Rating: 
Summary: James Bond Meets Jane Austen in a Regency That Never Was...
Review: The opportunity to collaborate with Miss Andre Norton was both a privilege and an honor, and the chance to revisit one of my favorite periods in history - and some of the characters of my four Regency Romances - was not to be missed. SHADOW OF ALBION is set in 1805, but an 1805 that has seen the Stuarts reign in an unbroken line from the time of Charles II. It is a world where magic works, but when Napoleon bends all Europe to his will, sometimes magic just isn't enough ... which is where the Duke of Wessex takes a hand. A member of the elite White Tower Group, the espionage apparat that seeks to deny Napoleon mastery of Europe, Wessex is a man with a dangerously conflicted nature: espionage is not the work of gentlemen, and at any moment his loyalties may be impossibly divided. King Henry IX presses him to marry in order to extend his protection to Prince Jamie's bride, Princess Stephanie of Denmark, but though the betrothal is an old one, Wessex's bride is not-at-all what he expects. For the Marchioness of Roxbury is quite literally not herself: she is Miss Sarah Cunningham, of an America which broke free of the tyranny of the English Crown, and which has no use for magic... I hope you will enjoy SHADOW OF ALBION as much as Miss Norton and I enjoyed writing it. We are working on a sequel...
Rating: 
Summary: Carla Kelly & now Norton & Edghill Keeping the Regency Alive
Review: The regency romance is in a state of decline except for some huge talents who are managing to breathe new life into it. This literary form was begun by Jane Austen with "Pride & Prejudice." Carla Kelly is one of the huge talents making this genre worth pursing and the second can be found on the sci-fi-fantasy book aisle with authors Andre Norton (a woman) and Rosemary Edghill. Edghill was formerly known as a romance writer whereas Norton has always been in sci-fi-fantasy. This duo creates an alternate regency world that is absolutely fascinating. In this world, there is never a Revolutionary War, the Indians are not abused in America, slavery is abolished because of England's opposition to it and England remains in power and control. This all came about because the English throne never passes to the German line but remains with the Stuarts in this alternate regency world. This world also allows sorcerers and magicians and makes that a big part of accepted life. Two love stories are played out against this new world. One is between colonial Sarah with the English Duke of Wessex and the other is between Louis, the lost King of France (dauphin) and Mariel. Some readers felt that "Leopard in Exile," the sequel to this book, was not as good. I think the story only got better as we moved into the second book. If you need rejuvenation in the wide world of the regency romance, you will find it here.
Rating:
Summary: Carla Kelly & now Norton & Edghill Keeping the Regency Alive
Review: The regency romance is in a state of decline except for some huge talents who are managing to breathe new life into it. This literary form was begun by Jane Austen with "Pride & Prejudice." Carla Kelly is one of the huge talents making this genre worth pursing and the second can be found on the sci-fi-fantasy book aisle with authors Andre Norton (a woman) and Rosemary Edghill. Edghill was formerly known as a romance writer whereas Norton has always been in sci-fi-fantasy. This duo creates an alternate regency world that is absolutely fascinating. In this world, there is never a Revolutionary War, the Indians are not abused in America, slavery is abolished because of England's opposition to it and England remains in power and control. This all came about because the English throne never passes to the German line but remains with the Stuarts in this alternate regency world. This world also allows sorcerers and magicians and makes that a big part of accepted life. Two love stories are played out against this new world. One is between colonial Sarah with the English Duke of Wessex and the other is between Louis, the lost King of France (dauphin) and Mariel. Some readers felt that "Leopard in Exile," the sequel to this book, was not as good. I think the story only got better as we moved into the second book. If you need rejuvenation in the wide world of the regency romance, you will find it here.
Rating: 
Summary: The Scarlet Pimpernel it isn't
Review: The Shadow of Albion has a lot of promise. Wessex is a fascinating character, a member of a secret spy organization and carrier of such interesting gadgets as a pocketwatch/pistol. And Sarah, although annoyingly perfect as fantasy heroines too often are, manages to be slightly likeable. The little in-jokes are nice, too, especially the Orczy one. Really, I enjoyed the book most of the way through, until the ending. A subplot which had been heavily developed in the middle of the book was suddenly resolved in a flippant chapter I only half understood. Instead of closing the book with a satisfied smile, I felt frustrated and cheated. Additionally, the lack of explanation of how magic works in the world was frustrating. Magic was a convenient device used only to further the plot, while if magic existed, it would certainly affect the undercover operations Wessex takes part in far more than shown. Still, I wouldn't mind reading another book about Wessex and his good-natured partner Ilya. If Sarah has to come along too, then so be it.
