The Magicians and Mrs. Quent

Mrs. Quent #1

by Galen Beckett

In this enchanting debut novel, Galen Beckett weaves a dazzling spell of adventure and suspense, evoking a world of high magick and genteel society—a world where one young woman discovers that her modest life is far more extraordinary than she ever imagined.

Of the three Lockwell sisters—romantic Lily, prophetic Rose, and studious Ivy—all agree that it’s the eldest, the book-loving Ivy, who has held the family together ever since their father’s retreat into his silent vigil in the library upstairs. Everyone blames Mr. Lockwell’s malady on his magickal studies, but Ivy alone still believes—both in magic and in its power to bring her father back.

But there are others in the world who believe in magick as well. Over the years, Ivy has glimpsed them—the strangers in black topcoats and hats who appear at the door, strangers of whom their mother will never speak. Ivy once thought them secret benefactors, but now she’s not so certain.

After tragedy strikes, Ivy takes a job with the reclusive Mr. Quent in a desperate effort to preserve her family. It’s only then that she discovers the fate she shares with a jaded young nobleman named Dashton Rafferdy, his ambitious friend Eldyn Garritt, and a secret society of highwaymen, revolutionaries, illusionists, and spies who populate the island nation of Altania.

For there is far more to Altania than meets the eye and more to magick than mere fashion. And in the act of saving her father, Ivy will determine whether the world faces a new dawn—or an everlasting night. . . .


From the Hardcover edition.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Romance, Historical Fiction, Magic, Historical, Mystery

514 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 29, 2008

About the author

What if there was a fantastical cause underlying the social constraints and limited choices confronting a heroine in a novel by Jane Austen or Charlotte Brontë? Galen Beckett began writing The Magicians and Mrs. Quent to answer that question.
The author lives in Colorado.

An alias for Mark Anthony.

Reviews

[Wealhtheow · Rating 3 out of 5]

I almost gave up on this book. The first fifty or so pages are a pedestrian, awkward attempt at a Regency society novel, with mentions of mysterious magicians shoehorned in. The main character, Ivy, and her family are clearly the Bennets from Pride and Prejudice, right down to their grasping cousin Mr. Collins, er, Wyble. The Mr. Darcy stand-in, Mr. Rafferdy, disappointed. But then Rafferdy and Ivy's friendship blossomed, and against my will I found myself drawn into the story. I tore through the rest of it.
It's an oddly disjointed novel. The first 200 pages are P&P, but the next 140 are a spooky retelling of Jane Eyre. Even the point-of-view switches to match JE's first person narrative. Some facets of the reworked story work better than the original, at least for a modern audience. The children, for instance, are far more lifelike than Mr.Rochester's ward. Mr. Quent is rather more reasonable than Mr.Rochester, if less gothically charismatic. Then, after the rush through Bronte, the story (and Ivy) is abruptly thrust back into the city. Without P&P to rely on, Ivy and Rafferdy's relationship feels more natural and less forced. There is, moreover, a great deal more magic and action in the last third.

There are two major problems with this book. First, the author's heavy debt to Austen and Bronte. Second, the plot is poorly put together. Beckett is setting us up for a series, or at the very least a sequel, and so he introduces far too many plot points. Eldyn Garritt is a completely unnecessary character. His plot is that he has dealings with one of the rebel leaders and is moreover learning illusion magic. However, the wyldmagic and the rebellion were already part of the Rafferdy/Ivy/Quent storylines; writing in another main character whose connection to the rest is extremely tenuous, and whose addition to the plot is extraneous, is just sloppy. The author threw too much into this novel. Hopefully he'll learn to pare it down in the sequel--and be a bit more original.

I enjoyed this book. In fact, I enjoyed it so much that I stayed up until 5am to finish it. Beckett's magic systems are heady and a touch disturbing; his characters are, if not original, at least well-drawn. I like that the people's rebellion is not a clear case of good vs. evil, and that no magick is without a hidden price. I look forward to the sequel, The House on Durrow Street.

[Sherwood Smith]

In excavating a bookshelf, I discovered several volumes that had slipped behind others. This one managed to go unnoticed for at least half a dozen years.

While this regency-with-magic novel is not as early as Sorcery and Cecelia it was published ahead of the spate of current ones, and is exponentially better written, with some clever characters (the one I liked best was the Mr. Collins clone), and a thorough understanding of the bleak underside of regency-era economics and attitudes such as public execution as entertainment.

That's not to say it didn't have problems. Like many in this subgenre, it is too obvious in squashing well-known tropes from other books (in this case, Pride and Prejudice) into an otherwise somewhat bleak story despite the magic, which was not helped by the second half borrowing from Jane Eyre--a pairing that emphasized rather than smoothed the piecemeal feel to the story.

Still, it was an enjoyable read, if not a great one.

[Felicia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I hate to criticize this book, because I feel like it has a lot of merits. It attempts to mix Jane Austen with epic fantasy in a way that theoretically I would love to...love more.

I think the book has some wonderful aspects and some may enjoy it more than others. It gets very bogged down with world-building, to the detriment of letting the characters breathe and the pages flow. The book inexplicably changes POV in the middle and it seems like a whole different book entirely. I don't quite understand it. I just think that the book wasn't focused enough on what it wanted to be. I think if it had kept SOME of the cliches of EITHER genre it might have settled better into it's skin. It's just too scattered in focus to really glom on and enjoy to it's fullest for me.

I think underneath some of the problems there are GREAT ideas and great concepts and I do believe I will try the next book. I just hope more editing and clarity of characters come through more in the followup.

[Sandi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I fully admit that this "The Magicians and Mrs. Quent" doesn't really deserve 4 stars. It's flawed, it's badly flawed. However, it really sucked me in and kept me turning pages to find out what happened next. It gave me a brief escape from my mundane existence. What more could one ask?

What I really liked about "The Magicians and Mrs. Quent" was that it wasn't a typical epic-quest fantasy in a pseudo-medieval setting. If you ever wonder what the pseudo-medieval world of the stereotypical fantasy novel would be like in a thousand years, this book answers that. Instead of drawing on our own Dark Ages, it draws on the Victorian era. Although it has been compared to Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, it is not the same. Altania is definitely not Earth. This story has no faeries or elves.

I really liked the characters too. I wish Beckett had developed Ivy's sisters a bit more and had delved more into Ivy and Mr. Quent's relationship. However, the characters and relationships she did develop were engaging.

So, what are the flaws?

1. This world was not believable. Apparently, it is part of a solar system and does travel around a sun. However, the length of the days and nights varies from day to day. The only way Altanians know how many hours of day or night they're going to get is by consulting an almanac. How does that even work?

2. Candles are extremely expensive, but that's what everyone uses for reading and other nighttime activities. However, they do have lamps also. They just rarely use them. Wouldn't it make more sense for them to use the lamps, which are safer and give off more light, than to worry about burning expensive candles?

3. The book is divided into three parts. The second part has a completely different tone and point of view than the first and third parts. It's jarring and doesn't really fit. In fact, the second part is a direct rip-off of The Turn of the Screw by Henry James with quite a lot of Jane Eyre thrown in. According to other reviews, the first part is a direct rip-off of Pride and Prejudice, but I've never read Jane Austen, so I can't comment on that. The third part seemed vaguely Dickensian though. My only issue was with the second part. It didn't offer any real twist on what Bronte and James had done before.

Despite its flaws, "The Magicians and Mrs. Quent is a good read. It doesn't tax the brain too hard and it entertains. There is room for a sequel because there are questions that remain unanswered, but it pretty much wraps up the major plot lines. I'd recommend it to anyone who's looking for something different in light fantasy.

[Richard Derus · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rating: 2* of five

Icky, sappy, treacly romantic claptrap.

Alternative history? Not really. Romance novel with fantasy trappings? Not really. What, then, is this little marvy?

This is what would've happened if Fanny Trollope had lived in the 21st century. That, mes amis, Ain't Good At All.


