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Lord John and the Private Matter

Sunday, October 6, 2019

Lord John and the Private Matter (2003) Diana Gabaldon

Set in London in 1757

I didn’t know what I was in the mood to read, so I fell back to Lord John.

He was inclined toward the simplicity of a Solomonic decree that would award half of Tim O’Connell to each woman, and rejected this notion only because of the time it would take and the fact that his rapier was completely unsuited to the task of such division. If the widows gave him any further difficulties, though, he was sending Tom to fetch a butcher’s cleaver upon the instant, he swore it.

Realizing that he was merely proxy to the true objects of her bereaved affections— the shades of Hector and his father— he withstood this barrage with patience. It was necessary for Lady Mumford to talk, he knew; however, as he had learned from experience, it was not really necessary for him to listen.

He clasped her hand warmly between his own, nodding and making periodical small noises of interest and assent, while taking in the rest of the assembly with brief glances past Lady Mumford’s lace-covered shoulders.

“The man reeks as though he had just emerged from a whorehouse, I swear. And he would keep touching me, the hound.”

“What would you know of whorehouses?” Grey demanded. Then he saw the gimlet gleam in the Countess’s eye and the slight curve of her lips. His mother delighted in answering rhetorical questions.

“No, don’t tell me,” he said hastily. “I don’t want to know.” The Countess pouted prettily, then folded her fan with a snap and pressed it against her lips in a token of silence.

Publisher: Delacorte Press
Rating: 8/10

Written by Michelle
Categories: 8/10, British, Historical, Mystery, Queer, Reread, Sexual Content
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Dark Angel

Tuesday, February 20, 2018

Dark Angel (1994) Tracy Grant

Set in Spain and England in 1813

Adam Durward has used his ability with languages to move throughout Europe, gathering information. He also investigated issues in England, including the problem of exploding canon.

Caroline Rawley has known Adam since they were children. Once they were best friends, then things changed and they hadn’t spoken since Adam left for India. But when Adam is involved into a criminal investigation involving her husband, Caroline turns to Adam in the hopes he can help.

That’s the background, while the majority of the story involves Adam helping Caroline and her daughter escape from Spain.

Although these are romances (with boinking) that’s not why I find them so interesting. What is so compelling is the land and time they travel through.

The country was wild and beautiful. As they neared the River Tagus they came upon vineyards and olive trees and groves of oranges, their golden fruit giving promise of sun and plenty. But the ravages of war remained. Houses stood in ruin and village squares were overrun with weeds.

And the portrayal of war at the time.

“There were losses on both sides, that’s the way of battles. One expects to be slaughtered by the enemy.” He leaned forward, watching the surprise and incomprehension on Caroline’s face. “What one doesn’t expect is to be slaughtered by the incompetence and venality of one’s own side.”

Caroline’s eyes widened. “I don’t understand.”

“Most of the cannon blew up in their gunners’ faces,” Adam said slowly, spelling it out for her. “How many deaths do you think that caused, Caro? We were fighting the French. These were English deaths.”

Interestingly, another historical series I love, Diana Gabaldon‘s Lord John series, also has a story revolving around weak cannon that exploded and killed soldiers.

I also find it sad that passages like this don’t seem as far in the past as they used to.

“What do you think, Durward?” Forbes asked. “You’ve lived among the natives.”

Adam’s face was still expressionless, but his eyes had darkened. Caroline felt the tension coiled tight within him. “You’ll have to forgive me,” he said in a level voice. “Being a native myself, I’m really not qualified to answer that question.” He stood and looked at Captain Brixton. “If you’ll excuse me, sir, I think I’ll take the air.”

