Sorcery & Cecelia; Wrede & Stevermer

What a treasure! A gothic, paranormal traditional Regency wrapped up in a young adult package. According to the copyright page, it was originally published in 1988 by Wrede (author of the series Dealing with Dragons). Stevermer has published a book called River Rats. In the authors' notes at the end, it seems it began as a type of creative writing exchange). Which by the end of the summer they realized might become a book.

Told in first person as a letter exchange between two cousins. Each girl's voice is unique & easily identifiable as her own. The period details are all there & I found this story to be very close to the tone & feel of a well done traditional Regency (Alison Lane & Judith Lansdowne come to mind) as opposed to a young adult paranormal.

Cecelia is mired in the country with her family while her cousin Kate is bundled off to London for her first season. They stumble into an odd little conundrum entirely by accident. Things develop from there. Quite well, as a point of opinion. Lady Jersey & the Countess Lieven both make appearances. I have to say though, Lady Jersey is less favorably portrayed than is common, while Almack's is descibed in altogether a rosy fashion. Which I supppose is only to be expected as Kate is from the country & does not pretend to have 'town bronze' as it is usually described.

The next book in the series is The Grand Tour already available. Another, The Mislaid Magician comes in November of this year. The back cover is sufficiently enchanting that even Daughter, the 14 year old anime fanatic, is intrigued.