This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

[Mariel · Rating 1 out of 5]

The Magicians and Mrs. Quent is a Frankenstein's monster of a mash-up (not the monster mash where Frankenstein, Dracula and Wolf-man rocked out to kickin' tunes) of Austen, Henry James and the sisters Bronte (maybe a sprinkling or two of some others, just to cash in on the fanbases. Like a boy band personality generator covering all types. Austen is the "cute one", Bronte the "dark one", James the "ugly" one...). If Galen M. Beckett had managed to capture even a little bit of what made those books great, instead of superficial Disney haunted house trappings, it would have been just readable. It's all over the place. I think the varied imitations were because he didn't know what he even wanted to do with his story. Forget style, have a story to tell in the first place! Sadly, I wasn't even interested enough to be pissed off. (I rewarded myself with a tasty snack for managing to finish it at all.)
I know that it's been a while, but I still feel the residual irritation whenever I spy this book displayed in book shops. Tricksy fat hobbits. It's not what it says on the tin.
I've noticed on goodreads that Beckett ghost wrote a 50 Cent novel under a pseudonym. Maybe they could make a sequel to the Ghost Writer, only 50 Cent comes after Beckett in righteous anger for having read his awful book The Magicians and Mrs. Quent. His review would go, "My fifty cents worth is that your book stinks."

[Kat Hooper · Rating 3 out of 5]

ORIGINALLY POSTED AT Fantasy Literature.

From the back flap: "What if there were a fantastical cause underlying the social constraints and limited choices confronting a heroine in a novel by Jane Austen or Charlotte Brontë? Galen Beckett, ... began The Magicians and Mrs. Quent to answer that question ...."

I was excited to receive a copy of The Magicians and Mrs. Quent, Galen Beckett's "debut" novel. There's something exciting about a new author -- they're fresh, and when you hold one of their books in your hands (especially a beautiful one like The Magicians and Mrs. Quent), you hope that maybe you're about to discover a brand new talent.

Imagine my disappointment when I turned over the title page and read that the copyright to The Magicians and Mrs. Quent belongs to Mark Anthony. I immediately went to both authors' websites. Galen Beckett's talked about his debut novel. Mark Anthony's said (and still says as of 9/22/08):

So what is the new book? Well, not to be too cagey, but that's something I can't answer quite yet. I can tell you that it's not another book in The Last Rune series--that tale, wonderful as it was for me, has come to a close. I can also tell you that the new book is a fantasy. However, it's fairly different than my previous books. So different, in fact, that my publisher has decided to launch the book under a new pen name.

And that's where all the cloak-and-dagger stuff comes in. I've been asked by my publisher not to publicly reveal my alter ego just yet, so as not to spoil the secret. The good news is that I will be able to talk more freely about the new book once it's out. So keep checking back. As soon as I'm at liberty to reveal my other writing identity, you'll see the news right here.

(So, I guess I've just outed Galen Beckett and Mark Anthony.) Despite my disappointment, I still began TMAMQ with anticipation -- Todd really enjoyed the first of The Last Rune novels (though not the second), and I enjoy a 19th century style English novel, so I knew there was potential here. I won't summarize the plot for you, since the publisher's blurb (above) does that nicely.

The first third of the book is almost a re-telling of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, in both style, plot, and character stereotypes. There are three sisters living with their batty mother in a low but genteel house which will transfer to their relative Mr Wyble when the mother dies. Ivy, the eldest, is bookish, intelligent, and rational. Rose is dreamy and strange. Lily is boy crazy and silly. Mr Wyble is a lawyer who is constantly trying to ingratiate himself with people who he thinks are better than him. He says things such as:

While my schedule would have permitted me to pay you a visit around the middle of the month, another opportunity was presented to me, which, I am sure once the particulars are heard, you must judge was the wisest investment of my time. Recently I had the good fortune to be of service to Lady Marsdel, a most noble personage of the highest degree. In her extreme -- dare I say, almost overpowering -- generosity, she invited me to an affair at her house in the New Quarter. There I was happy to make the acquaintance of many remarkable and important persons.

I've read that before -- it's Mr Collins. There are also character analogues to Jane Austen's Mr Wickham, Mr Darcy, Mr Bennett, and Lady Catherine De Bourgh. And In addition to these character and style similarities, there are plot borrowings, too: Ivy gets ill while visiting Lady Marsdel's (Lady Catherine De Bourgh's) house and has to stay for days to recover, Dashton Rafferdy (Mr Darcy) struggles with his feelings for Ivy (Elizabeth Bennett) but knows he can't marry her because of their difference in social status.

Much of the second part of TMAMQ comes from Jane Eyre and the style abruptly changes from light social sarcasm to gothic romance. Ivy goes to be governess to Mr Rochester's -- I mean Mr Quent's -- wards at Heathcrest Hall. A local man accuses her of being a witch. There are strange things happening at the manor and Mr Quent and his housekeeper are keeping secrets (and a secret room). I won't tell you the rest of it so that I won't spoil the plot in case you haven't read Jane Eyre (or in case you missed the title of Mr Beckett's book). Beckett's best drawn character, Eldyn Garritt, and his plot come from Charles Dickens.

Beckett's writing style is not on par with his influencers, but it's very pleasant nonetheless. But much of his plot and his characters, though interesting, were not impressive because I've seen them all before. I understand that his purpose is to write pastiche, but I was hoping for something fresh. There are some engaging elements here, though: ancient patches of forest threaten to rise up and overtake Altania (fantasy England), a group of men plot to overthrow the government and let in a new ruler (it's not clear which side we should be on), the "Ashen" are some sort of aliens who want to suck out everyone's souls, unknown planets are appearing and aligning, Eldyn can wrap himself in shadows, and a mysterious stranger occasionally shows up to give Ivy a clue or encouragement (but I never figured out why he didn't just give her the answers). Perhaps most interesting is that in Ivy's world, days and nights vary in length so that she must consult an almanac if she wants to know how long the night will last (alas, we're given no scientific explanation for that). But none of these fantastical elements seem to fit together -- it feels like they are some random interesting ideas that were thrown in in order to present a fantasy novel in a 19th century style. The ending was wrapped up too quickly and conveniently without much explanation of how these pieces fit. Perhaps they'll all come together in the sequel, but for now I'm left confused.

Mr Beckett can certainly write, and he's got this style down, but I'd like to see him do something original and meaningful -- something that doesn't leave me scratching my head. The back flap of the novel suggests that we're going to learn the "fantastical cause underlying the social constraints and limited choices confronting a heroine in a novel by Jane Austen or Charlotte Brontë," but Beckett never answers the question -- he doesn't give us anything new. The "social constraints" that Ivy faces seem to be the same constraints that Jane Bennett and Jane Eyre faced: pride and prejudice.

Read more Galen Beckett / Mark Anthony reviews at Fantasy Literature

[Emma Deplores Goodreads Censorship · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars

I like historical fantasy novels a lot, and so this one – drawing heavily on various 19th century novels, including the works of Jane Austen, The Turn of the Screw, and Jane Eyre – seemed an ideal fit, especially given a rather charming writing style that draws on the style of works from the period, while still moving fairly quickly for the modern reader. Unlike other reviewers, I don’t take issue with how heavily this novel draws from its sources, which are at least varied, and it seems to me there’s plenty from the author’s own imagination here. (Any claim that any of the male characters resemble Mr. Darcy, in personality or situation or plot function, is absurd.) Unfortunately, too many plot elements are contrived or stupid or rely on characters being stupid, and there’s some serious dissonance between where the book seems to think our sympathies ought to go, and where mine actually went.

Warning: spoilers below, so read at your own risk!

The book follows three protagonists. Ivy, the most prominent, is clearly based on a combination of Elizabeth Bennet and Elinor Dashwood; she’s the sensible young woman who keeps her household running in spite of her silly mother, unworldly younger sisters, and a father who seems to have gone insane from magical causes and spends his days in the attic muttering to himself. Rafferdy is the frivolous elder son of a lord, who does his best to bury any sense of responsibility he may have in fashion and parties. Eldyn, Rafferdy’s friend, is a young man who has fallen into poverty and wants to restore his family’s fortunes. Eldyn doesn’t have much to do with the rest of the story, which is perhaps fortunate because he’s both an idiot who falls for obvious scams and refuses for no apparent reason to consider using the magical talent he clearly has, and an asshole who leaves his younger sister locked up alone all day, then when he returns and she begs him to take her out, leaves to go carousing by himself instead. And yet it appears we’re supposed to sympathize with him.

