Unnatural Fire

Countess Ashby De La Zouche #1

by Fidelis Morgan

Restoration London, 1699 -- Anastasia Ashby de la Zouche, Baroness Penge, Countess of Clapham, and former mistress to King Charles II, has astonishingly been jailed in debtors' prison. Joining forces with her loyal ex-maidservant, Alpiew, the formerly pampered and proper Countess sets out to make a living by working for the scandal sheets -- a line of work that inevitably leads her through some of the seamier byways of the city. She and Alpiew find a welcome additional source of income when they are approached by a stranger who asks them to gather evidence to prove her husband is committing adultery. But the uncomfortable job of trailing after the handsome merchant in the depths of winter ends abruptly in a Covent Garden churchyard with a brutal murder. Implicated in the crime, the Countess and Alpiew find themselves drawn into a complex labyrinth of deceit, violence, and the mysterious world of alchemy. And the more they investigate, the more complex the picture becomes, involving everyone from the most decrepit back-alley criminals to some of the most influential people in all the land.

Genres: Mystery, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical Mystery, Historical, Crime, 18th Century

368 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Actor, writer, director and historian, Fidelis Morgan is the author of a series of mystery novels featuring the Countess Ashby dela Zouche and a cast of outrageous characters. The books have been described as ‘A 17th century Armistead Maupin’, ‘Flashman for Girls’ ‘A bawdy PG Wodehouse’ and ‘Cagney and Lacey in Corsets.’
She has published many influential non-fiction works, mainly about the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
Her latest suspense novel, The Murder Quadrille, is a modern day mystery. It is available as an eBook

Reviews

[Emma Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

First things first: you HAVE to read this. What a find, I can't believe it's not more of a bestseller, it was so good! Unnatural Fire is the first in a series of mysteries featuring Countess Anastasia Ashby de la Zouche and her former maid Alpiew in Restoration England. It's for you if you like historical crime and it's definitely for you if you like comic mysteries or just want a good laugh really. It's such bawdy, outrageous fun! From the very first lines till the very last, time just flew by.
Let me list here what I absolutely loved about this book:

- The characters are all memorable. They're eccentric and bold and all superbly fleshed-out. The Countess and Alpiew (as well as Pigalle, one of the Countess's friends) are absolutely amazing - so fresh and fun and smart, the book is packed with their wit and all the better for it. I miss them so much already. The friendship between the women is wonderful and this book passes the Bechdel Test effortlessly.

- The sense of the period. When Fidelis Morgan gives you Restoration, she gives you a full picture of the period and the cast of characters as well as the places involved pretty much cover the era. From prison to court, you'll see it all. I learned a lot about alchemy. Since we have two female characters investigating and evolving in Restoration England, we witness the misogyny they suffer from in plenty of areas. Luckily for us the Countess and Alpiew never fail to point out how they disagree with their treatment because of their gender.

- The mystery - I found it completely engrossing. The author really explains it all and the finding of the clues and everything is beautifully put together, it felt absolutely genuine to me and I was never lost, the author makes sure of that. Nonetheless, not a soul can possibly guess whodunit so I was very pleased to have both the satisfaction of going through everything with the characters and being very very surprised with the ending (which I thought was in-keeping with the tone of the book: very unbelievable and yet the themes are very dark).

- The HUMOUR! You know me, that's my favourite part of ANY book and really the author gave me my share of laughter, this book is positively hysterical. Fidelis Morgan uses the humour one can find in Restoration plays (bawdy & physical humour) a lot and the characters are all excellent fun. I dare you not to laugh & be hooked from the first few pages.

I'm just so glad this book is the first in a series for I just can't let go of this world. There are three more books to look forward to. I found out about Unnatural Fire by perusing Felony and Mayhem's catalog - they have yet to reprint the other three but I'll watch out for them. I find the cover of the US edition much more attractive and emblematic of the book than the UK one.

[Belinda · Rating 2 out of 5]

This has, as Val McDermid said (it is quoted on the cover of the book) "a heady compound of wit, wisdom and wildness", but not in spades. I'd say it is a tangled mass of historical tidbits, intrigue, and silliness.

