Bourgeois Book Club

So, in keeping with my determination to be less of a misogynist, this edition of Bourgeois Book Nerd is dedicated to the laaaaaaaaaaaaadies. But is that just another form of misogyny? Giving women a crumb of a "special edition" when they should just be naturally and seamlessly peered with male authors? Is this just a pat on the head from the patriarchy? *sigh* Combating sexism is hard, y'all!

The Lais of Marie de France

Back in my college days, when I was taking British Lit surveys, I was once thumbing through my beloved Norton anthology -- specifically the first volume of British Literature -- when I came across a long poem called "Lanval" by someone named "Marie de France." Later, I was privileged enough to have take a seminar just on the works of Marie de France (in which I wrote some really good papers, if I do say so myself). But after college, though I kept all the books, I hadn't reread any Marie. I didn't much care for the translation of the lais I used in the seminar that I have, and I just kind of forgot about it. For some reason, though, a few weeks ago something brought it back to my mind and I ordered the Penguin Classics edition of the lais.

Marie is a shadowy figure; just who she was is a mystery, though there are several theories. But there's no denying that she was a forceful, talented, independent woman writer, well-educated and well-known in her own time, all rather rare things for women of the period.

The lais are short verse (at least in the original French; some translations are prose) narratives about love and chivalry. Werewolves, fairy queens, King Arthur, Tristan and Isolde, jealous old husbands, virtuous young ladies, glorious young knights, adultery, true love, and secret babies, the lais are stories for, of, and by the high-born. Symbolically-layered, delightful little bon-bons of medieval fancy, they are eminently readable, something that few pieces of medieval literature can boast.

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Something about Jane Austen/the Regency period just really goes well with mystery. I think it's because you can combine the traditional Christiean country house/village mystery with pretty dresses and Mr. Darcy. There have been a number of series in this subgenre, so let's take a look at some that I've read.

Bellfield Hall by Anna Dean

Miss Dido Kent is that most English of characters: a spinster aunt. When her niece's fiance disappears and a dead woman's body is found on his family's estate, it's up to Dido to find out what's going on at Bellfield and save her niece's future happiness from scandal and disappointment. As it turns out that just about everyone there has a secret, her investigation quickly grows considerably more complicated than she had anticipated .

A "satiric" tone and lovely Regency costumery make this a fun read. It's particularly amusing how Dido is totally oblivious to something that's blazingly obvious to us in the 21st century, but quite realistically would have been quite beyond the knowledge of a well-brought-up Regency lady. Dean manages to keep the identity of the killer and the motive mysterious and misdirected, but still come up with a plausible conclusion. A sequel is forthcoming, and I look forward to reading the future adventures of Miss Dido Kent.

Mr. and Mrs. Darcy Mysteries (Pride and Prescience, North By Northanger, The Matters at Mansfield, The Intrigue at Highbury) by Carrie Bebris

What if Elizabeth Darcy, nee Bennet, were a sleuth with a hint of mystical insight? That's the premise of this series, where the Darcys, joined by characters from the whole of the Austen oeuvre, solve mysteries, sometimes with the help of a bit of magic.

This is a pleasant, though not great, series. The magic thing is a bit incongruous, I think, but it doesn't appear in all the books. Fans of Austen will particularly enjoy the character mash-ups.

The Jane Austen Mysteries (Jane and the Unpleasantness at Scargrave Manor, Jane and the Man of the Cloth, Jane and the Wandering Eye, Jane and the Genius of the Place, Jane and the Stillroom Maid, Jane and the Prisoner of Wool House, Jane and the Ghosts of Netley, Jane and His Lordship's Legacy, Jane and the Barque of Frailty, Jane and the Madness of Lord Byron) by Stephanie Barron

Conceited to be the rediscovered diaries of Jane Austen revealing her hitherto unknown penchant for solving murders, Stephanie Barron is, in this reviewers oh-so-humble opinion, the ne plus ultra of Austenean mysteries. She brings Jane, her family, her circle, and her world fully to life. It even has footnotes, which we all know I'm a sucker for. (Sadly, they've dried up a bit as the series has gone on.) Barron's love for Austen and Regency England is palpable and her research extensive. Her use of period language and style is particularly brilliant. She really fools you into thinking these might actually be the diaries of Jane Austen.

Many of the mysteries feature Harold Trowbridge, the Gentleman Rogue, a secret agent for the Crown and the love of Jane's life. Sadly, their love is not able to fully bloom (since, you know, the real Jane Austen never married and Trowbridge is fictional), but it's a sweet, wonderful relationship between intellectual equals. Its end, particularly in Jane and His Lordship's Legacy, is some of the most beautifully heartbreaking stuff I've ever read. That's one of the things that makes this such a great series: it isn't just about pretty Regency dresses, but gives Jane a full interior and emotional life. You grow to love her, not because she's "Jane Austen" but because she's "real."

So, that's the ladies done. Sexism in book reviewing is solved! Next time, then, back to real books. You know, the ones by men.