The plot moves somewhat slowly, as you’d expect for period fantasy. The first third sets up some magical troubles while following the characters through the not!London social scene. The second part switches to the first person and follows Ivy’s adventures as a governess at a remote estate; this part is a bit creepy, the influence of The Turn of the Screw obvious even to me (who hasn’t read it), with shades of Jane Eyre and Rebecca. The third part returns to sharing time between the three protagonists and builds up to a magical confrontation. I did find the book to be entertaining reading throughout, with a polished style and a well-developed and varied setting. Its fictional country is clearly based on England, and the author has clearly done some research, touching on issues like the policy of enclosure that I wasn’t even aware of.

That said, it’s riddled with plot holes. The whole existence of Part 2 depends on Ivy apparently forgetting a major revelation in Part 1: on visiting her father’s house, she learns that it can’t be opened, despite the fact that numerous magicians have tried, and not only that, when she tries a mysterious masked man appears, temporarily paralyzes her, and warns her that opening the house would bring great evil into the world. Then on a change in the family fortunes, she blithely sets out to work a few months as a governess to save up for the family’s moving costs to that very house. Um…? Some never-mentioned memory charm must have been worked on the girl, since she then proceeds to learn that she’s adopted, but never mentions or thinks of it again once reunited with her (now known to be adoptive) family.

Also really dumb: Ivy’s marrying a man who has consistently manipulated and withheld information from her for his own gain, despite her being warned by multiple people. The masked man providing Ivy with only the most cryptic possible information despite the fate of the world supposedly being at stake. At a crucial moment, when time is of the essence, he appears only to tell Ivy to go home, causing her to lose precious time as she rushes off to read a conveniently-timed letter informing her of a certain person’s villainy – if the masked man cares about the fate of the world, why didn’t he just tell her? The character who’s revealed to be a villain showing up for no reason but to helpfully confirm that he in fact is villainous, then promptly leaving. Ivy not having the sense to ask her two young charges alone and with any modicum of patience about the disturbing things they’ve been seeing and clearly want to talk about.

Then there’s the weirdness about whom we’re supposed to be rooting for. Eldyn is presented as a victim but acts like a douche. Mr. Quent is presented as a Mr. Rochester, while exposing the unconsenting Ivy to dangers far more serious than a hidden first wife – and all while Ivy has a better romantic alternative. You can tell from the title who she marries anyway. In the macro plot, we’re first presented with a world in which the rich and powerful are perpetrating great injustice… only to see the rebels demonized and our heroes inexplicably siding with the status quo. I felt more sympathy for the rebels.

So, although I had high hopes for this at the beginning, I doubt I’ll read the sequels. It’s good mindless fun, though, if you’re looking for a fantasy beach read.

[Pandora · Rating 1 out of 5]

The Magicians and Mrs. Quent isn’t a terrible story. It comes pretty close, but it does have some (maybe two) redeeming factors. The praise on the back cover is, in my opinion, highly undeserved and frankly misleading. This is hardly a fantasy, and the only bits of gothic romance I found were in the inexplicable second part of the story (the book is divided into three parts). The characters were highly ineffectual and I frankly couldn’t bring myself to care about them. This is probably due to Galen Beckett’s desire to emulate Jane Austin instead of creating his own style.

The back of The Magicians and Mrs. Quent suggests that the story will about Ivy Lockwell and a job she takes working for a Mr. Quent. The first 18 pages are about Ivy, there is no mention of Mr. Quent (which isn’t necessarily a problem), and then chapter two happens. Chapter two introduces a whole slew of people who are completely removed from the characters the reader met in the previous chapter. This, again, isn’t necessarily a problem. The reader trusts that as the plot appears, the reason for these characters will be made clear. Some twenty pages later, the readers hits chapter three, is introduced to another set of characters, there is no plot in sight, and no way to connect anyone. It was at that point I realized the back of the book had lied to me in regards to the story. But I kept reading, thinking it could get better.

It didn’t. By the end of part one – the book is divided into three parts – there was only the barest hint of a plot. And if there’s one thing that makes me dislike a book more than anything else, it’s when there is no plot. It was for that reason I tossed aside Twilight. By the one hundredth page, a reader should really have a solid idea of what the plot is. He should be able to identify protagonists and antagonists, and he should be able to see a conflict. Hints of plot popped up throughout the book in disparagingly short bursts (half a page here, two pages there) but went unaddressed until the very end of the book. Things began unfolding in the last one hundred fifty pages that should have happened in the first fifty. Instead of introducing us to plot in the first three hundred pages of the book, Mr. Beckett wanders his way through the lives of his characters, leaving the reader to wonder why he should even care.

And you can’t even begin to bring yourself to care for the characters. Parts one and three are written in omniscient third person (yes, you read that right; part two isn’t written in the same point of view as the other parts and we’ll get to that in a minute). This means the reader spends very little time in anyone’s head. Usually, authors using third person omniscient will jump from character to character. This isn’t a bad thing. Executed properly, the reader gets to connect with each character. There is no connecting to these characters because Mr. Beckett doesn’t spend time with anyone. Every line of narration is cut and dry, there is no talk about how a character feels deep down inside, and there’s no chance to connect with the characters even in the dialogue. I realize that this story is set in a world modeled after Victorian England, but the characters are too busy talking around themselves to actually say anything.

Those who pick up this book because it’s touted as fantasy will be sorely disappointed, despite what Jacqueline Carey has to say about it. Oh, yes, the word magic is thrown about (rather, they call it magick, because spelling it with a k somehow makes it more mystical and exotic, I assume), but with a title like The Magicians and Mrs. Quent one might expect to see actual magicians in the story. We get a hint that Mr. Rafferdy might possess some magical skill early on in a peek at the plot Mr. Beckett must have let slip out while his back was turned. But nothing comes of that until somewhere around page four hundred. Half the time I was reading, I wondered if there really was magic at all in the story or if they were just referring to paltry parlor tricks. There’s nothing wrong with magic being a dying art – as it is in this story. In fact, a lot of fantasy stories use the “Magic is a dying art” trope. There’s nothing wrong with it. But if you want to call your story fantasy, you really ought to put more fantasy elements in it. I suppose his attempt to convince readers that he was actually writing a fantasy novel and not a historical about England was to rename the country Altania and change “day” and “night” to “lumenals” and “umberals.”

On the topic of lumenals and umberals, Mr. Beckett, you are making science cry. I understand that, if this is supposed to be fantasy, the readers are supposed to suspend their belief on a number of points. But there is no justification for Mr. Beckett’s decision to make days and nights have wildly varying lengths. One luminal can last for 30 hours, followed by an umberal of 6 hours, a lumenal of 8 hours, an umberal of 18 hours, and another lumenal of 4 hours. This is not possible because planets rotate at consistent speeds. Day and night happens on Earth because our planet rotates, at the equator, at a speed of about 465 miles per second, giving each “side” of the Earth approximate 12 hours of sunlight. If we had one day that lasted 30 hours followed by a night that lasted 15 hours, our planet’s speed would have to drop from 465 miles per second to 232.5 miles real damn fast. And everyone on the planet would slam into the nearest wall. Again, I get it: this is supposed to be fantasy (though I think something like that is more of an ass-pull so that Mr. Beckett can say “Look, this really is fantasy, I swear, see, the days and nights are majyck!”) but this is just ridiculous.

At least this story was a gothic romance. Sort of. Honestly, if you’ve read Jane Eyre, don’t bother. The Magicians and Mrs. Quent is divided into three parts. The middle part is, inexplicably, written in first person and may as well be a condensed version Jane Eyre with different names. By the end of the section, Ivy is married to Mr. Quent, and damned if Mr. Beckett has done anything to indicate why Ivy is so in love with the man. The first part of the book sets the reader up to think that Ivy will eventually fall in love with and marry Mr. Rafferdy, propriety be damned, because that’s the kind of person the reader should suspect Mr. Rafferdy to be. Obviously, this doesn’t happen. That’s not a problem. There’s no reason an author shouldn’t make a reader think one thing and then drop a bomb. But with Mr. Rafferdy, Ivy actually has something of a relationship. In spite of never knowing what’s going on in a character’s head, it becomes clear that Mr. Rafferdy and Ivy are good for each other. They have interesting conversations, they connect. Mr. Beckett goes out of his way to have other characters (and Ivy herself) remind the reader that Ivy and Mr. Rafferdy can’t end up together because of societal norms. And this is still okay. Unfortunately, Mr. Beckett also sets Mr. Rafferdy up as the kind of person who says “the hell with society” and does whatever he wants. But in the end, Mr. Rafferdy is engaged to another woman and Ivy ends up taking a job with Mr. Quent. This around page 200. By the end of part two, Ivy is in love with Mr. Quent, who is around his own home perhaps two hours every six months. They have maybe three conversations throughout part two. But the reader is supposed to accept that these two people who have scarcely talked and have little in common are in love. Sorry, Mr. Beckett, please try again.