I do enjoy this series, and do recommend it.
Rating: 8/10

Publisher: NYLA

The Custom of the Army

Sunday, December 10, 2017

The Custom of the Army (2010) Diana Gabaldon

Set in London and Canada

One of the things I loved about the story was the brief glimpse of Hal (much of the book is set in the Americas).

his brother often did take his daughter out, with the feeble excuse that the child needed air. His wife accused him of wanting to show the baby off— she was beautiful— but Grey thought the cause somewhat more straightforward. His ferocious, autocratic, dictatorial brother— Colonel of his own regiment, terror of both his own troops and his enemies— had fallen in love with his daughter.

OK, there is this as well.

“Eventful,” he repeated. “Yes, it was, rather. But I didn’t do anything to Caroline Woodford save hold her hand whilst being shocked by an electric eel, I swear it. Gleeglgleeglgleegl-pppppssssshhhhh,” he added to Dottie, who shrieked and giggled in response.

Another thing, combined with the above, are the reminders that despite everything, John holds family important.

“Yes. Well. As I said, it’s nothing to do with Olivia— and so it’s nothing to do with you.” He spoke with apparent calmness, but Grey could see the pulse hammering in his throat, the nervous shiftiness of his eyes. “It’s nothing out of the ordinary— it’s the bloody custom, for God’s sake. Everybody—”

He kneed Stubbs in the balls. “Try again,” he advised Stubbs, who had fallen down and was curled into a fetal position, moaning. “Take your time; I’m not busy.”

Olivia is only his cousin, yet he behaves as if she were her sister–even in a time when men didn’t always hold their sisters in high regard.

And through these stories are the reminder that war and battle were not and are not calm and clean, but chaos and ugliness.

“The … the killing. Not … battle. Not an honorable thing. Farmers. Women …” Grey saw Stubbs’s heavy throat move, swallowing. “I— we— for months now. Looting the countryside, burning farms, villages.” He sighed, broad shoulders slumping. “The men, they don’t mind. Half of them are brutes to begin with.” He breathed. “Think … nothing of shooting a man on his doorstep and taking his wife next to his body.” He swallowed.

That, of course, makes parts of these stories hard to read, but I think it’s important that we be reminded just how much those who fight are sacrificing and changed by their experiences.

I tend to forget that fireflies aren’t universal.

A drifting spark of green drew his eye, and he felt delight well up in him. There was another … another … ten, a dozen, and the air was suddenly full of fireflies, soft green sparks that winked on and off, glowing like tiny distant candles among the dark foliage. He’d seen fireflies once or twice before, in Germany, but never in such abundance. They were simple magic, pure as moonlight.

I do love this series.
Rating: 8.5/10

Publisher: Dell

Written by Michelle
Categories: 8.5/10, British, Historical, Reread, Sexual Content
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Lord John and the Hand of Devils

Wednesday, November 29, 2017

Lord John and the Hand of Devils (2007) Diana Gabaldon

This is not a novel. This is three novellas:

“Lord John and the Hellfire Club” is set in London in 1757.

“Lord John and the Succubus” is set in Germany in 1758.

“Lord John and the Haunted Soldier” is set mostly in London in 1759.

The novels Lord John and the Private Matter and Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Blade fall between those three novellas, so if you want to do everything all proper, read the first novella, then read Lord John and the Private Matter, read the second novella, then Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Blade, then finish off with the third novella.

I really like these novellas, and although I mention it every time, I just leave these passages here to remind you why.

“A succubus is a she-demon,” the old lady said, precisely. “It comes to men in dreams, and has congress with them, in order to extract from them their seed.”

The princess’s eyes went perfectly round. She hadn’t known, Grey observed.

“Why?” she asked. “What does she do with it?”

and

“A witch?” Grey repeated, and felt an odd frisson run down his back, as though someone had touched his nape with a cold finger. “What did this witch look like?” The child stared back at him, uncomprehending. “Like a witch,” he said.

Both of those passages make me laugh every time.
Rating: 9/10

Publisher: Delacorte Press

Written by Michelle
Categories: 9/10, British, Historical, Mystery, Reread, Sexual Content
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Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Blade

Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Blade (2007) Diana Gabaldon

This is a boinking book, but it’s also a book about family and justice and doing what is right.

