Rating: 
Summary: Ambiguous
Review: A bunch of aristocrats with long and silly names run around playing at James Bond in cravats. If Regency Romances, excruciatingly detailed accounts of attire, and sentences like: "The tall man with the dangerous eyes knew that someone was going to die tonight" flip your skirt; with a little bit of that ol' pagan magick, faeries, gypsies, tramps and thieves thrown in for good measure, this book is for you. The only vaguely interesting character I encountered before I gave up on the book altogether was one Rupert St. Ives Dyer, Captain His Grace the Duke of Wessex [ouch, huh? you think that's bad.. everyone else has at least five more names.], a sort of Jim West/Lestat in tasseled riding boots. Maybe someday I'll go back to the book and see what kind of wacky and off-the-cuff espionage that dashing Duke is up to for the rest of the story, but I doubt it.. maybe if I'm in the mood for a little Duke from UNCLE, or a good chuckle..
Rating: 
Summary: Very fun
Review: And not all that light. The book caught my attention because I had recently learned quite a bit about Stuart and Georgian England. The alternate scenario is inventive and the world created is plausible and tangible. Some of the descriptions tended to be too detailed, but I think that's a strong point of the book as well. I see the settings and rooms and costumes very vividly. I didn't quite like the several pages narrated from Meriel's p.o.v. I found myself wanting to get back to either Sarah or Wessex. Wessex, with his 'sword-blade' looks and 'cat-footed' walk is charming and reflective, sometimes annoying. He's a rather fun character. I've never read a real Regency, so I guess I can't tell how much he may resemble those characters, but I really liked the notion of a 19th century spy. As to the interactions between him and Sarah, I wish there were more, because I loved seeing them clash. Despite their initial reactions toward each other, they really are quite compatible. I also liked the subtle use of magic...a world in which magic doesn't dominate the lives of people, but plays a stronger and tangible role than in our universe.
Rating:
Summary: Very fun
Review: And not all that light. The book caught my attention because I had recently learned quite a bit about Stuart and Georgian England. The alternate scenario is inventive and the world created is plausible and tangible. Some of the descriptions tended to be too detailed, but I think that's a strong point of the book as well. I see the settings and rooms and costumes very vividly. I didn't quite like the several pages narrated from Meriel's p.o.v. I found myself wanting to get back to either Sarah or Wessex. Wessex, with his 'sword-blade' looks and 'cat-footed' walk is charming and reflective, sometimes annoying. He's a rather fun character. I've never read a real Regency, so I guess I can't tell how much he may resemble those characters, but I really liked the notion of a 19th century spy. As to the interactions between him and Sarah, I wish there were more, because I loved seeing them clash. Despite their initial reactions toward each other, they really are quite compatible. I also liked the subtle use of magic...a world in which magic doesn't dominate the lives of people, but plays a stronger and tangible role than in our universe.
Rating:
Summary: Attention All Regency Fans!
Review: If you're a Regency romance fan, this book is for you. It's a great introduction to the alternate history/fantasy genre that combines the familiar aspects of Regency society with the imaginative what-if's of a world where the American Revolutionary War never happened.It tells the story of Sarah Cunningham, an American from Baltimore, who in 1805 is on her way to England. Unbeknownst to her, in an alternate dimension, her exact physical counterpart, Sarah the Marchioness of Roxbury, is about to die, leaving an important promise unfulfilled. Servants who are practioners of the magical arts manage to switch the Sarahs' personalities at the moment of the Marchioness' death. An added twist is that Roxbury has for years been betrothed (though not in love with) the Duke of Wessex, who is secretly a spy for the King. This all takes place in an England where the Stuarts still retain the throne, and King George never existed. It is also a world where the American colonies are still proud parts of the English empire, the Louisiana Purchase never happened, the faerie's existence is acknowledged, and John Adams is an English ambassador. It's an excellent blend of the familiar and the unknown, of missing heirs, magic, treason, history, romance, treachery, and adventure. For Regency fans, this gives you a taste of a new genre, that has a whole new world of reading possibilities. For alternate history fans, the depiction of Regency society explains why that genre is so beloved by its fans. This is a book that is the best of both worlds.
Rating:
Summary: Attention All Regency Fans!
Review: If you're a Regency romance fan, this book is for you. It's a great introduction to the alternate history/fantasy genre that combines the familiar aspects of Regency society with the imaginative what-if's of a world where the American Revolutionary War never happened. It tells the story of Sarah Cunningham, an American from Baltimore, who in 1805 is on her way to England. Unbeknownst to her, in an alternate dimension, her exact physical counterpart, Sarah the Marchioness of Roxbury, is about to die, leaving an important promise unfulfilled. Servants who are practioners of the magical arts manage to switch the Sarahs' personalities at the moment of the Marchioness' death. An added twist is that Roxbury has for years been betrothed (though not in love with) the Duke of Wessex, who is secretly a spy for the King. This all takes place in an England where the Stuarts still retain the throne, and King George never existed. It is also a world where the American colonies are still proud parts of the English empire, the Louisiana Purchase never happened, the faerie's existence is acknowledged, and John Adams is an English ambassador. It's an excellent blend of the familiar and the unknown, of missing heirs, magic, treason, history, romance, treachery, and adventure. For Regency fans, this gives you a taste of a new genre, that has a whole new world of reading possibilities. For alternate history fans, the depiction of Regency society explains why that genre is so beloved by its fans. This is a book that is the best of both worlds.
Rating:
Summary: Refreshing as the spring rain
Review: Other reviewers have griped that this book is basically fluff. Well, yes, it's light, but that's part of what I liked about it. I've read a lot of serious (and sometimes depressing) books lately, and this one was a much-needed cool breeze of just plain fun. The Marchioness of Roxbury, a vain and vapid woman, is on her deathbed, having failed to fulfill a promise made to the Fair Folk. She lives in an alternate England where magic exists, though it's subtle. The only way she can keep her word is by switching places with Sarah Cunningham, her double from our world, an independent woman who was raised in the wilderness and knows her way around a musket. Sarah's memories are jumbled by magic, and now she has to figure out who she is. She and her new husband, Wessex, get caught up in a deadly game of espionage, kidnapping, and murder. When Sarah becomes friends with the Crown Prince's new sweetheart, the game gets even deeper. Danger, betrayal, and unexpected allies are around every corner. While the love story between Sarah and Wessex is never developed really well, the adventure is fun and movie-like, and the end leaves me wanting more. Gotta go read the sequel now.
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: 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: 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.
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