There are a lot of things Mr. Beckett did in his story that could have been good. On their own, a lot of moments in his story weren’t bad. They were simply handled poorly. You’ll notice that, more often than not, I noted that a point “wasn’t a bad thing.” And they weren’t. In picking this book apart, it became clear to me that the ideas in the book aren’t bad. But Mr. Beckett’s execution of his ideas was sloppy and his pacing poor. All the problems with his story probably stem from the fact that this is his first novel – or they would have, if Galen Beckett wasn’t a pen name for the poor slob I’ve just blasted out of the water. They also probably stem from the fact that he’s constantly trying to emulate Charlotte Brontë or Jane Austin. Honestly, the last thing any author should do is attempt to emulate someone else’s writing style. Nine times out of ten, you’ll just end up shooting yourself in the foot.

Perhaps we should take Mr. Beckett’s gun away from him now.

[Tracey · Rating 3 out of 5]

In case you haven't seen other reviews, or started the book yourself, one of Galen Beckett's strong influences for The Magicians and Mrs. Quent is Jane Austen. Right from the first sentence the echoes of Miss Austen are blatant. The three sisters at the heart of the story are reminiscent in a way of the Bennet sisters – although sweet, mild Rose also resonates of Beth March. Then there is introduced Mr. Wyble, who was in another incarnation Mr. Collins.

In case it wasn't obvious, from the back flap: "What if there were a fantastical cause underlying the social constraints and limited choices confronting a heroine in a novel by Jane Austen or Charlotte Brontë? Galen Beckett ... began The Magicians and Mrs. Quent to answer that question ...." I'm not sure he does this. While Ivy, our heroine, thinks the thought now and then through the book that women cannot perform magic, it seems to be contradicted often (without any distinction being made between some kind of male-specific "magic" and female-specific "witchcraft"). Nothing is ever said to give any reason why Ivy "knows" that women can't be wizards. Is it their weak minds? Is it their small hands? Is magic precluded by pregnancy or their unmentionable lunar cycles? Is it literally impossible, or is it simply Not Done? It's never clear, to me at least – and I would think it would be something to be made clear in context. It helps that this is the first of at least three books, but I expected the beginning of a clue.

From the strong scent of Pride and Prejudice in the first section, the book proceeds to a heavy flavor of Jane Eyre in the second. When it becomes obvious that money is even shorter than she thought (shades of Sense and Sensibility), Ivy goes as governess to two small wards of a taciturn, often absent man in a big, lonely, sparsely staffed house … Yes, of course Mr. Quent = Mr. Rochester – which is a mild surprise, this introduction of a new Hero Prototype, considering that there was something of a Darcy equivalent (Rafferdy) in the first section, even though he turned out to be quite unsuitable to be the hero. (He and Garritt were each a bit Darcy and a bit Bingley; they pooled the characteristics and redistributed them in a configuration different from Austen's gentlemen. And Rafferdy got all the money.) I had never thought much about Adèle of Jane Eyre before, but both she and the children in this book serve little purpose except to bring their governess to the appointed place, to afterward point up aspects of the atmosphere and said governess as required – and then they vanish. Without recourse to the book I don't recall exactly what happened to Adèle at the end of Jane Eyre, and I wonder whether the children Ivy watched over will return in the sequels.

Layered over Jane Eyre is something more gothic. Having recently experienced The Turn of the Screw through Craftlit, I now know that's what it was – a truckload of it, in fact, lifted almost bodily from that book to this. In place of the two ghosts, though, there is one plus something else: the trees are dangerous and to be avoided, though no one explains why till it's almost too late. (Which seems so strange; Ivy is Not From Around Here, so I would think someone would take the clue that she has no idea about the trees and speak up before she did something stupid.)

About a third of the way through, the book undergoes a drastic change in format and scope as the point of view switches: from multiple third-person points of view following, for the most part, three characters – two of whom are always out and about and doing, to adhering to Ivy for a single first-person epistolary viewpoint, restrained to a large house or, occasionally, a small village. (It switches back again for the third part.) For such extreme changes, the transitions were fairly smooth. It is rare in my experience for two main (POV) characters to disappear as Rafferdy and Garritt did (the only comparison I can think of being LotR after the Breaking of the Fellowship), and it was frustrating for their storylines to be abruptly and unexpectedly lopped off – but there were enough and interesting enough events in the middle, and enough information provided for some of the many mysteries layering the book, that my interest was held.

Something which bothered me throughout the book was the wild variability of "lumenals" and "umbrals", this world's Latinish substitutes for "days" and "nights" (though the word "day" was sometimes used as well). It didn't bother me nearly as much as some reviewers, from what I've seen; I saw one review whose writer was a bit incensed about the complete disregard of all laws of physics. Honestly, that didn't trouble me so much, at first; this is a world with magic, so – well, there you go. But as I continued through the book, and the characters proceeded through nights and days which were long and short and middling with no discernible pattern, which they could predict only with an almanac … It became a distraction. How can they plan ahead? Are simple things like making an appointment with a dressmaker or to have coffee with a friend, or less simple things like travel, at all possible without an almanac? What if you can't afford one? The week is not a unit of measure that is used, but the month is – so what exactly constitutes a month? Is it so many "days" (each, I take it, being a lumenal followed by an umbral), or a set number of hours? Why is the world this way? I was going to ask why no one questions it, but if this is the way it has always been they wouldn't, I suppose; even the children might not wonder why today's period of daylight might be a couple of hours and tomorrow's a dozen or more, and then an eight-hour and then a twenty, since that would be all they had ever known. But they have a working knowledge of planet rotation and orbit – Ivy's father's model of the solar system makes that a moot point. So shouldn't some of these vaunted scientists have answers? It is in a way like "women don't do magic" – it is the way things are, and no one asks why, even though it doesn't make much sense.

I liked the book. I liked the sisters; I liked the mystery of Ivy's father's ailment and the house on Durrow Street. I liked the storylines for Rafferdy and Garritt – some of that surprised me, which is always good. I liked the idea of the debt owed to Victorian and Edwardian literature. It was a certain lack in the writing that kept me at arm's length, and then there was this...

The Magicians and Mrs. Quent:
Ivy: "Know that I respect him, and admire him, and hold him in the highest esteem; that I love him."

I think it was "esteem" that rang the bell –

Sense and Sensibility:
“I do not attempt to deny,” said [Elinor], “that I think very highly of him—that I greatly esteem, that I like him.”

I wonder how I would have felt about the book a couple of years ago, before I finally read Jane Eyre and Turn of the Screw and reread Jane Austen. I cannot help but wonder how many quotes and near-quotes there are that I simply don't know my Austen and Bronte well enough to catch. There are times when I enjoy a wink and a nod to an old favorite; I've done it myself in my own writing. But here I think the reason it irritated rather than amused was that throughout the whole book there were so many characters to whom I could point and identify their Austen or Bronte or James counterpart. This was more than a wink and a nod – this was more than pastiche or homage. This became, for me, a detraction from an otherwise enjoyable book.

Hideous printing error (I hope): "I laid in my sleigh bed for a long time before sleep came…" *head-desk* I've grown used to seeing that sort of thing in ebooks, unfortunately; seeing it in ink on paper made me want to yell at someone.

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was both a very good and very pedestrian book. The writing style was excellent - for fans of Jonathan Strange and Dr. Norell - it will stand out, because it captures that Edwardian/Victorian British setting of a fantasy English world, but it moves along much faster then the above book.

But at the same time, there are just things that were done so very wrong that irk the reader the more the book goes on. For one, the title gives away some pretty big plot points that any reader with a decent IQ can guess at about a 1/4 through the book. The author was determined, for some reason, to mess with the day/night cycle, assigning random lengths to both (the characters have to consult almanacs daily to determine how long the the days and nights will be). Not only does this not add any sufficent depth to the plot - other then allowing certain characters longer to drink - but it also leads people to wonder things like "how the hell do the planets move, anyway?" and "so the plants manage to grow how?"