Although I find Hal (John’s brother) sometimes rather difficult, I think in this book I truly begin to like him.

Hal relaxed a bit at the revelation that Sir George would not be remaining long in England. Benedicta’s money was her own, and safe, for the most part— or as safe as law and Hal could make it. It was his mother’s physical welfare with which he was mostly concerned at the moment. That was, presumably, the point of this luncheon: to indicate firmly to Sir George that Benedicta Grey’s sons took a close interest in her affairs, and intended to continue doing so after her marriage.

“I said why could you not have told me— oh. Oh, Jesus.” His bones turned to water, as he belatedly grasped the horror in his brother’s question. “Jesus, Hal. You didn’t know?”

And I do like that John and Hal do act like brothers.

Grey himself had no such restraint. He was happily off his head, drunk with the lust of fighting. His body felt like oiled rope, tensile and slippery, and he was taking dangerous chances, completely confident that he could elude Hal’s point, regardless. He saw an opening, dropped into a flattened lunge with a yell, and his buttoned point struck Hal’s thigh and skidded across the fabric of his breeches.

Just to be clear: boinking and bad things happen in this book. But I love it anyway.

“Dogs, fortunately, are not hampered by imagination,” he assured Grey. “They live in the moment. No fear of the future.”

This attitude held an obvious appeal— but as Grey noted, some of its benefit depended upon what was happening at the particular moment. Just now, Gustav appeared to be experiencing a moment with an angry badger in it.

It’s a fabulous series, with war and violence but also love and brotherhood.
Rating: 8/10

Publisher: Delacorte Press

Written by Michelle
Categories: 8/10, British, Historical, Mystery, Reread, Sexual Content
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Lord John and the Private Matter

Tuesday, November 21, 2017

Lord John and the Private Matter (2003) Diana Gabaldon

Set in London in 1757.

I’m have to different mysteries on hold to borrow from the library, and in the meantime, I started about twenty different books and none of them appealed to me, so it was time for a re-read.

There were a couple things I’d forgotten from my last read, once of which was that I do like Lord John’s relationship with his family. He’s a single man, a soldier, but he still is obedient to his mother.

Benedicta, Dowager Countess Melton, was several inches shorter than her youngest son, which placed her inconveniently at about the height of the Hanoverian’s middle waistcoat button. Stepping back a bit in order to relieve the strain on her neck, she spotted John, and her face lighted with pleasure.

She jerked her head at him, widening her eyes and compressing her lips in an expression of maternal command that said, as plainly as words, Come and talk to this horrible person so I can see to the other guests!

Grey responded with a similar grimace, and the faintest of shrugs, indicating that the demands of civility bound him to his present location for the moment.

Well, somewhat obedient.

“The man reeks as though he had just emerged from a whorehouse, I swear. And he would keep touching me, the hound.”

“What would you know of whorehouses?” Grey demanded. Then he saw the gimlet gleam in the Countess’s eye and the slight curve of her lips. His mother delighted in answering rhetorical questions.

“No, don’t tell me,” he said hastily. “I don’t want to know.”

The Countess was picking up things at random, peering nearsightedly beneath a heap of embroidery. “Do you see my spectacles, John? I know I had them!”

“They’re on your cap,” he said, smiling despite himself.

But it’s still a fun relationship.

But mostly, I just really like Lord John.

Grey was not a religious man, but he harbored a persistent vision: an avenging angel presiding over a balance on which the deeds of a man’s life were weighed— the bad to one side, the good to the other.

He’d learned in the army not to anticipate more than one unpleasant contingency at a time.

I always enjoy re-reading these stories. They’re a wonderful escape that always takes me away from the current world.
Rating: 8.5/10

Publisher: Delacorte Press

Written by Michelle
Categories: 8.5/10, British, Historical, Mystery, Reread, Sexual Content
Tags: , ,
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The Custom of the Army

Thursday, April 30, 2015

The Custom of the Army (2012) Diana Gabaldon

custom-of-the-armyWhy do I like Lord John so much?

