sister’s voice and manners wholesale, so that I could say whatever Christabel would say–or whatever I might imagine her to say–in precisely the way Christabel would have said it.” (pg. 30)

Fortunately, her cousin Archie Maverty, a reporter, who knows of her mimicry, rescues her, though more for her benefit than for Thornfax whom he regards as suspicious. But it is Daniel’s work at his surgery, where a young man named Tom Rampling assists him, that makes Leonora suspicious, especially after a young servant girl, Hattie, dies.

Because of her household interactions with Hattie, and her curiosity about Hattie’s involvement with Daniel and Mr. Thornfax, Leonora develops a rapport with the clever and creative Tom, to whom she is drawn because of his compassion for others and his acceptance of her mimicry.  However, Leonora is still being courted by Thornfax, London is still being held hostage by the dangerous Black Glove and his fatal explosions, and Leonora is troubled with doubts about Tom’s honesty, Christabel’s frequent agitation, and Daniel and Thornfax’s business.  That very simple but necessary betrothal begins to be the least of Leonora’s worries soon enough.

At its heart, Mad Miss Mimic is a Victorian mystery, all the more perplexing because of the information that the characters choose to share of themselves.  Yes, the Black Glove chooses to remain concealed, but everyone else–Tom, Thornfax, Christabel, Daniel– including our narrator herself also chose what secrets and fears and guilt they share and which they do not.  The reluctance of all to speak with their own voices–save perhaps their Aunt Emma, but I suspect age and privilege have helped beget that courage–creates the mystery of Mad Miss Mimic.  And, with Sarah Henstra’s brilliant characterizations and historical setting, the mystery and an unexpected and sweet romance at its core, Mad Miss Mimic reveals the need for voices to be given the freedom for expression if life is to be worth living.

 *   *   *   *   *   *   * 

Special post tomorrow: Q & A with author Sarah Henstra about her first novel, Mad Miss Mimic

The Night Gardener

Written by Jonathan Auxier
Puffin
978-0-670-06772-5
384 pp.
Ages 10+
May, 2014

Something wicked this way comes, and it's Jonathan Auxier's second book, The Night Gardener. Not a story for the faint of heart, it's fortunate that our narrators are the bold Molly and her younger brother Kip who learn all about what goes Thump, Thump, Thump in the night.

At fourteen, Molly is taking care of her crippled, ten-year-old brother whilst their parents are travelling to the New World to make a new life for them after the Irish potato famine drove them from their homeland. A born storyteller, she uses stories to distract, console, explain and protect her brother as they make their way to a posting at the home of Master Bernard Windsor, his wife Mistress Constance, and their children Alistair and Penny. Forewarned by locals of the sour woods and a mysterious family history, the two are still surprised by two ominous circumstances. First, a giant tree adjacent to the manor has breached the house via its trunk, branches and roots. Secondly, based on a large family portrait of the Windsors, it seems all four members of the Windsor family have succumbed to an illness that has paled their skin, dulled their hair and generally weakened them.

While Molly is diligent about taking care of her brother and acting as both sister and parent, she is very observant of the secretive Windsors and their manor. She notices discreet visits by the Master and Mistress through a locked green door, listens to Penny's admissions of a night man who leaves muddy footprints, and deals with her own alarming nightmares. But once Kip witnesses the same night man, Molly investigates the noises, wind and leaves that appear, and the shadows that haunt the house, as terrifying as they are.

She wiped the perspiration from her palm and adjusted her grip on the candlestick. "Master Windsor, is that you?" she said as bravely as she could.
The footsteps stopped.
The wind stopped.
Her heart stopped. (pg. 74) 

The secret of that green-doored room, the night visitor, and the diminishing health of the Windsors and then Molly as well are woven with wishes and dreams and haunting supernatural elements. Jonathan Auxier blends the innocence of the poor and orphaned children (Molly and Kip) with the suspicious activities of the wealthy Windsors to tell a story based on the paradox of being careful what you wish. The Night Gardener is the grim reality of those wishes and Jonathan Auxier's darkly atmospheric writing will lead readers with trepidation into the sour woods and within grasp of the far-reaching tentacles of a frightening entity that exploits wishes. But I suspect that Jonathan Auxier's purpose is not to frighten (though he is very good at that) but to help, just as Molly admits in her differentiation between storytelling and telling lies:

"A story helps folks face the world, even when it frightens 'em. And a lie does the opposite. It helps you hide." (pg. 288) 

Like Jonathan Auxier, Molly is a bonafide storyteller, but she needs her encounters with the night gardener to recognize the need for honesty, even if it makes for an unnerving tale. But making a reader uncomfortable is a sure sign that the storyteller has made a connection and created an opportunity for learning, whether it be for Molly, Kip or the reader of The Night Gardener. Something to ponder as you wait for your heart to stop racing.

 

The Night Gardener   The Night Gardener   The Night Gardener

I'm sorry that, because of this tardy review, I missed the launch (on May 31, 2014) of The Night Gardener as announced on Jonathan Auxier's website at http://www.thescop.com/. But don't let that stop you from checking out his website that includes his bio, videos, and other scoops from this scop.

