Sorcery and Cecilia and The Grand Tour

[library_mama]

Rereading Wrede's Enchanted Forest Chronicles reminded me that she had a couple of new and unrelated books come out which I'd not yet gotten around to reading. Here they are.

Sorcery and Cecilia, Or, The Enchanted Chocolate Pot by Patricia Wrede and Caroline Stevermer
The Grand Tour by Patricia Wrede and Caroline Stevermer Both of these books are set in just post-Napoleonic War England (at least, the characters are English.) Our little tagline might be something like "Jane Austen's World Meets the Society of Wizards with Nail-Biting Yet Hilarious Consequences." Both novels were written as actual letters sent from one author to the other. Sorcery and Cecilia consists of letters between two cousins used to carrying on adventures together. Cecy, at home in the country, begs for news of the city from her cousin Kate, who is coming out and having her first London Season. Kate starts out bored and awkward, until a witch mistakes her for a rival wizard and tries to poison her (using the enchanted chocolate pot of the title.) Her hairpins still won’t stay in, but now she needs to find the other wizard to warn him. Meanwhile, someone keeps spying, very badly, on the social events that Cecy is attending. Should she report him or give him tips? The girls might be in over their heads, but at least they’re having a fabulous time.

In The Grand Tour, Cecy and Kate are both newly married and off on a joint Grand Tour of Europe for their honeymoon (it helps that their husband are best friends as well.) Cecy’s contributions come from a supposed deposition after the adventures, while Kate is writing in her commonplace book. They have not even made it to Paris before intrigue finds them. A strange woman finds Cecy alone in the hotel and gives her a mysterious flask to give to the older Lady Schofield (Kate’s mother-in-law, joining them as far as Paris.) No sooner have they found what it is than it is stolen. As they explore the mystery, they find that other historical items are being stolen around the continent. Could someone be trying to imitate Napolean’s ambitions? The Duke of Wellington asks them to investigate secretly. As before, the writing is snappy in a nice period-ish way, the fashion impeccable and the characters intrepid.

Comments

[elaine-alina.livejournal.com]

I love this series, including the third in the series, the Mislaid Magician. I first read Sorcery and Cecilia many years ago, and my old paperback was so worn out, I've since replaced it with a hardcover as well as getting hardcovers of the others in the series. Very fun stuff, and always good as a pick me up :)

[sapphireone.livejournal.com]

I don't think I've yet found a book that I think you'd like that you haven't already read! I haven't read the third in the series yet, mostly because it's shelved in teen, so I didn't see it when I found the first two in youth. But they are so fun!

[elaine-alina.livejournal.com]

You've reviewed a number of books that have sounded fun and intriguing to me (and that I haven't yet read). I've put Austenland on my "to-read" list, and I put the Rumpelstiltskin problem in Charles_Midair's stocking, both of which I believe I first heard of from you. So thanks for all the reviews!

I'm hoping eventually to start keeping track of what I'm reading in a list, and perhaps from there I'll start making some comments on the books. . .

[sapphireone.livejournal.com]

Thank you! That's good to hear. I didn't mean it negatively, though - you just seem really good at finding your books. That's a good and relatively rare skill.