{"id":21463,"date":"2023-01-19T19:53:10","date_gmt":"2023-01-20T00:53:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/?p=21463"},"modified":"2023-02-27T20:59:07","modified_gmt":"2023-02-28T01:59:07","slug":"a-matter-of-magic-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/21463","title":{"rendered":"A Matter of Magic"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Matter of Magic<\/a><\/em> (1994) Patricia C. Wrede<\/a><\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>An orphan living on the streets of London, breaks into a caravan and is discovered not just to be breaking and entering, but also a girl masquerading as a boy!<\/p>\n

Girl eventually becomes the ward of her rescuer and falls in love with him!<\/p>\n

Now we have the tropes out of the way, this story is much more than those tropes.<\/p>\n

It’s made clear that the reason Kim is masquerading as a boy is so she doesn’t end up as a prostitute (although the words rape and prostitute aren’t used, it’s clear to an adult reader).<\/p>\n

Also, magic is real, and magicians are slangly referred to as frog-makers (as in, don’t anger me or I’ll turn you into a frog) and I find the magic in this world fascinating.<\/p>\n

“(T)hey\u2019re mixing magic at random, from the sound of it. Half of it\u2019s Welsh, half of it\u2019s Scottish, and half of it\u2019s cribbed from someone\u2019s classical education, with a few things that are entirely out of someone\u2019s imagination thrown in for good measure. They\u2019ll never get anywhere if that\u2019s the tack they\u2019re taking.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s too many halves,\u201d Kim said, frowning.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Plus, Kim is fun. Plucky (as all poor orphans are in these types of stories) but also not a fool.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was a pistol,\u201d he said, and started running in the direction of the noise. <\/p>\n

Kim choked back a shout of dismay and ran after him while her mind listed in a remarkably clear fashion all the reasons why this was intensely foolish. Shots were something you ran away from, not toward.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In the second story, Kim is an apprentice and is being forced to learn manners by Mairelon’s unpleasant aunt.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn another week, the Season will be upon us, and as you have chosen to come to Town for once, I shall expect you to find a little more time for your social and family obligations.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cOh, you may expect whatever you like, Aunt.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Luckily, Kim doesn’t have to suffer to long before Mairelon steps in.<\/p>\n

\u201cThree mistakes in one speech. First, Kim\u2019s, er, antecedents aren\u2019t dubious, they\u2019re completely unknown. That is, if you\u2019re referring to her parents. Second, her behavior is entirely dependable and shows a great deal of good sense.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cIf you call using vulgar cant phrases in Mrs. Hardcastle\u2019s drawing room showing good sense\u2014\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cAnd third,\u201d Mairelon went on implacably, \u201cI am quite capable of introducing my ward to Polite Society\u2014 though judging by this afternoon, I\u2019d say the adjective is extremely ill-chosen.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

It’s a lovely and comforting story, and it was good to return to it.<\/p>\n

Publisher: Orb Books<\/p>\n

Rating: 9\/10<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Matter of Magic (1994) Patricia C. Wrede An orphan living on the streets of London, breaks into a caravan and is discovered not just to be breaking and entering, but also a girl masquerading as a boy! Girl eventually becomes the ward of her rescuer and falls in love with him! Now we have […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[13,27,668,292,2,48,204,33,41,20],"tags":[230],"class_list":["post-21463","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-9-10","category-alternate-history","category-comfort-read","category-ebook","category-fantasy","category-female","category-good","category-historical","category-reread","category-young-adult","tag-patricia-c-wrede"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/piQkW-5Ab","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2348,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/2348","url_meta":{"origin":21463,"position":0},"title":"A Matter of Magic","author":"Michelle","date":"April 24, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"A Matter of Magic (2010): Mairelon the Magician (1991) and The Magician's Ward (1997) Patricia Wrede Kim is almost too old to pass for a boy, which means that when she is offered a significant sum of money simply to break into a magician's wagon to see if a silver\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8.5\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8.5\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-5-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"A-Matter-of-Magic","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/A-Matter-of-Magic.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5980,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/5980","url_meta":{"origin":21463,"position":1},"title":"A Matter of Magic","author":"Michelle","date":"July 29, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"A Matter of Magic (2010): Mairelon the Magician (1991) and The Magician\u2019s Ward (1997) Patricia C. Wrede Kim has been living on the streets, hiding the fact she's a girl, and living by her wits as best she can. When she is offered a small fortune to check out the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "10\/10"","block_context":{"text":"10\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/10-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"A-Matter-of-Magic","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/A-Matter-of-Magic.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5467,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/5467","url_meta":{"origin":21463,"position":2},"title":"A Matter of Magic","author":"Michelle","date":"October 25, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"A Matter of Magic: Mairelon the Magician and The Magician\u2019s Ward (1991\/1997) Patricia C. Wrede This is a reissue of two lovely YA novels, Mairelon the Magician and The Magician\u2019s Ward. Kim is a thief in London, who hopes that this job will help her get off the streets for\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8.5\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8.5\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-5-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"A-Matter-of-Magic","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/A-Matter-of-Magic.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2564,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/2564","url_meta":{"origin":21463,"position":3},"title":"Thirteenth Child","author":"Michelle","date":"October 2, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Thirteenth Child (2009) Patricia C. Wrede I discovered Patricia C. Wrede's writing when I couldn't resist the title, Sorcery & Cecelia -OR- The Enchanted Chocolate Pot. I also read and enjoyed A Matter of Magic. Both are alternate histories where magic is an integral part of the world, however, in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Alternate History"","block_context":{"text":"Alternate History","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/fantasy\/alternate-history"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Thirteenth-Child.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":22067,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/22067","url_meta":{"origin":21463,"position":4},"title":"A Matter of Magic","author":"Michelle","date":"June 9, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"A Matter of Magic (1988) Patricia C. Wrede (Mairelon the Magician) \"(B)hey\u2019re mixing magic at random, from the sound of it. Half of it\u2019s Welsh, half of it\u2019s Scottish, and half of it\u2019s cribbed from someone\u2019s classical education, with a few things that are entirely out of someone\u2019s imagination thrown\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "9\/10"","block_context":{"text":"9\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/9-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"A Matter of Magic","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/A-Matter-of-Magic-e1511036689153.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5766,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/5766","url_meta":{"origin":21463,"position":5},"title":"Across the Great Barrier","author":"Michelle","date":"March 30, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Across the Great Barrier (2011) Patricia C. Wrede The sequel to Thirteenth Child finds Eff coming to terms with her magic, and slowly discovering her dream--to travel the West, beyond the Great Barrier, studying the wildlife in that untamed area. Luckily for her, the events of the previous book have\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8.5\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8.5\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-5-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"Across-the-Great-Barrier","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Across-the-Great-Barrier.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21463","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21463"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21463\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21463"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21463"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21463"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}