The Agency: The Traitor in the Tunnel

by Y. S. Lee

Candlewick Press

978-0-7636-5316-3

373 pp.

Ages 12+

2012

Mary Quinn, née Mary Lang, rescued from hanging (she was a 12 year-old-thief) by Anne Treleaven and Felicity Frame, is now a full member of  The Agency, a covert operation that uses women agents to investigate suspicious activities in Victorian London.  In her first cases (A Spy in the House, Candlewick, 2010; The Body at the Tower, Candlewick, 2010), Mary learned to disguise herself effectively, first as a lady's paid companion and then as a young boy, and now she is  employed as an upper housemaid at Buckingham Palace in order to investigate several recent thefts.  Also similar to her earlier cases, she connects with the intriguing Mr. James Easton, of Easton Engineering, a man who incites both anger and affection in her.

Much in the style of Anne Perry's Charlotte and Thomas Pitt mysteries, the reader becomes acquainted with Victorian society from Queen Victoria and her family through the honourable upper class to the domestic servants and the working poor and below all are those whose heritage (e.g., Asian) and vices (e.g., opium, thievery) afford them nothing.  As an undercover agent, Mary has learned to adjust herself according to her company but she can never hide from herself the fact that her father was a Chinese sailor, making her "half-caste".  That said, when the Prince of Wales, Bertie to his mother, Queen Victoria, becomes enmeshed in a murder in which an Asiatic sailor named Lang Jin Hai is arrested, Mary must reconcile her emotions regarding her long-lost father.

In the true fashion of a well-plotted mystery, all encounters, actions and words provide layers to the mystery.  The thefts and murder, already intertwining Buckingham Palace and Mary's father, become further entangled with the suspicious ventures of the Queen's lady-in-waiting, Honoria Dalrymple; the courting of a fellow domestic by the unscrupulous reporter Mr. Octavius Jones; lack of communication from The Agency; and intimate and invaluable meetings with Mr. James Easton.

Just as great mysteries are tightly woven to prevent comprehension from penetrating too easily, they are said to unravel, thread by thread, sometimes more quickly, sometimes with resistance.  As such, The Traitor in the Tunnel is a great mystery, dense with characters and subplots and the palpable Victorian London atmosphere, in which the single loose thread needed to unravel it is elusive.  But Mary Quinn, with James Easton's assistance, is dauntless in her search for answers.  Ultimately it is only the enigma that is Mary herself that must be resolved.

Author Y. S. Lee's text is rich in picturesque detail leading the reader through the rooms of Buckingham Palace to the dankness of the underground tunnel and sewer system of London circa 1860, creating an entity of the setting itself.  Coupled with authentic dialogue, varying depending on the characters, and Mary's introspective voice, The Traitor in the Tunnel's multi-fold mysteries and romantic flavour will engage the reader completely and leave them anticipating great new beginnings for Mary.

The Dragon Turn: The Boy Sherlock Holmes, His 5th Case

by Shane Peacock
Tundra Books
978-1-77049-231-8
220 pp.
Ages 10-14
2011

When Shane Peacock declared on CBC Radio's Fresh Air show

(Mary Ito's CBC Fresh Air interview with Shane Peacock) 
that there would only be six cases in his The Boy Sherlock Holmes series, I should have paced my reading better.  After all, why race through The Dragon Turn, the most recent and supposedly (please can I convince you otherwise, Mr. Peacock?) second to last book in the series?  But, fool, fool, fool that I was, I read through it as quickly as my time allowed. (If you didn't limit yourself to only 6 books in the series, Mr. Peacock, I wouldn't have to berate myself.)

In this newest installment, Sherlock Holmes, now almost 16 years of age, continues to forge his investigative skills from his learning with the brilliant but slightly crazed apothecary, Sigerson Bell, but finds them strengthened and even compromised through his interactions with the lovely Miss Irene Doyle; with his ill father (who Sherlock has kept at arm's-length since his mother's murder); with family friend, Beatrice Leckie; and the police, specifically arrogant Inspector Lestrade and his son, Lestrade Junior.  Maturing into the talented but detached Holmes of Conan Doyle's is not a simple matter of growing up.

While escorting Miss Doyle to The Egyptian Theatre in London to witness the magic of "His Highness" Alistair Hemsworth, whose illusion includes the appearance of a dragon, Sherlock is drawn into a murder case in which Hemsworth is suspected. Apparently (there is very little evidence), Hemsworth's rival and better, The Wizard of Nottingham, has been murdered and evidence found at a secret workshop leased to His Highness, implicates him.  It seems rather simple to prove the man's innocence, as requested by Miss Doyle who hopes to audition for His Highness (she is a budding singer).  Too soon Sherlock realizes that it truly was too simple, and that his deductions have been orchestrated by others.  Consequently, compelled by his strong sense of justice, Sherlock pursues the case. 

If you haven't yet read the first four books in this series, treat yourself.

Eye of the Crow (Tundra, 2007)

Death in the Air (Tundra, 2008)

Vanishing Girl (Tundra, 2009)

The Secret Fiend (Tundra, 2010)

Visit Shane Peacock's website or The Boy Sherlock Holmes website