It reads as an overwritten but pleasantly amusing script for something not as good as Blackadder but trying to get there. When I say trying to get there sometimes it is bloody trying, other times it is amusing but forgettable.

Likes - the main characters aren't bad. I like that they're all women and semi-intelligent among all the bawdiness and twists, although the code - that was like pulling teeth. I think Morgan can write quite well. It's obvious that there was quite a bit of research into London life in 1699. The pace is good for the most part.

Dislikes - it is definitely overwritten. There are repetitions, too many quaint little words and phrases that are sometimes explained, sometimes not, but need to be. I don't want to google every word and dish peculiar to that period. Then there were the modern bits squeezed in - no doubt to give us all a boom-boom moment a la Bruce Forsythe - LeRoy was here - no le Roi was here - boom, boom. Weak, very weak. Finally, and perhaps the worst of it, is that just too much was added to the mix. I know it wasn't meant to be a Hilary Mantell, nor does it have to be, but alchemy, sex, love, murder, potential blackmail, a creepy husband, detective work, corrupt lawyers, plays, politics, boobs, running to the wharf, running around London backstreets, mad rides out to the country, transvestites, another trek through either mud, poo, or fields, wine, Isaac Newton, cemeteries and blood….too much! You can be funny and not have everyone running around like Benny Hill and his bald sidekick - except they'd be called Count Benji Le Terrain a Slope Slope if they'd been named by Morgan. This much cramming took it through a continuum starting with a mickey take to try-hard 3rd rate humour that a 9 year old might laugh at if it didn't have references to rumpy pumpy (snigger).

So did it do what it set out to do? Yes, it was a good romp, but no way was it witty or wise.
I do recommend it as a light read though.
Very light.
But I won't read any more of her books.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Arrrrgh! I have said many times that it's the story and not the solution in a mystery that is important; but, God, there are limits! The solution for this story could have been that little green men from Mars did the killings, then covered it up so no one would believe in UFOs and it would have been just as reasonable to me. I am tired of people who have no real reason for being deranged showing up in otherwise perfectly lovely mysteries and destroying all the enjoyment I've already had. What is wrong with the butler; he hasn't done it in a long time. Lame, I admit, but I can take it. Try me. Please. Or at least warn me: STUPID ENDING ALERT!!!

Okay, I gave it three stars; but it was a really good story--mostly. I have a headache now. I'm going to lie down and think of kittens, and dew-drops, and such.

[Marnie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I started reading this thinking it would be a typical historical mystery and quickly disabused myself of that notion.Think Monty Python meets Mrs. Marple. Once I wrapped my head around the fact that this book was a farce I enjoyed the ride. The opening scene, where the Countess and her eventual sidekick Alpiew are introduced to the reader, had me laughing out loud.
The author obviously did her research and was historically accurate about the times. The Countess and Alpiew were well developed and I enjoyed them.
The one drawback was the mystery itself- even when it was explained to me I still didn't follow the clues.

I enjoyed the characters and the setting and the witty banter spread throughout the book. I think the author did a great job helping me visualize Restoration London, 1699. I read that this story might be developed into a television series- I will be watching!

[Judith · Rating 4 out of 5]

A former mistress of King Charles 11, fallen on hard times, is forced to become a hack for a local Scandal Sheet,,in cahoots with her former Maid...they are given a "case" to follow a supposedly Errant Husband..and
The Games Begin..

And here is where i give my Warning:
This book is a wonderful Comedy of Manners..a Satire..Slapstick Glorious...surrounding a not-bad Mystery...Ms Morgan is an expert in Restoration Comedy..and it shows...I loved this book for the Comedy (I needed a good laugh)..but the Mystery isn't/wasn't bad

Don't be mislead by the Mystery Tag...read this book if you enjoy a good story..if you like good period pieces..if you are CURIOUS...you will not be disappointed.

[Gail · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Romp" is exactly the right word for this book, although I didn't find it particularly light reading, which would seem counter-intuitive to a romp, but there you have it. It's not light, for me, because it's crammed full of Restoration-speak and references that I wasn't quite equipped to muddle through. So, a bit slow-going at first, but nonetheless fascinating and fun. The mystery had me going until the end, and the characters were funny and engaging and delightfully odd. What struck me, though, was that this would have been well-suited for a more visual representation: a play or movie. This isn't surprising, considering the author is a playwright. There are elements of the theater throughout, too: dressers, actors, troupes, etc. All in all, a fun read, and I'll pick up the next one.

