The Muse of History

The Chronicles of St Mary's #11.3

by Jodi Taylor

A little background on Mrs. Partridge.

Genres: Time Travel, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Short Stories, Fiction, Humor, Historical Fiction

6 pages, Blog

First published April 12, 2020

About the author

Jodi Taylor is the internationally bestselling author of the Chronicles of St Mary's series, the story of a bunch of disaster prone individuals who investigate major historical events in contemporary time. Do NOT call it time travel! She is also the author of the Time Police series - a St Mary's spinoff and gateway into the world of an all-powerful, international organisation who are NOTHING like St Mary's. Except, when they are.

Alongside these, Jodi is known for her gripping supernatural thrillers featuring Elizabeth Cage together with the enchanting Frogmorton Farm series - a fairy story for adults.

Born in Bristol and now living in Gloucester (facts both cities vigorously deny), she spent many years with her head somewhere else, much to the dismay of family, teachers and employers, before finally deciding to put all that daydreaming to good use and write a novel. Over twenty books later, she still has no idea what she wants to do when she grows up.

Reviews

[Choko · Rating 5 out of 5]

*** 4.75 ***

Extremely short and hilarious! I think it would only make sense to those familiar with the series.

"...‘What am I going to do about it?’ says Kleio, surprised. ‘I think you’ll find,
mighty Zeus, if you cast your mind back, that we all took early retirement when
the monotheists turned up. We told them they were welcome and pushed off to
enjoy a quiet life of gardening, jam making and bowls tournaments with that
bunch from Asgard.’
‘Don’t talk to me about bloody monotheists,’ roars Zeus again. ‘Bunch of
humourless, hairy fanatics with daddy issues.’..."

[Richard Derus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Free. Fun. Mrs Partridge has Actual Authority to do what she does.

Good! I think she's wasted in such a small role...could be time for a Cronus-level event, ladies.

[Bradley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wwwhhhhhhaaaaat??? A parable? For the Muse of History?

Of course, Jodi might be messing with us and it's literal in terms of worldbuilding, BUT I just can't see it! Or rather, maybe I just don't want to see it. lol

So parable it is, and I like. :)

[Trish · Rating 4 out of 5]

The short story that St. Mary’s fans have grown accustomed to between the volumes (there are two, usually, the second one being published on Christmas).

Yes, this is about Kleio aka ... well, you know. ;)

It's a short story featuring a bellowing Zeus and a Hera-very-much-in-need-of-a-avacation.

Great, fantastically dark-humoured commentary on several religions / mythologies and the explanation of why a certain someone is working at the same place as our favourite disaster magnets, keeping an eye on things.

A little bit of nonsense that was quite entertaining.

You can read it for free here: https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/023...

[Marjolein (UrlPhantomhive) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This short story from The Chronicles of St Mary's is one of the few good things to come out of the quarantine. You can read it for free at Jodi Taylor's blog (https://joditaylor.online/blogs/news/...).

It was very short but with all the humor and spirit that I really enjoy in the series. How the Muse of History ended up at St Mary's. Fun for the fans, I doubt it makes too much sense otherwise, but witty all the same.

Find this and other reviews on https://www.urlphantomhive.com

[Steven · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some much enjoyed back story to our favorite Muse.

[Nirkatze · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short and funny. Fun seeing the Olympians--and Zeus surrounded by women, and seeing all those women's thoughts of him. Especially Athena. Lots of laughs in a short short story. Also like the poke at the very basic from-the-start conundrum of the series. Will it ever be properly explained, I wonder?

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very Short, Very Cute story

My anal retentive self must point out that the Pleiades are the daughters of Atlas and Pleione,

since Zeus does indeed have issues keeping it in his tunic, one can definitely understand how folks might assume otherwise.

But love the story anyway.

[Trelawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'd imagine this is a quite accurate description of Zeus.. And Hera

[Erica (sand_between_pages) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute little short for fans of St. Mary's :).

[Elisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Also very short, marking it to show I've read it.

[DeAndre Theisen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfect story about the gods of Olympus, and the beginning of Ms. Patridge.

[Katy · Rating 5 out of 5]

As usual with Jodi's short, short stories, this was a winner.

I love how Klio got her job - and was intrigued by it's limitations!

Another fun story!

As an historical note, Klio, or Clio, was one of the 9 Muses, Clio being one of them. Her parents were Zeus and Mnemosyne, a Titaness, and Goddess of memory.

So, on to story number 11.5: The Order of the Haunted Room.

As usual, I'll catch you on the flip side, to let you know what I think of it!

[Karen Slora · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story describes the background of Mrs. Partridge. To understand this story, you need to have read one or more of of the St. Mary’s books for it to make sense. The writing was simpler than usual. If you are a fan of St. Mary’s, it’s worth a read. It’s only a few pages long, and available on her blog.

[Book Monitor · Rating 4 out of 5]

We get to find out a bit more about Mrs Partridge, and in the process encounter the much put-upon Hera and a somewhat self-absorbed, Zeus. This is a very short story but it is free and it maybe gives context to some past actions, or perhaps sets things up for future- With Jodi Taylor it could all be a red herring. Fun.

[Brook · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another free download from the authors website.

This is a 6 page short story with a little background on the Muse of History (Ms. Partridge). It's a fun little story, with no real connection to the main story line. Definitely worth a read but don't be too disappointed if you happen to miss it.

[Rebekah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another quick backstory. This is the explanation as to how a goddess (Muse) ended up in human reality. The time loop to contain the whole thing is intriguing, but it does beg the question how did it actually get invented?

[Gail Sacharski · Rating 4 out of 5]

And a further short story which gives the background of how the Muse of History became the watchdog for St. Mary's time travel adventures--namely Mrs. Partridge. This is also offered as a free read on Taylor's site. Very clever!

[Carien · Rating 4 out of 5]

What an interesting and humorous take on the start of St Mary’s and Zeus’ part in it.

[Jon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good.

[Cody · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super fun!!! Fit well with my other reading on mythology :)

[Natassia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Addresses a couple of fun little questions I had about the story. Good snippet!

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

I always enjoy these little shorts that give us a glimpse into the history of our supporting characters.

[Suze · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another short short - on how Mrs Partridge came to work at St Mary’s

[Chase · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun short story about Zeus and his daughters

[Dreximgirl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short free snippet about the muse of history who is a brilliant character and needs more book time. Enjoyable and amusing.

[Athena · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely to finally get more on our favourite side character, wish it was longer, like the Christmas shorts, or that she was in the books more, like with the dodos.

[Pittoresque · Rating 5 out of 5]

Vote for Jodi Taylor to narrate the whole body of Greek mythology. That's all I'm saying.

[Rachreads22 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this one! A little insight into Miss Partridge :)

[Linda Lassman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a free short story on Jodi Taylor's website.

TOTALLY brilliant! (And very, very short.)