Rating:
Summary: A Maryland Tomboy in King Henry's Court
Review: The Shadow of Albion is the first novel in the Carolus Rex series. This story takes place in an alternate reality in which magic is very possible. In England, Charles II has proclaimed his lawful marriage to Mistress Waters and has accepted Charles, the Duke of Monmouth, as his heir. Upon the death of his father, the Duke became King Charles III and the Stuart dynasty has since reigned over England. The American colonies have remained reasonably content with Stuarts on the English throne, although the thirteen colonies are blocked from expansion by the French lands to their west.In this novel, it is 1805 and Napoleon Bonoparte rules in France. Sarah, Marchioness of Roxbury, is dying of galloping consumption and Dame Alecto Kennet arrives to confront Roxbury with her dereliction of duty, for she has no heir. They look into the timelines for one to take her place and find Sarah Cunningham from Maryland sailing to England. Roxbury rides to the Saracen Stones to effect the change. Sarah Cunningham is a child of the new Republic, spending her childhood years between Baltimore and the deep woods. She has grown up among the Cree indian lodges, hunting, fishing, and cooking the game on an open fire. Then, when she is 25, her parents die of cholera and she is taken in by a distant cousin of her mothers. Sarah Cunningham is aboard ship because a Madame Alecto Kennet has come to America as an agent of the Dowager Duchess of Wessex and Sarah is called to England to right a wrong done to her family. Unfortunately, Madame Kennet dies at sea. Sarah leaves the ship at Bristol and catches the mail coach to London. On the way, they colllide with a strange spidery chariot driven by herself. Sarah falls through the coach window and loses consciousness. When Sarah again becomes aware of her surroundings, she finds everyone treating her as the Marchioness of Roxbury. She also discovers that she is betrothed to Rupert St. Ives, Duke of Wessex. Gradually, she find out that her fiance is a secret agent of the White Tower and then things start to become really exciting. This novel is a Regency romance in a timeline that has no Regency. However, it does have Napoleon Bonaparte, Talleyrand, and a strangely effective, but still cruel, Marquis de Sade. Moreover, it does have magic, both white and black. Recommended for Norton fans and anyone who enjoys romantic adventure in a fantasy setting.
Rating:
Summary: A Maryland Tomboy in King Henry's Court
Review: The Shadow of Albion is the first novel in the Carolus Rex series. This story takes place in an alternate reality in which magic is very possible. In England, Charles II has proclaimed his lawful marriage to Mistress Waters and has accepted Charles, the Duke of Monmouth, as his heir. Upon the death of his father, the Duke became King Charles III and the Stuart dynasty has since reigned over England. The American colonies have remained reasonably content with Stuarts on the English throne, although the thirteen colonies are blocked from expansion by the French lands to their west. In this novel, it is 1805 and Napoleon Bonoparte rules in France. Sarah, Marchioness of Roxbury, is dying of galloping consumption and Dame Alecto Kennet arrives to confront Roxbury with her dereliction of duty, for she has no heir. They look into the timelines for one to take her place and find Sarah Cunningham from Maryland sailing to England. Roxbury rides to the Saracen Stones to effect the change. Sarah Cunningham is a child of the new Republic, spending her childhood years between Baltimore and the deep woods. She has grown up among the Cree indian lodges, hunting, fishing, and cooking the game on an open fire. Then, when she is 25, her parents die of cholera and she is taken in by a distant cousin of her mothers. Sarah Cunningham is aboard ship because a Madame Alecto Kennet has come to America as an agent of the Dowager Duchess of Wessex and Sarah is called to England to right a wrong done to her family. Unfortunately, Madame Kennet dies at sea. Sarah leaves the ship at Bristol and catches the mail coach to London. On the way, they colllide with a strange spidery chariot driven by herself. Sarah falls through the coach window and loses consciousness. When Sarah again becomes aware of her surroundings, she finds everyone treating her as the Marchioness of Roxbury. She also discovers that she is betrothed to Rupert St. Ives, Duke of Wessex. Gradually, she find out that her fiance is a secret agent of the White Tower and then things start to become really exciting. This novel is a Regency romance in a timeline that has no Regency. However, it does have Napoleon Bonaparte, Talleyrand, and a strangely effective, but still cruel, Marquis de Sade. Moreover, it does have magic, both white and black. Recommended for Norton fans and anyone who enjoys romantic adventure in a fantasy setting.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent alternate-history!
Review: The Shadow of Albion was a terrific, fast-paced romp through early 19th century England and France--as it might have been... Sarah and Wessex were extremely likeable characters and the entire book was filled with twists of wry humor. This is entertainment at its finest. Those who liked Shadow should also try Goblin Moon by Teresa Edgerton. If you thought Wessex had a lot of interesting exploding gadgets, wait until you meet Lord Francis Skelbrooke...
Rating: 
Summary: When is a Regency Not a Regency?