[Almeta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really a fun series. What a great pair the brash Countess and her resourceful "maid" are!

[Jan Norton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Countess Ashby and Alpiew are an unlikely team. Alpiew is a former employee of the Countess'. Ashby thinks she ran away with her husband, but in reality, Alpiew was just another of the items he stole when he took off for the New World. They meet again in debtor's prison, each desiring a job with a scandal sheet. They end up combining talents and sharing the salary. In the course of their business, they are asked by a Mrs. Wilson to follow her husband. She suspects that he is cheating on her. They lose track of him the first night and witness his murder on the second. The come to discover that he is also an alchemist who will do anything to get the money to continue his research. But how far did he go, and what has he done? The mystery can be difficult to solve, but all the clues are there if you only look. I ended up enjoying the book more than I thought when I begun the book.

[Kidlitter · Rating 4 out of 5]

An absolute delight, bonkers in the best possible way. Fidelis Morgan goes all out with the period setting, the history, the sweeping events of the times and the small details of daily life that make for the best historical fiction. Best of all, she gives us two female characters who are portrayed with the epic sweep of any male hero as they engage in high adventure and low down investigating that makes for a uniquely cunning mystery. How do women make it in misogynistic, exploitative, disgusting and vicious times - especially when they're getting OLD? Morgan isn't afraid to show her protagonists getting down and dirty but also using their shrewd understanding of humanity, acquired through hard living. And of course, as befits the Countess's taste for broadsheets, they're funny, bawdy and strangely compelling. Onto their next caper!

[Vintagebooklvr · Rating 3 out of 5]

At the end of the 17th century, Countess Ashby de la Zouche, without money or the count, has decided that best way to make some money is to become a snoop gossip columnist for one of London's daily newspapers. Looking through windows, and other less than respectable activities, comes with the territory but she wasn't expecting to come across murder. And now she must scramble, with a cast of unlikely characters, to find the true culprit, to get her story in before the deadline and the headlines announcing her death...

Funny, at times slap-stick, bawdy and outrageous, a rollicking romp that could easily be a Restoration Comedy play, and also a good mystery.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a hoot! The novel lurches behind a dilapidated Countess struggling in Restoration England. She still mourns the loss of her ex, Charles II while detecting a series of murders. Terrific period detail and an extensive exploration of the science/alchemy dichotomy. Did I mention she decks Sir Isaac Newton?

[Jean Walton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Complicated but entertaining historical romp, though the state of the three heroines and all the villains alike made me wonder how they found the energy to put up a fight either physically or mentally.

[Carole-Ann · Rating 2 out of 5]

Since I spent my teenage years in Ashby-de-la-Zouch (Leicestershire) I thought an historical mystery might be a good option.
Not good enough to remember years later. :(

[Lucy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Better than expected and I will read more in the series.

[Regina · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very slow going. The most ineresting thing are the historical notes at the end

[Monique Lebrocq · Rating 1 out of 5]

A strange, twisted tale.
Eccentric aristocrats.
And a saucy maid.

[Angie Boyter · Rating 1 out of 5]

Very disappointing on two levels. 1. This could have been fun, but it was totally lacking in subtlety, and ALL of the characters I met in the first chapter were people I did not have any desire to know better....2. In addition, although the author alerts people that this is not a history book, I DO expect some conscientious attempt to get things right when you are giving what you call "History", which is the title of a section in the back of the book. In that section she says, with no qualifiers,that Isaac Newton was a homosexual. A VERY simple review, e.g., google, will show that Newton was a weird recluse who APPEARED not to have any interest in sex. This has led some to speculate he might have been homosexual. It is a VERY open question. To show him as homosexual in a work of fiction might be defensible; to say he was homosexual in the appendix is not, in my opinion.

