What a shame it took me a year to discover this debut novel from Karen Engelmann. Splendid historical fiction that takes you to on a wild ride of political treachery. Set during the instability caused by the French Revolution we follow Emil Larsson, a sekretaire for the Customs Office in his quest to solve his Octavo. Emil's friend, Mrs. Sparrow, a confidante of King Gustav III, runs a local exclusive gaming house and is also a seer. She has had a vision for Mr. Larsson, one that can only be laid out using her special card set and layout, the Octavo. He is delighted by her vision, for it calls for love and connection which he is desperate for to keep his dream position as sekretaire. Darn bosses have just informed him that he must be married to keep his beloved position.
These cards of course don't tell you exactly whom they represent, so you must use all the clues provided by the pictures on the cards to riddle out your players. If you are fortunate enough to figure out your players and position them to play their parts correctly you can obtain the prize foretold. Things are never so easy in life, just when Emil believes he has maybe figured out a player something will happen that makes him question if he has chosen the right person being represented on the correct card. Riddle me, time is running out for Emil as his superiors are getting impatient for a marriage announcement. Just to make the game all the more intriguing Mrs. Sparrow has her own vision that is far more serious in nature and the fate of nations (France and Sweden) depend on her successfully playing her Octavo out. The catch, Emil and herself share many cards in their Octavo's, meaning they are tied together, so much for Emil's easy love connection.
The cast of characters is rich with my favorite coming from The Uzanne. A woman of such dominance she is simply called The Uzanne. She is known for mastering the art of hand fans, are these delicate accessories so innocent in the hands of a master? Girls and their mother's flock to her in hopes of learning how to command a man's every move with the simple gestures of opening a fan or snapping it shut. She has no love for King Gustav III and personal motives in her desire to see him dethroned.
Simply superb enthralling novel that didn't want to be put down between reads.
"I feel sleepy, and a moment's rest would do me some good."
Link to Update for Part I, Part II
Links to a few additional quotes I posted earlier: Entanglements; Women and Their Fans; Chilling Foretelling
[Notice: Original posting 2014-02-05 at Plethora of Books Blog: http://bookchallenges.weebly.com]
Tags: 2014, Historical Fiction