And then there was a character who was probably gay, but the author wasn't really quite ready to come out and say it. It would be understandable if the character was not ready to say it, but geesh, either may the character gay or don't. You are not freaking JK Rowling.

And the multiple storylines was a bit insane. And of course, they were all pulled together, in some very messy and highly implausible ways.

Including one that would have involved a character completely forgetting everything - including a very traumatic event - in her life, up to the age of 3. Nothing. Not at all. Just poof!

So in the end, more then a bit disappointing, and it started out so promising.

[Trin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating and frustrating alt-Victorian fantasy, à la Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell…except really nothing like that at all. Beckett uses two of the most famous 19th century novels, Pride and Prejudice and Jane Eyre, as a jumping off point for an epic fantasy set in an alternate England in which magic is a common-enough aspiration for lords, but which cannot be (or is forbidden to be?) performed by women. There are some very cool ideas at play here—I love the eerie touch that in this world, days and nights vary wildly in length, leaving room for an extra allotment of time to spend cloaked in unpredictable darkness—but at times Beckett leans too heavily on the works he is paying tribute to.

This is especially true in the middle, Bronte-inspired section; where in the earlier parts of the novel, the characters of Ivy and Rafferdy were clearly the Elizabeth and Darcy stand-ins, at least they had their own personalities and their own relationship that was allowed to develop naturally. When Ivy travels to Heathcrest (har. Get it?) and becomes acquainted with Mr. Quent, their relationship is pretty much glossed over; I think we’re supposed to assume they fall in love because Jane and Mr. Rochester do. Nevertheless, the overall mystery—seriously, what is up with magic in this place?—is compelling…and frustratingly, not to be resolved in this volume. So I will definitely be picking up the sequel, first and foremost to find out what the hell is going on, but also because I genuinely like and care about what happens to the characters.

Also, if Garritt does not turn out to be gay for his new actor friend, I will eat my hat. Or, not owning a hat, I will go out and buy one, then eat it. Srsly.

[Kit★ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh man, I just finished this book, and I'm going to cry because I don't have the next one. I loved this book! From the first page, where Ivy was walking with her nose in a book, all the way through, I was on a ride. I loved the historical-type setting, set in a country called Altania which has a lot of similarities to Britain, in a time-period similar to Regency or Victorian times. Ivy Lockwell, the main character is the eldest of three sisters, smart, logical, and of course, pretty. Their father, who used to be a magician, seems to be senile. One night, Ivy sees some mysterious cloaked figures come to the door, and her mother turns them away. Well, that sparks a curiosity within Ivy, and she starts wondering what they want, if it has to do with her father's magick, and why he'd lost his mind. Along the way, she makes the acquaintance of two other major characters, Mr. Dashton Rafferdy, and his friend Mr. Eldyn Garrit. Some parts of the book focus on things the two men are doing. Ivy sort of falls in love with Mr. Rafferdy, a feeling he reciprocates, but due to the differences in their social standings, a match just really isn't proper. After some upheavals in Ivy's home life, she goes to be governess to some children at the request of an old friend of her father's. This second part of the book is told in first person instead of third person like parts 1 and 3, but it didn't bother me at all. I liked having insights into what Ivy was thinking, and the first person perspective fit the gothic sort of feeling of part 2. It is here she meets Mr. Alasdare Quent, her dark and mysterious employer. Here in Heathcrest Hall, Ivy deals with a grumpy housekeeper, a mysterious locked room, and children who swear they see a ghostly white lady outside on the moors calling to them. She learns of the Wyrdwood, the old forest that covered Altania before the Tharosians came and conquered the island. The Wyrdwood is dangerous, it seems to have a life and mind of it's own. What patches of it are left in the country are kept behind high stone walls. There's rumor of witches about. She also learns of traitors to the crown who are working to bring down the Assembly and introduce a new ruler, and she finds out Mr. Quent is an inquirer for the crown. After having to rescue the children on a dark stormy night from being lured to the walls around the Wyrdwood, Mr. Quent decides it's safer if the children go live with other relatives. Thinking she's going to be sent back home, without the necessary funds to ensure her family's future, Ivy is quite surprised when Mr. Quent instead proposes marriage, which she accepts. After a dangerous scene with a gang of traitors aided by the witch, Ivy discovers she has some power of her own, being descended from the witches herself. Mr. Quent decides it's safer for her back in the city with her family, and sends her off, while he heads to Torland on more work for the crown, helping out when the Wyrdwood decides to attack, introducing a big part of the plot that continues through the series, as the very land of Altania seems to rise up. The next part of the book goes back to the perspectives of Mr. Garrit, Mr. Rafferdy, and Ivy. After returning to the city, Ivy finds out her father has been consigned to the insane asylum, a fate from which it seems she cannot rescue him from. Then, she is sent a missive from her husband to deliver a message to the lord he works for, who turns out to be none other than Mr. Rafferdy's father, throwing the two of the together again. Through another character who turns out not to be as benevolent as thought, Mr. Rafferdy has discovered his own magickal powers, a skill that comes in handy in this last part of the book. Eldyn has discovered some powers of his own, although of a different sort, and in his parts, helps to take down a really bad dude. Or so I hope. This last section of the book was a fast read, I couldn't put it down. Things raced toward their conclusion, the action was much faster paced than the previous parts of the book, and it was just all-around exciting. The ending definitely leaves way for sequels, and I absolutely am going to get the next one. I'm hoping I get some b-day money next month so I can go and get it. I just loved this book. It blended the historical kind of stuff I like with fantasy aspects, and a little tiny dash of romance. The characters were all excellent, I liked Ivy and her sisters, Mr. Rafferdy was great, especially once he started to take things more seriously. Eldyn's story I definitely want to know more of, and he's a character I'm rooting for. Ah, and I can't forget Mr. Quent. All dark and brooding, and mysterious. I'm glad Ivy loves him, even if she still has some feelings for Rafferdy, it's plain she cares about Mr. Quent deeply. I can not wait to get the next one, and any others that may come after it.

[Inara · Rating 5 out of 5]

The three Lockwell sisters Ivy, Rose and Lily live with their parents at Whitward Street in the city of Invarel a reclusive life. Mr. Lockwell, once a magician has fallen ill, his mind is muddled after a spell has gone wrong, so Ivy, her mother and sisters are forced to take care of themselves and their father. Ivy desperately wants to find a cure for her father, magic-induced illness could be healed by magic –that´s her belief. But there´s a catch – women can´t be magicians, it´s forbidden by law and they don´t have the power to perform spells. When tragedy strikes Ivy leaves their home to work as a governess at Mr. Quent´s house at Heathcrest to support her family with money. Heathcrest is located near the Wyrdwood, an ancient, magical and very dangerous wood and the home of strange creatures and – witches. In former days witches have fought against the intruders (now the inhabitants of Altania) with the help of the power of the earth and the Wyrdwood but they didn´t succeed and were defeated by the magicians. During Ivy´s stay at Mr. Quent´s strange and mysterious things start to happen which lets Ivy fear for her life...
This is one of the most favorite book I´ve read this year! Set in a fictional world with similarities to regency London and the history of England, enriched with magicians and strange happenings, it got more and more exciting with every page. Interesting subplots like the struggle of Eldyn Garritt to restore his good name and fortune after his father´s death and the mistakes he makes to achieve his goal and to give his sister Sashie and himself a better life. Furthermore there is Mr. Rafferdy, son of a Lord, irresponsible, vain and not really interested in his father´s affairs who has to come to terms with his power as magician – will he embrace it or follow his old lifestyle? Although all these subplots don´t seem to have anything to do with the Lockwells, they are deeply intertwined in the events that follow. Romance, although there, isn´t the main part of the book, but suspense and mystery kept me sitting at the edge of my seat and didn´t let me miss it too much.
I liked Ivy, she is a strong and capable heroine with a sharp and logical mind – but just too much a little Miss Perfect sometimes. What is a minor fault in my opinion is the unfortunate choice of the title what reduces my rating to 4,5 stars.
If you´re looking for a book with mystery, suspense and interesting characters set in a magical world you should give this book a try. I was very intrigued by the plot and can recommend it to people who like to read "gothic" novels.
Of course all mysteries aren´t solved at the end of the book and I´m really looking forward to read the second novel in the series "The House on Durrow Street".