Review: THE SHADOW OF ALBION, described as the first volume in the Carolus Rex Trilogy, includes many elements of the traditional Regency romance: a concentration on the "ton" (British nobility) and its manners and activities, a marriage of convenience (by order of the King!) that turns into something more, a cold-hearted hero and tomboy heroine, and lots of research, including a rich use of period-appropriate language ("abigail" for "lady's maid," for example). But--as might be expected of a book co- written by one of the best-known names in science fiction and fantasy--it's not *just* a romance. First, it takes place in an alternate world where the Stuarts never lost the British throne: in 1805 England is ruled by Henry IX, great-great-great-grandson of the Merry Monarch, Charles II, through his legitimized son the Duke of Monmouth. With no overbearing Hanovers to push them to rebellion (though Henry's daughter Maria is married to a member of that family), the North American Colonies are still just that--colonies, though loosely ruled and in many ways autonomous--and the Mississippi Valley remains a French possession as Napoleon Bonaparte storms across Europe, with dark ambitions for the entire world. Sir John Adams is the British envoy to the Danish court, the Marquis deSade is a supposed sorcerer in Napoleon's service, Talleyrand is the head of French internal security, and nobody is quite sure what became of Louis-Charles, son of Louis and Marie Antoinette, after his parents were guillotined. In England, plots are afoot to return the country to Catholicism, while the Dowager Duchess of Wessex (the hero's grandmother) and a network of helpers seek to keep humanity in a peaceable relationship with the Oldest People--the Faery Folk. This is what sparks off the story, as the young Marchioness of Roxbury, dying of consumption, is forced by one of the Duchess's operatives to change places with one of her alternate selves--Sarah Cunningham of Baltimore-in-*our*-world--so that her line can continue and the promise "that Roxbury and Mooncoign would always do what must be done for the People and the Land" can be kept. That change, of course, is accomplished by magic--and so the element of fantasy is introduced to the tale, to run as an undercurrent through all that happens subsequently. And plenty does: espionage, valorous escapes, attempted assassinations, alarums and excursions about the countrysides of two nations, diplomatic maneuverings, plots and counterplots exposed and foiled, love affairs, Sarah's marriage to Rupert Dyer, Duke of Wessex, the discovery of the whereabouts of the "Young King" of France, and the sudden sorcerous vanishment of a Danish ship-of-the-line bearing the Princess Stephanie to her wedding to "Prince Jamie," the future James III, 19-year-old heir to the British throne. And although the connection isn't completely clarified in this volume (the authors are said to be working on the next), there's an element of dark sorcery suggested in Sarah's dream of a non-mortal "Beast" somehow connected to Bonaparte's ambitions. Though Rupert is a rather unsympathetic hero, Sarah more than makes up for him: a tomboy woods-runner in her American girlhood, struggling to understand why the new life in which she finds herself seems unfamiliar and wrong, and eventually using her skills and gifts to play a large part in everyone's salvation. Illya Koscuisko, Rupert's Polish partner-in-espionage, is a delightful original and worth knowing; he and the Young King are almost worth the price of the book in themselves. It's also fun, if you're a history buff, to puzzle out the differences between the Carolus Rex reality and our own. There are even hints of that classic TV series, "The Wild Wild West," in the resolution of Rupert's confrontation with one of the many plotters he must deal with. To anyone who (like me) has been reading Andre Norton almost since there was any, it's clear from the style that much of the writing was done by co-author Edghill (who happens to have been, under another name, a former neighbor and fanzine partner). But the fertile Nortonian imagination is clearly at work too, and the two have turned out an intriguing read. I'll be watching for Volume Two.
Rating:
Summary: James Bond and Bond Street! What fun!
Review: This regency/alternate earth collaboration by Norton and Edghill, which looks to be the first of a series, is a winner! Is it perfect? No. The last half of the book is a bit rushed and the use of magic is uneven. Even so, I believed in the characters; their dilemmas are real and not easily resolved. The dialogue is appropriate to the setting and I loved Sarah taking over the rifle and shooting down the French troops, to the amazement of her so-reluctant husband - right before they fly away in a hot-air balloon! This is a merry-go-round of a book with pretensions to be a carousel. Playing in an alternate earth is always fun: lots of name dropping occurs as real historical figures turn up in new walks of life. Beau Brummell finally finds his proper niche as a valet, while John Adams still loves his wife! This book deserves a sequel - there's lots of room for more intrigue, romance and magic in this world - or in an alternate Carolinian earth! I'm looking forward to our English Prince meeting his Danish bride; Wessex and Sarah consummating their marriage (I don't believe they got that far at the end of this book) and Wessex getting over the "honor" and spying question...Let's enjoy all the benefits of a Regency/Scarlett Pimpernel romance and alternate history scifi whirlygig next time.
Rating:
Summary: I really liked it
Review: This was a good book. It was an origional idea, which is unusual nowadays. The only thing is that people wouldn't have practiced witchcraft openly even in an alternative regency. Charles the II wasn't that lax in his opinions on it.
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