“The world is chaos and death and destruction. But people like you— you don’t stand for that. If there is any order in the world, any peace— it’s because of you, John, and those very few like you.”

And why do I like these stories?

Hal, whose usual communiqués consisted of hastily dashed-off notes, generally employing slightly fewer than the minimum number of words necessary to convey his message.

There are also some… not poetic, but nevertheless, fascinating descriptions of battle.

Smoke was drifting over the field, low white clouds. Forty paces. Effective range. “Don’t fire, don’t fire, don’t fire …” someone was chanting to himself, struggling against panic.

Chest heaving, he turned round in a circle, disoriented. There was so much smoke around him that he could not for a moment tell where he was. It didn’t matter.

The entire battle had lasted less than a quarter of an hour.

Rating: 8/10

Published by Dell

Written by Michelle
Categories: 8/10, British, Historical, Sexual Content
Tags: , ,
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Lord John and the Hand of Devils

Sunday, April 26, 2015

Lord John and the Hand of Devils (2007) Diana Gabaldon

Lord-John-Hand-DevilsThis is a collection of three stories–novellas, really rather than short stories: Lord John and the Hellfire Club, Lord John and the Succubus, and Lord John and the Haunted Soldier.

“Lord John and the Hellfire Club”

Set in London in 1756, prior to Lord John and the Private Matter.

This is the first stand-alone Lord John story, and the third Lord John story I read.

Harry’s cousin (cousin-in-law?) is stabbed on the street, and Lord John is inadvertently drawn into looking into the murder.

I love English insults.

“You are in good looks, John. Exile agrees with you, it seems.” The long mouth widened, curling at the corner.

“Indeed. I must take pains to go away more often, then.”

“Lord John and the Succubus”

Set in Prussia in 1757 between Lord John and the Private Matter and Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Blade.

Lord John is sent to Prussia to act as English liaison to the Hanoverian troops. It is there that he becomes friends with Stephan von Namtzen (who makes an appearance in a later book).

I found this bit hilarious.

“… and then the disgusting pig of an Englishman, he put his [incomprehensible colloquial expression] into my [unknown gypsy word]! And then…”

But then I am a bit odd.

And I can’t help but adore Tom here:

“’Tisn’t a matter of what I don’t believe in, me lord,” Byrd replied. “What if this lady’s ghost believes in us?”

And Lord John dealing with a young child is marvelous.

“A witch?” Grey repeated, and felt an odd frisson run down his back, as though someone had touched his nape with a cold finger. “What did this witch look like?”

The child stared back at him, uncomprehending. “Like a witch,” he said.

Even if Lord John didn’t think so.

“Lord John and the Haunted Soldier”

Set in London in 1758 following Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Blade.

Lord John is called to give testimony regarding the cannon that exploded, almost killing him in the process. Although not expecting it to be pleasant, Lord John is taken aback by the line of questioning, which seems to insinuate that he was to blame for the loss of the cannon.

Grey doesn’t get any resolution here as to the situation with Percy, but he does manage to discover why the cannon are exploding, and keep his step-brother Edgar out of trouble.

Not for the first time, Grey wondered at a religion which rejected so many of the things that made life tolerable. Perhaps it sprang from an intent to make heaven seem that much more desirable by contrast to a life from which pleasure had been largely removed.

I very much enjoy spending time with Lord John. He’s a fascinating character, and almost makes me want to read the Outlander series.

Almost.
Rating: 8.5/10

Published by Delacorte Press

Written by Michelle
Categories: 8.5/10, British, Historical, Mystery, Sexual Content
Tags: , ,
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Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Blade

Friday, April 24, 2015

Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Blade (2007) Diana Gabaldon

Lord-John-Brotherhood-BladeSet in London in 1758.

This is not my favorite Lord John story, although events that happen here are both the culmination of past mysteries, and the impetus for events in later stories.