Website of the author: http://www.galenbeckett.com

[SaraJean · Rating 4 out of 5]

To the eternal dismay of my aunt, the future Mrs. Darcy, I simply cannot love Jane Austen as much as I should. I kind of enjoy Austen, but not having much training in Austen I under appreciate her sense of irony and am overly critical of the characters. Regardless of the reason, it makes life as a literature major hard and books like The Magicians and Mrs. Quent with its Austenian influences the kind of book I should not enjoy very much. Just to keep you on your toes, however, I love this book.

Ivy, the main character, is utterly enjoyable. She has faced hardship and comes through it still eminently selfless--but no so selfless you want to slap her. Her sisters, although rather flat characters, are sweet and sympathetic. Everyone knows someone like them. Mr. Quent is... interesting. From the first time I met him I wondered about his motivations and finished the book with more questions about his motivations than at the beginning. Characters in the subplots are not neglected and are drawn with a fine hand as well.

The plot owes quite a bit to Jane Eyre. I had absolutely no problem with that as Jane is one of my favorite books. The parts that don't are incredibly interesting, taking rumours and tidbits of the strangest realms of human history and mixing them together into a delightfully disturbing soup. This book is not for the faint of heart looking for simply another book in the Austen tradition.

I am interested to see if and how the various plot threads continue in the next books. I definitely feel like there were some loose ends that still need to be tied up. I finally figured out, by the way, why I like this book so much. Any regency historical fiction gets automatically lumped in the Austen-esque camp, but this owes at least as much to the Bronte's gothic tradition as it does to Jane Austen, and in a cage match, I think the Brontes would win. It also brings to mind for me The Enchanted Chocolate Pot. Galen Beckett, do everyone a favor and call Patricia C. Wrede: the two biggest names in regency/magic crossover fic? Win!

[Hirondelle (not getting notifications) · Rating 2 out of 5]

What a pity it is such a disjointed book, each of the three parts seems to have a different tone and inspiration ( first Austenian, second a strange mix of Jane Eyre and Turn of the Screw, the last not quite sure) and they do not mix at all easily. Another problem is the romance - we are told characters got romantic feelings, but they seem to have no influence on their actions. I am making a mess of this explanation, but without spoilers is hard. A Subplot seems to be a setup for a sequel - but like a lot in the novel it is harmed by being rather shallow.

[colleen the convivial curmudgeon · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Thus, while people regarded both of them well enough, people also tended to leave well enough alone." ~ pg. 5

"The universities are nothing but breeding grounds for agitators and anarchists - that is to say, men who lack proper opinions." ~ pg. 23

"A saber might be stopped by a shield. A bullet might be dodged by a stroke of luck. But you can't dodge a word. If one is flung at you, it will hit its mark unerringly. No, Garritt, there's nothing in the world more dangerous than talk." ~ pg. 76

***

Take 'Pride & Prejudice', 'Jane Eyre', mix it in a stew, throw in some magic elements with semi-typical male vs. female dichotomies, and you might come out with this story.

I didn't mind the weird change from third person omnicient, to first person particular, and back to third person - perhaps because I was aware of it beforehand. My biggest complaint was that Ivy seemed so different, in some ways, from the first to the second part - particularly in relation to Clarette. Here is a fanciful girl, saying strange things, and Ivy gets angry with her for lying - but considering how patient she is with her sister Rose, it didn't really make a lot of sense to me. I suppose we are meant to take that the atmosphere of the house is affecting her, as we are told this many times, but it just seemed out of character.

As others have said, I wish they would've developed the relationship between Ivy and Mr. Quent some more (not to mention not sort of giving away that particular plot point in the name of the title). I also wish we would've seen more of the sisters, particularly in the second part, which became impossible with the first person narrative. (Not to mention the fact that it seemed really odd that after so much time is spent learning to like Mr. Quent, he's pretty much absent from the entire third half, except via a few letters and then at the end.) And, lastly, the bits with Eldyn and his sister, while sometimes interesting, seemed mostly fragmentary and not really tied into the rest of the story. I mean, I know it was, what with Westen's appearance and fate and how that effects the rest, but those parts just didn't grab my fancy, and I waited to get back to the others.

Oh, and the weird varying lengths of days didn't bother me that much. Yes, it's scientifically impossible and didn't make any sense, but this being fantasy, I sort of just went with the "blame it on magic" and left it at that. It's amazing what I can let go when I'm enjoying a story - a point which might irritate the hell out of me otherwise.

Ah well... I would say this book is more romance than magic, with the magic bits strewn throughout the first two parts only really coming together in the last, rushed part - but I got attached to the characters, and am interested in what will happen next, so I'll definitely be picking up the sequel.

[Kristen · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Magicians and Mrs. Quent is one of the most thoroughly engrossing novels I've read lately, though I did think it relied too much on characters not providing as much helpful information as they could have in order to control the plot or draw out mysteries. However, the first thing I did after finishing it was order the next two books because I really want to know what happens next!

It's split into three books that are connected but distinctly different from each other in style and/or focus. The first is a fantasy of manners reminiscent of Jane Austen with a focus on society, relationships, and class inequality. The next part is Gothic fantasy reminiscent of Jane Eyre told entirely from Ivy's first person perspective rather than following three different protagonists like the other parts, and the last has more in common with traditional high fantasy with magick and political focus.

Though the book follows three main protagonists, it's primarily Ivy's story and I loved reading about her most of all. I knew I was going to like her from the very first line:

It was generally held knowledge among the people who lived on Whitward Street that the eldest of the three Miss Lockwells had a peculiar habit of reading while walking.

In addition to being a reader, Ivy is clever, courageous, and determined--and I can't wait to continue her story in the next book!

Full Review on My Website

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you took Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Jane Eyre, Lord of the Rings, and Harry Potter and combined elements into one book and in that order, you would have this book. Actually, it is much more original than that sounds, and I confess, I didn't want to put it down, because I couldn't wait to see what happened next. But when I tried to re-tell the storyline, I started laughing because it was so clear where many of the elements could have come from. I would have given this 4 stars, but I was really irritated at several of the conclusions for story lines.

This book is long. It has more than 400 pages, but there is a LOT of type per page. There are also lots of characters to keep track of. In the first part of the book, I almost gave up because there were so many new and unfamiliar names. But I was very impressed with how the author tied all of the characters into one plot and conclusion. They weren't superfluous characters. Everyone played a role.

I also liked the way the author combined Jane Austen type England and fantasy into an alternate world.

My biggest complaint is probably the title because it gave away one of the major plot twists before you got there.

[Liviu · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the biggest positive surprises for me; starts a little slow moving between 3 characters and their environment, but then they start to come together and you figure out you are in a Pride and Prejudice with magic book; not so fast, since there is another turn and we move into Gothic and Jane Eyre with magic in the second part. Then in the third and final part things come together and the main threads of the novel are resolved beautifully, though the larger issues just now start to impact our characters.

The only complaint I had is that the book is a bit unbalanced - starts with 3 main characters getting almost equal face time, but then it focuses on one of them, to come back to all 3 later - but that is usually an issue with many debut novels and no big deal.

One of my top 5 fantasies published in 2008 for me, I am really looking forward to the second book.

[Mir · Rating 3 out of 5]

One part Jane Austen, one part Charlotte Bronte, one part Dickens. Throw in a soupcon of Lovecraft, a dash of fantasy, and a sprinkle of gender weirdness. This debut novel has some serious flaws, especially as to pacing, but the charm of the characters and the novelty of setting make it worth reading if one finds 19th-century literature entertaining. Just don't try to hard to make it all make sense.

[Teresa Edgerton · Rating 4 out of 5]

The setting of this fantasy-of-manners is reminiscent of England during the Regency era, but a world and a history different from our own, where various forms of magic have helped to shape that history—although only the formal “magick” performed by men of the upper classes is acceptable and respectable. The style of the prose has an early nineteenth century flavor, with delightful touches of Austenian irony.

Ivy Lockwell is the oldest of three sisters. Brought up in comfortable circumstances, they are slowly coming down in the world, due to the mental decline of their magician father. They are forced to rely on his small inherited income and they live in a house that belongs to their mother but which, due to an entail, will pass to a disagreeable male cousin on her death instead of to her own children. Yes—shades of Pride and Prejudice!— should either parent die before the girls marry, Ivy and her sisters could go from living in modest circumstances to genuine poverty. Indeed, since their mother is far from capable at handling money, it is only because of practical Ivy’s guiding influence and her insistence on economies that her mother is resistant to make that they have managed as well as they have.

