{"id":9531,"date":"2017-12-26T18:56:48","date_gmt":"2017-12-26T23:56:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/?p=9531"},"modified":"2024-01-21T10:43:42","modified_gmt":"2024-01-21T15:43:42","slug":"mortal-arts-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/9531","title":{"rendered":"Mortal Arts"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mortal Arts<\/a><\/em> (2013) Anna Lee Huber<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Set in Scotland in 1830.<\/p>\n

Alana and her sister and family are setting up in Edinburgh, because Alana is pregnant again, and the local doctor is a quack, and they want her to have access to better care. <\/p>\n

Their journey–slow as it is with Alana’s carriage sickness–is interrupted with a summons from Philip’s aunt, to come to the house of her daughter’s fiancee–a family who were neighbor’s of Kiera and Alana’s when they were growing up.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s acting in his brother\u2019s stead.\u201d <\/p>\n

Philip nodded. \u201cYes, but that\u2019s not the same as his holding the title outright.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cAnd Lady Hollingsworth would certainly see the difference,\u201d Alana pointed out with a wry twist to her lips. \u201cI can\u2019t imagine her being happy with such a circumstance when her daughter could be made a baroness instead.\u201d <\/p>\n

Neither of us argued with such an assertion, for we both knew it to be true. Lady Hollingsworth was nothing if not calculating. She had likely agreed to the betrothal thinking she could convince her future son-in-law to petition for the title.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Unfortunately, circumstances are far worse than expected, and Kiera becomes involved in another mystery, including the disappearance of a young woman.<\/p>\n

The heart of this story however is the trauma of battle fatigue and the treatment of patient in insane asylums.<\/p>\n

I knew what lunatic asylums were like. Black holes of filth and degradation where the unfortunates were, at the very best, drugged and left to rot, but more likely tortured until they turned into the very beasts they were alleged to be. Sir Anthony had taken me to tour one about a year into our marriage, dangling the threat of incarceration when my cooperation in sketching his dissections had wavered.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Which made me appreciate the references to Goya<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I stared unseeing at the Goya tapestry, my mind conjuring the soft gray eyes of William Dalmay shadowed with the pain that had seemed ever present in his gaze. Even when he laughed it had been there in the tight lines at the corners of his eyes.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Because the story is very much about how war harms people minds–and how the lunatic asylums and medical treatments of the time destroyed them completely.<\/p>\n

But it’s not all completely dark.<\/p>\n

Reminding myself to be grateful for the gifts I had been given instead of wasting my time longing for the things I couldn\u2019t change.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Another good escape and enjoyable re-read.
\nRating: 8\/10<\/strong><\/p>\n

Publisher: Berkley<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mortal Arts (2013) Anna Lee Huber Set in Scotland in 1830. Alana and her sister and family are setting up in Edinburgh, because Alana is pregnant again, and the local doctor is a quack, and they want her to have access to better care. Their journey–slow as it is with Alana’s carriage sickness–is interrupted with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","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":[12,30,48,33,8,41,26],"tags":[114,729,115,560],"class_list":["post-9531","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-8-10","category-british","category-female","category-historical","category-mystery","category-reread","category-romance","tag-anna-lee-huber","tag-industrial-revolution","tag-lady-darby","tag-romantic-era"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/piQkW-2tJ","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5659,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/5659","url_meta":{"origin":9531,"position":0},"title":"Mortal Arts","author":"Michelle","date":"February 23, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Mortal Arts (2013) Anna Lee Huber Set in Scotland in October 1830 The sequel to The Anatomist\u2019s Wife finds Lady Darby returning to Edinburgh with her sister, brother-in-law, and their family when they receive an urgent summons from Phillip's Aunt to join them at Dalmay house where her daughter has\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"Mortal-Arts","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Mortal-Arts.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5653,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/5653","url_meta":{"origin":9531,"position":1},"title":"The Anatomist’s Wife","author":"Michelle","date":"February 6, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"The Anatomist's Wife (2012) Anna Lee Huber Set in Scotland in August 1830 Lady Darby has spent the last year and a half hiding in Scotland with her sister and brother-in-law, after the death of her husband and the scandal that arose following that. I quite like the relationship between\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "British"","block_context":{"text":"British","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/british"},"img":{"alt_text":"The-Anatomists-Wife","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/The-Anatomists-Wife.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5683,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/5683","url_meta":{"origin":9531,"position":2},"title":"A Study in Death","author":"Michelle","date":"February 23, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"A Study in Death (2015) Anna Lee Huber When Lady Drummond dies in front of Lady Darby, Kiera immediately believes the death not due to be apoplexy, but to poison. Unfortunately, Lord Drummond all but throws Lady Darby out, and so she cannot--even with the help of Gage--openly investigate the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"A-Study-in-Death","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/A-Study-in-Death.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":14187,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/14187","url_meta":{"origin":9531,"position":3},"title":"A Wicked Conceit","author":"Michelle","date":"April 10, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"A Wicked Conceit (2021) Anna Lee Huber (Lady Darby Mystery #9) Set in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1832 Lady Darby is very pregnant at the start of this book, so it was clear she was going to the baby at the end of the book. \"Let's hope she doesn't end up\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "7\/10"","block_context":{"text":"7\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/7-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"A Wicked Conceit","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/A-Wicked-Conceit.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/A-Wicked-Conceit.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/A-Wicked-Conceit.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/A-Wicked-Conceit.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":24709,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/24709","url_meta":{"origin":9531,"position":4},"title":"A Tarnished Canvas","author":"Michelle","date":"July 19, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"A Tarnished Canvas (2025) Anna Lee Huber (Lady Darby #13) Set in Edinburgh in 1833 Kiera and Sebastian are getting ready to celebrate Emma's first birthday, with Kiera's sister, Alanna doing much of the planning while Kiera finishes up the series of paintings she has been working on. But when\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"A Tarnished Canvas","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/A-Tarnished-Canvas.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/A-Tarnished-Canvas.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/A-Tarnished-Canvas.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":9544,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/9544","url_meta":{"origin":9531,"position":5},"title":"A Study in Death","author":"Michelle","date":"January 3, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"A Study in Death (2015) Anna Lee Huber Set in Scotland in 1831 Lady Darby is slowly returning to society, and has started taking commissions again. Her sister is planning Kiera's upcoming wedding to Sebastian Gage as a way to deal with her confinement during her pregnancy and as a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "9\/10"","block_context":{"text":"9\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/9-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/A-Study-in-Death-e1511015327534.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\/9531","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=9531"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9531\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9531"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9531"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9531"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}