Thursday, January 25, 2018

The Agency: A Spy in the House

The Agency: A Spy in the House is the first in a series of YA novels by Y.S. Lee. Young Mary Quinn is rescued from the gallows by an unusual school for young women in Victorian England. The school educates girls in desperate situations, and Mary finds herself with the opportunity to become a spy in the guise of a domestic servant.

Mary is an appealing heroine, although she does make some decisions that really boggle the mind. Lee does a nice job of describing a realistic Victorian London that many of off us have probably romanticized and introduces some history I was previously unaware of. I was both educated and entertained by the novel and will certainly read the second book in the series.

Wednesday, January 17, 2018

Emma: A Modern Retelling

Emma: A Modern Retelling by Alexander McCall Smith is just that—a version of Jane Austen’s Emma taking place in the modern day. McCall Smith adds a few modern “twists” that purists might find distressing or at least distracting, but he mostly stays on Austen’s plotline. McCall Smith has an easy style of writing that is comfortable and entertaining. His Emma, though, lacks the genuineness of the original and the attractiveness of Paltrow’s Emma and Silverstone’s Cher. His Emma seems to be less clueless, if you will, and more malicious, which takes away from her appeal. However, he does try to redeem her in an ending that feels rushed. Casual Emma fans will enjoy the retelling, but fanatics should probably stay away.