There are mysteries surrounding Mr. Lockwell’s mental illness, and warnings that he left for Ivy in the form of riddles and puzzles. As Ivy gradually comes to understand, these involve dangers that imperil not only their country but their entire world. In addition, Ivy has always felt that she ought to be able to work magick, that it is only by magick that she can cure her father, since magick appears to have been the source of his illness—but unfortunately her efforts to do so have always failed, and she has no one to turn to for guidance because in their society women are not magicians.

Two other characters alternate with Ivy as protagonists and viewpoint characters.

One is the young nobleman, Dashton Rafferdy. Rafferdy is something of a social butterfly, witty and fashionable, but there is a certain dissatisfaction beneath his frivolous exterior. The problem is that he doesn’t know what would satisfy him or give his life meaning. At one point he thinks it might be Ivy, and she returns his affection, but they both know that anything more than friendship between them is impossible, because of the wide difference in their social stations. Meanwhile, the mysterious Mr. Bennick, an ex-magician, is trying to lure him into the study and practice of magick, for which he has apparently inherited an aptitude from distant ancestors, but Rafferdy is skeptical and resists.

The other main character is his friend Eldyn Garritt. Eldyn does have a goal. His family, too, has come down in the world, although from a higher status than the Lockwoods. His dissolute father disgraced the family, squandered his fortune, and then when he died left Eldyn with the responsibility of looking after and providing for his younger half-sister, with nothing to live on, a gentleman’s education (which is to say: no training for a lucrative profession), and a sense that he owes it to his sister to restore her to their original place in society. Desperate for money to invest in what looks like a promising venture that might solve all his problems, he is pressed to accept a loan from a man he already distrusts, and finds himself up to his ears in what increasingly looks like a plot against the king. And, oh yes, the company he invested his money in turns out to be a swindle.

When tragedy strikes the Lockwell family, and their financial situation is found to be even worse than she feared, Ivy takes a job with her father’s old friend, Mr. Quent, as governess to his two young wards. During her time on Mr. Quent’s secluded country estate—a period which encompasses several chapters—the plot takes a gothic turn, but it’s all preparation for what Ivy will face when she returns to the city and her path will cross that of Rafferdy and Garritt again. And (this is no spoiler, because the title gives it away) she also finds a new love.


One thing that I particularly liked was that the characters are true products of their society and the time period it is based on. Beckett doesn’t give in to the temptation to make them more sympathetic by giving them attitudes and values more in keeping with our own times. As a result, they sometimes suffer heartbreak because they hold true to the values of their society, but they don’t give in to self-pity because of it. They grieve for what might have been, but they move on with their lives to the best of their abilities. Some readers might find this frustrating—they may want the characters to do what they themselves would do in the same situation (as though they would ever find themselves under the same sort of pressures)—but for me these small daily acts of courage earned as much sympathy as greater acts of rebellion might, and are more plausible within the setting.

The book has flaws, as many other reviewers have pointed out. There are odd aspects of the worldbuilding which I felt ought to be explained, but never are—leaving me to wonder if the author had even worked out an answer. Some important characters are underdeveloped. I sometimes wondered how well Beckett actually knows the Regency period. It’s the author’s invented world, and it’s his prerogative to make what changes he will, but some things still grated, as I couldn’t decide whether they were deliberate or the result of careless (or zero) research.

Since this is the first volume in a trilogy, quite a bit of time is spent setting up events that will not develop until later volumes, which makes for a somewhat slow start, and of course with two more volumes to follow not every plot line is neatly wound up by the last page. But once things start moving there is plenty of magic, politics, mystery, and romance, and an ending that was satisfying enough to tide me over until the next volume (which I was not slow in obtaining), while leaving me eager to find out where the story would take the characters next.

I am not a fan of the five star rating system, since it often requires me to either give a book more credit than I think it deserves or greatly under-rate it. So it is with mixed emotions that I give this book a four. I can easily understand why some readers were frustrated by it, but I enjoyed The Magicians and Mrs. Quent too much to rate it as low as a three.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a Fantasy of Manners, set in Altania, a world that bears a striking resemblance to late-18th century Britain -- except for how there's magic and witchcraft in the air.

The first part of the book introduces most of the main characters, while unraveling a tale that owes a great deal to Pride and Prejudice, with just a dash of A Tale of Two Cities. We meet Miss Ivy Lockwell, one of three sisters living in rather precarious circumstances, with little hope except to marry well. Their father is a scientist/magician who, several years ago, suffered a breakdown, and now spends most of his time among his books. A curious advent is the arrival of a new heavenly body in the night sky, and there seems to be a connection to a riddle Ivy's father has given her, that hints of dark and dire matters.

Meanwhile, Mr. Dashton Rafferdy, a wealthy young gentleman of leisure, is lounging about at social gatherings where he is much esteemed for his quick wit. He believes himself content, and yet there are deeper matters troubling him -- vexing him, when he makes the acquaintance of a Mr. Bennick, a former magician who says Rafferdy himself is descended of one of the old houses, and the magic runs deep in him. Rafferdy, much too sensible for all that old nonsense, dismisses the idea, and yet...

More pleasurably, he chances to make the acquaintance of Ivy, through a Mr. Wyble -- who is Ivy's cousin, and set to inherit the Lockwell home (think Mr. Collins, from P&P). Rafferdy is very taken with Ivy, and she with him, though both recognize it's impossible for them to be more than friends because they come from different social strata. Were this a straight out romance, they would find ways to overcome that, but this isn't a straight out romance, so things aren't quite that simple.

Meanwhile, Rafferdy's friend, Eldin Garrett, a young man born into a grand family, but fallen on hard times, is scrambling to keep afloat with his sister, Sashie. When we first meet them, they're staying at an inn where Eldin's greatest fear is keeping out of the way of the innkeeper's amorous daughter, and hoping that the revolutionary talk down at the coffee shop doesn't bring the Black Dog and White Lady down on them all and see them hanging from the gallows at Barrowgate.

Things quickly take a turn for the worse, however, as a highwayman has singled Eldin out to be an agent of the revolutionaries, and Eldin soon finds himself in over his head, and running for his and Sashie's life

Part Two is told from Ivy's 1st person POV, writing as if to her father, about the job she's taken to help out the family, and move them back to the old house on Durrow Street where he used to do his magic. The job is as governess to two children, the wards of a Mr. Quent, who had been a friend of her father's.

This part is a blend of Jane Eyre and Turn of the Screw, with the H.P. Lovecraft aspects becoming clear as well. The mystery and spookiness hinted at before starts to ratchet up now, especially with the introduction of the Wyrdwood, the ancient trees of Altania. Think trees can't be scary? Just wait until the passage where Ivy and the children are fighting to get free of the Wyrdwood and you'll change your mind.

In Part Three, Ivy and Rafferdy find themselves allied in magic, working to solve the riddle her father gave her, and close the doorway it talks about -- whilst others, with a very different agenda, seek to stop them and throw that door open wide. (And if you know your Lovecraft, you know what that means.)

Since this is the first book in a series -- the second, The House on Durrow Street will be out next year, I suppose -- there's a touch of a cliffhanger ending, but it's a complete and satisfying read on its own, never fear, and I really can't recommend it enough.

If you love Jane Austen, the Brontes, Lovecraft -- heck,even J.K. Rowling -- gothic romance, gothic horror, magic, and mystery, I think you might love this book.

[Katie · Rating 2 out of 5]

If goodreads had the option, I'd give this book 3.5 stars (rather than the three I've given it). It was a very unusual book, for a number of reasons. Don't get me wrong - I enjoyed it, and at times was holding my breath waiting to happen, but at other times I was fed up because I knew exactly what was going to happen long before it did. This is because Galen Beckett (a pen name) has not only borrowed many characters from Jane Austen and Charlotte Bronte, but frequently lifted his characters directly from the pages of those 19th-century authors' works, only changing their names and occasionally professions to "disguise" them. Most obvious are the lawyer Mr. Wyble (read: Mr. Collins), who is the cousin of protagonist Ivy's mother, is always trying to ingratiate himself with those higher up than himself, is due to inherit Ivy's family's house when her mother dies, etc. The other character who is scarcely altered from his 19th-century predecessor is Mr. Quent, who resembles Mr. Rochester of Jane Eyre in more ways than one can count: he lives in a large house on the moors, hires Ivy to be the governess for his niece and nephew, has a dark secret (well, several dark secrets), which Ivy discovers behind a locked door on the upper floor of the house, used to be married, is 20 years Ivy's senior, etc. Other characters may not be quite as obvious parallels, but the fact that Ivy's family has three sisters of middling income but an old name (and are thus outsiders to many circles of society) again has clear parallels in Jane Austen's works.