[Bronagh Miskelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed much of the first of this historical mystery series featuring two eccentric down-at-heel ex-royal mistresses (apparently based on real people) and the maid of one of them in late 17th century London. There is lots of historical detail and a clear plot involving alchemy, royalty and much more.
What didn't work for me was the inconsistent comic style - this has clearly been influenced by the restoration comedy theatre style of the period about which the author is an expert but it sometimes clashes with the rest of the story. That said I've never been a big fan of restoration comedy (least favourite part of by drama school, even counting the bad fall off a set during some Gorky)
I expect I will continue with the series because I'm interested to see how it pans out

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

this book was strange. I really didn't think I was going to like it at first...it just took me a little longer to get into it. The writing and language of the book were a bit strange for me at first but later became quite endearing. I especially liked how the author used modern phrases although the book was set in the 1600's (I think- I'm horrible with history, I know it said in the book but I forget :) Anyway the little jokes were kind of a little nod to the modern reader. A fun little mystery with fun elements and puzzles that somewhat reminded me of 'The DaVinci Code' although not as involved...at all.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actually, it's 'currently re-reading.' I'm a sucker for historical novels, and anachronisms and other suspicious slips just get me started on trying to find out what historians think 'really' happened. History isn't all that far from fiction, after all...
Alchemy and Newton are some of the really fascinating details of this book. I have some trouble with the rotten teeth, body odor and general poor hygiene of everybody involved, but it's true to life in the period, so I live with it. The story is well told, colorful without being too far out there and quite funny.

[Sarah W. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had trouble getting into this historical mystery set in late seventeenth-century London. While the author does an excellent job of invoking the spirit of the times and providing a rich picture of life during the period, the writing itself simply failed to entice me into the story. I did manage to finish it, though, and was rewarded by a interesting conclusion to the tale as well as a very amusing scene featuring Sir Issac Newton.

[Debra · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun romp in London in 1699. I read words I'd never seen before and learned, again, what a horrible place London was at that time... filthy stinky streets, unwashed people in dirty clothing, polluted Thames river, constant smog. No wonder people were getting sick all the time. But aside from that I really enjoyed this amusing little mystery that is investigated by a has-been countess and her maid. Great characters. Easy, quick read.

[Jana · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn't care for the first few pages and almost gave up on this--but I'm glad I stuck with it. What an interesting period 1699 in London--and she really puts you there with so many possible scenarios-and a reader would never guess the ending. Strange, but great characters. The scene with Sir Isaac Newton hiding under the bed had me laughing out loud.

[Garen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am throwing in the towel. This book is a study of tortured language, (let's see, where can I insert a popular phrase from my 'restoration' thesaurus), mixed diction, inconsistent use of quotation marks, and a lot of wink-wink-nudge-nudge -eh-?which is neither bawdy nor witty . If there is a story here, and I've heard there is one, it would take a reader of greater tolerance than I to suss it.

[MB (What she read) · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very complicated mystery, with unconventional characters, and an interesting historical setting. I did find it confusing; scattered and a little difficult reading, but it is a first book. (And maybe I was just too distracted at the time.)

BTW, does anyone know how to pronounce Alpieu? (That bugged me the entire time.) Please comment if so.

[Lindsey · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was just ok-a murder mystery set in post-Restoration England. I felt it just tried to add too much in one story-the crazy friend with the foreign accent, a transvestite, alchemy, etc. And Alpiew? What kind of name is that? I felt like she had to babysit her employer, the Countess. I would have enjoyed this duo more if the Countess hadn't seemed so flighty.

[Dennis Fischman · Rating 3 out of 5]

The setting, Restoration-era England, is authentic. The characters are something out of a comic opera, but still likeable. The mystery is a real potboiler, but not a chear: all the elements needed to solve it are there. It's just that it takes alchemy to turn those elements into a solution.

[Louise · Rating 4 out of 5]

A zany but clever mystery set in London in 1699. I had already read the second one in the series; this one was a little bit harder to get into but worth the effort. I am looking forward to the third one!

[Verity W · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't know why I didn't like this more. It has so much in it that I usually love, but for some reason it just didn't click for me completely. It's not a 2 star - because it did make me laugh in places, and I'll read the next one to see if I was just in a grump when I started this!

[Delphine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Très drôle. Des choix de traductions laissant à désirer, mais le roman est merveilleux, et merveilleusement coquin par moments.