“But your brother is not now Duke of Pardloe?”
Despite himself, Grey smiled, albeit wryly. “He is. But he will not use the title, nor have it used. Hence the occasional awkwardness.”

Lord John’s mother is to be remarried, and the step-son of his new step-father is someone Lord John recognizes from his last visit to the Lavender House. So when Percy decides to purchase a commission on Hal’s regiment, Lord John isn’t at all disappointed about spending more time with his new step-brother.

But both Hal and their mother have received pages torn from their father’s final journal–the last he wrote before his putative suicide, and a journal that Hal was told had been burned (Lord John was too young to have been told of these matters, and had been sent off to his Scottish relatives almost immediately.

(W)hat was galling him was not that Hal had never mentioned the wager, but the fact that his brother had never told him openly that he believed their father had not been a traitor.

There are so many little touches to the story that make you feel like you know the characters. Take this description of Lord John’s brother’s office.

Hal’s office resembled nothing so much as the den of some large beast of untidy habit, and while both Hal and his elderly clerk, Mr. Beasley, could lay their hands on anything wanted within an instant, no one else could find so much as a pin in the general chaos.

That single paragraph tells me so much about Hal.

I’m sure I noted this the last time I read this book, but it again struck me.

He would not have been surprised in the slightest to hear that she had broken her neck in some hunting accident, or died in leaping a horse across some dangerous chasm. The sheer ordinariness of death in childbirth… that seemed somehow wrong, obscurely unworthy of her.

Even today we tend to gloss over just how dangerous childbirth can be, but back then it was exceedingly common–almost expected–for women to die giving birth. It’s something to think about.

Although this isn’t my favorite story, there is much within it that I like and enjoy, and can still heartily recommend it.

“Men are made in God’s image, or so I am told. Likewise that we differ from the animals in having reason. Reason, therefore, must plainly be a characteristic of the Almighty, quod erat demonstrandum. Is it reasonable, then, to create men whose very nature— clearly constructed and defined by yourself— is inimical to your own laws and must lead inevitably to destruction? Whatever would be the point of that? Does it not strike you as a most capricious notion— to say nothing of being wasteful?”
Plainly, the notion of a reasonable God— let alone a thrifty one— had not struck Percy before.

Rating: 8/10

Published by Delacorte Press

Written by Michelle
Categories: 8/10, British, Historical, Mystery, Sexual Content
Tags: , , ,
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Lord John and the Private Matter

Friday, April 10, 2015

Lord John and the Private Matter (2003) Diana Gabaldon

lord-john-private-matterSet in London in 1757.

This is the first Lord John book; his first novella is “Lord John and the Hellfire Club” which you can find in Lord John and the Hand of the Devils.

This is a re-read for me–something about Lord John’s stories just sucks me in.

Take, for instance, this passage, a rumination upon Purgatory.

(A) place where the soul waited, while each action taken during life played itself out, the unexpected consequences and complications following one another like a collapsing chain of dominoes down through the years. But that would imply that a man was responsible not only for his conscious actions, but for all the good and evil that might spring from them forever, unintended and unforeseen; a terrible thought.

(L)ove that sacrificed honor was less honest than simple lust, and degraded those who professed to glory in it.

Fascinating idea for a man who society would consider without honor or decency if his truth were known.

And an interesting thought about listening.

It was necessary for Lady Mumford to talk, he knew; however, as he had learned from experience, it was not really necessary for him to listen.

I find that expediency of that somewhat fascinating, but also kind, in its own way. Even if he doesn’t care what she says, he still allows her to speak her thoughts.

Plus, these stories are also full of fascinating terms and historical facts:
cave canem – Beware of Dog
slammerkin
weskit
stumm
orrery
bog house
Rating: 9/10

Published by Delacorte Press

Written by Michelle
Categories: 9/10, British, Mystery, Sexual Content
Tags: , ,
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