For all that many of the characters (and thus large portions of the plot) are lifted directly from other sources, there are also some unique and creative elements to the fictional island nation of Altania (three guesses what modern-day nation that represents). The story line with Eldyn Garritt and the highwayman Westen is less predictable and darker (and thus more interesting) than the plot lines revolving around Ivy and Dashton Rafferdy (Garritt's friend and Ivy's one-time love). The most interesting part of the book, however, is the fantastical element that Beckett has woven into the story. The idea of an ancient, and possibly evil, wood rising up against society becomes the driving force of the plot, and the fact that it's never fully clear whether the men who enter the woods come out as men or as dogs (werewolves - though never explicitly stated in that wording) is downright creepy.

The other unusual element of this book is its division into three sections. In and of itself, this is not uncommon, but the first and third sections are narrated in the 3rd person, while the middle section is told through Ivy's 1st person letters/diary. As a result, throughout the middle section (when Ivy is off being a governess), the stories of Rafferdy and Garritt (told in alternating chapters with Ivy's in the 1st and 3rd parts) are left on hold, and one can only wonder what is happening to them.

Overall, this book was a good diversion from doing school-related reading, and I mostly enjoyed it. If you are a fan of Austen and/or Bronte, however, be warned that the obvious plagiarism of characters from those authors' works will at times drive you crazy.

[VMom · Rating 5 out of 5]

cross-posted to Twig & Leaf
A wonderful new favorite!

The Magicians & Mrs. Quent is a fantasy pastiche of Austen and Bronte, with flourishes that seem inspired by Dickens and Lovecraft. That makes it sound like some kind of crazy patchwork quilt, but it is original and gripping.

Invernal, Altania is a magical analog to London, Britain. It is a world where eleven planets circle the sky in patterns that cause days and nights of varying lengths that are impossible to keep track of without an almanac. In class-bound, patriarchal Altania, magic is accepted historically but not deemed very relevant today. To quote the book on the state of the empire:"There was, in sum, an overall want of stability, a deficit of that most precious predictability upon which both civilization and business relied." The government is uneasy, for where seditious talk is rife, can conspiracy and rebellion be far behind?

In that setting the jewel of the story shines: Ivy, oldest of the three Lockwood sisters, seems to be the very essence of an Austenian heroine. Impoverished gentry, father mentally absent, by seeming accident she meets highborn Mr. Rafferdy, who has spent most of his twenty-five years determined to avoid all seriousness. They are deeply attracted to one another, but society dictates that they can never acknowledge this.

Then tragedy strikes,and Ivy, as all determined heroines do, seeks to save her family. This she does, oddly enough, by turning into Jane Eyre in all but name. In the Gothic second act of the book, Ivy is thrust into danger from rebels and witchery and the Wyrdwood and learns very unsettling things about herself. In the bittersweet third act, Ivy returns to Invernal and the story resumes its Austenian pattern.

Equally as engrossing is the story of Mr. Rafferdy's friend Mr. Garritt, which weaves a Dickensian thread through the book.

The book comes to an end with villainy foiled and virtue triumphant -- for now. Until we arrive at the The House on Durrow Street. Write quickly, Mr. Beckett.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't usually love Jane Austen + magic books. They most often come across as forced (Kowal's Shades of Milk and Honey) or derivative (CE Murphy's Magic and Manners) or both. I do like Wrede and Stevermer's Sorcery and Cecelia, but I wonder how much of that comes down to the fact I read it when I was 14.

The Magicians and Mrs Quent, somewhere in the 3.5 star range, is a bit of a puzzle. I think the world building is more successful than in most; this world is clearly different from ours with its variable day/night lengths and well-developed attitude toward magic (practiced by wealthy, educated men; out of reach for women -- or is it?). The prose is also smooth and surprisingly convincing of its Austen-ish origins, and I was enjoying seeing some of the elements of Pride and Prejudice unfold -- with enough differences that I couldn't predict what was going to happen next.


And then the bottom just drops out of the P&P story, and our heroine Ivy Lockwell (kind of a combination of Jane Bennett and Elinor Dashwood) is suddenly in a totally different world: a gothic mansion, two peculiar young charges, murky past events involving innocent women and the wild wood just beyond, and the stern and forbidding master of the house.

I definitely didn't see it coming, and I'm not sure it works all that well. Jane Austen and Charlotte Bronte have almost nothing in common as writers, and it's a bit of a stretch that the same character is both Jane Bennett and Jane Eyre, who then has to choose between the Darcy-ish character Mr Rafferdy and the Rochester-ish character Mr Quent. But perhaps I've already said too much, given the title of the book.

Structurally...peculiar, The Magicians and Mrs Quent remains a fun read. The writing is absorbing if leisurely, the magic reminds me a bit of Naomi Novik's Uprooted, and there's even a highwayman. I like the way compromises are necessary and the recognition that one can love different people for different reasons and in different ways. For what it's worth, I liked it enough to look for the sequels at the library, but not enough to pay $8 for them at the store.

[Jamie Collins · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars. A nice enough read, but it’s an odd book. To begin with, it takes Regency London and transplants it, apparently, to a different solar system. This relocation has absolutely no relevance to the plot and I would complain about it more, except that I rather liked the conceit of having days and nights of varying lengths. These characters must consult an almanac to determine if the sun will be up for seven hours or twenty-seven hours tomorrow. Other than this astronomical oddity, the setting is pretty much Regency London with the names of things changed.

Anyway, the first two hundred pages are something like Pride & Prejudice & Magic, with our heroine Ivy in a situation resembling that of Elizabeth Bennet. Then tragedy strikes and the story switches to Jane Eyre, complete with a disconcerting changeover to Ivy’s first-person POV as she travels to a spooky rambling mansion in country to act as governess for a gruff gentleman’s dependent children. Neither of the romance setups (alt. Mr. Darcy or alt. Mr. Rochester) worked especially well for me.

There’s also a secondary plot where an impoverished young gentleman struggles to support himself and his sister, gets involved with villains and discovers magical abilities he didn’t know he had. It’s not a bad story, but I think I would have liked it more if the sister had been given any sort of personality at all.

The last part of the book rushes to resolve a sinister magical plot, and I found it an unsatisfying jumble of ideas introduced too late.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Magicians and Mrs. Quent was an engaging fantasy novel set in a parallel world, in a parallel to England. It felt like the main character, Ivy, was modeled at times after both Elinor Dashwood from Sense and Sensibility and after Jayne Eyre. The author did write in the postscript that it was her intention to take characters from Austen and Bronte and put them in a new context, so I felt very clever figuring that out ahead of time. The magic in the book was sometimes dark and foreboding, reminding me of Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell.

I couldn't put this one down, and though some of the plot points were predictable, since they were based on books I had already read, there were others that were fresh and took me totally by surprise. I am excited to see any further books by this new author.

[Maryanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I adored this book which, coincidentally, is by a Colorado author. Imagine, if you will, Jane Austen with a twist of magic. That's part one, in which our Elizabeth Bennet-like heroine falls in love with a hero who is one part Darcy, one part Wickham, and all parts fantastic. Yet he is destined for another and they recognize that they are never to be. As her family is in dire financial straits, she accepts a position as a governess out in the wilds. Enter part two, when Charlotte Bronte takes over, with a dose of "Turn of the Screw" thrown in. The magic really picks up as the book rolls towards its conclusion and I was both thrilled and dismayed to realize that it was not a stand-alone novel but the beginning of a series. Yay, there's more to come -- but, oh no, I have to wait for it!

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting mash up of a fantasy and Jane Austen, a la Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell. This one is not as skillfully done: he uses actual situations, characters and even dialogue from Austen, Dickens and even the Brontes, but where the book really shines is when he lets go and does his own thing, which causes it to be a bit uneven. Still, I'm excited for the next one. It's a fascinating world, and I love the characters . . . although I'm still hoping that one of them will die so that the other guy can get the girl . . . not to spoil anything.