Shades of Milk and Honey

Jane Austen's novels put in a blender, except that everyone doesn't turn out to have a good heart after all (and there's some incidental magic). That would be TERRIBLE except that Austen novels are so endlessly pleasurable, they could use a little cynicism, and the magic here is daringly plot-irrelevant while also pretty unusual--it's far more closely akin to painting and music than to anything more epic or practical. Lots of fun and well-executed. I just wish the awful little sister didn't have to exclaim "La!" all the time.

Shades of Milk and Honey
4 Stars

"One half of the world cannot understand the pleasures of the other." - Emma

The Ellsworth sisters, Jane and Melody, are as different as two siblings could be. Quiet, reserved and plain, Jane is well aware that she will never attract the notice of a man yet longs for marriage and family. In contrast, flighty and frivolous Melody is an acknowledged beauty with more suitors than she can handle. Nevertheless, it is Jane whose skill with glamour will play a pivotal role in saving her family from ruin.

Mary Robinette Kowal's debut novel is a well-written and engaging Austen-style Regency romance that closely adheres to the language, setting, tone and mannerisms of the historical time period (which is not always show more the case with recent historical romances). Fans of Austen's works will recognize some of the classic character types and plot tropes inherent to her works, yet Kowal has added a unique touch of her own to the traditional format with the inclusion of glamour, i.e., an ability to reshape reality that is a mix of art, music and science.

In terms of the specific plot, the heroine, Jane, is a compelling mix of Marianne Dashwood and Lizzie Bennett while her sister, Melody is an obvious simulacrum of Kitty Bennett with her inability to consider the consequences of her selfish actions. The two sisters appear to vie for the same suitors, yet it is clear that despite her feelings of inadequacy as compared to her beautiful sister, it is actually Jane who is the more accomplished, and therefore, the more appealing sister to men capable of discerning her true worth. Who will Jane end up with - the charming yet artful Captain Livingston, the elegant and proud Mr. Dunkirk, or the abrasive Mr. Vincent?

As with Austen's works, there is a great deal of social critique with depictions of shallow, superficial and hypocritical society alongside the revelations of various characters and their questionable pasts.

All in all, Kowal has captured the true essence of Austen's writing with her delightful mix of wit, romance, and social criticism. I look forward to continuing with the series. show less

Absolutely charming, even though I spent most of the book wanting to kick Jane's younger sister Melody in the backside. I love the idea of glamouring and how it's traditionally woman's work.

Shades of Milk and Honey is a novel set in an alternate Regency England where genteel young women are expected to learn how to cast glamours as well as cover screens and knit purses. In an early scene, the protagonist Jane—a talented user of such glamours, though overlooked by many because of her plainness—tutors another young woman about glamours, showing her how the folds of light she's making are too clumsy, her stitches too obvious, the overall effect crude. This is, sadly, a good analogy of the book as a whole.

It's an amazing idea, an Austenian-inspired world in which magic is largely a female discipline, dismissed and undervalued, and the right author could make this funny and charming, like the best of Heyer, or full of wit show more and irony, like Austen. Kowal is not that author. The book plods, the pacing is terrible, the romance paint-by-numbers, the characterisation is completely lacking in nuance—the main characters, Jane and Melody, are both unlikeable. One is a pushover whom we're told is smart but who often acts like an idiot; the other is a vulgar brat, who acts like a more juvenile version of Marianne from Sense and Sensibility. You've probably also worked out from the latter's name that verisimilitude is not a priority of Kowal. I lost count of the number of times when I said, "But no one in Regency England would have behaved like that/said that/could have acted that way without raising numerous eyebrows." The ending descends into farce, exactly the kind of tosh that Austen was mocking in Northanger Abbey.

I want someone to take this and rewrite it. I want someone to write a Regency England with gendered magic, with a heroine who's got Lizzy Bennett's fire, who chafes at the dismissal of her abilities, who is nobody's muse. Now that is a book I would read with great satisfaction; I'm not moved to read the remainder of this trilogy at all. show less

First, a couple of disclaimers might be appropriate: I like Mary Robinette Kowal. She's a nice person, the kind who is easy to converse with and who doesn't take herself too seriously. Vice President of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, she penned one of my favorite short stories of the past few years, “Clockwork Chickadee,” a story which delights me each time I read it and is even more delightful hearing her read it out loud. She's very giving of her time to help up and coming writers from teaching them how to do readings to answering basic questions. And she spends a lot of time with puppets. Who can help but like someone who spends her time entertaining and delighting children?Second disclaimer: other than show more perhaps a passage or two in English literature classes, I have never read a Jane Austen book, and I think I have only seen one movie based on her work. Despite my weakness for romantic comedies and enjoyment of Nicholas Sparks, I just never felt drawn to Victorian romances. But when Kowal agreed to be with us on Science Fiction and Fantasy Writer's Chat on Twitter, I had to read “Shades of Milk and Honey,” out of an obligation to make the discussion as fruitful for everyone as possible.Am I glad I did.The prose captures the feel of Victorian writing beautifully, yet remains simple and accessible for readers who might not be familiar with it. Her characters are well drawn and interesting, and although before I read it I'd have thought I wouldn't be drawn in by the personal politics of a female spinster and her family and neighbors, I literally couldn't put this one down.A delight from start to finish, “Shades of Milk & Honey” has been aptly described as Jane Austen with magic, but the magic, the manipulation of light through a technique called glamouring, fits in naturally with the story. Although it flows through and undergirds much of the narrative, Kowal maintains a sense of mystery about it by not telling us too much about how it works and instead focusing more attention on how it is used and how it affects the characters themselves.The story of Jane Ellsworth, twenty-eight, a gifted glamourist in her own right, who dreams of love and happiness as she watches her much younger sister, Melody, and neighbors Beth Dunkirk and Livie FitzCameron wooed by men. When a few men take notice of her for various reasons, hope rises in her, but she always finds the possibilities threatened by others. Jane is too kind and mannered to wallop in her own jealousy and disappointment, however, and continues fighting her baser urges by befriending and caring for her sister Melody and neighbor Beth Dunkirk, whose brother Edmund seems Jane’s most likely suitor.Then the mysterious galmourist, Mr. Vincent, hired by Lady FitzCameron, the Viscountess, to create a glamour for her dining hall, becomes an intriguing challenge. Jane compares her own skills at glamour to his, while examining his artistry and striving to improve her own. When his response seems to be resentment at her questions and attention, she begins to feel resentment of her own. Especially after he implies her art shows talent without any heart behind it.There were times I felt Kowal’s foreshadowing made later developments predictable, but in the end, I discovered her plotting to be far more clever than I’d imagined. The ending certainly was different than I had expected in several respects, and the book maintains a sense of suspense and motion which kept me riveted and wanting to know what would happen next. In spite of my lack of commonality with these characters, they captured my heart—I cared about them and what happened to them far more than I’d imagined I would.For a book which I’d not have chosen on its own based on what I knew of it and my own literary preferences to have so held my interest and charmed me, I feel confident in saying it will likely surprise and charm others as well. Kowal is a smart writer, whose gift for words and understanding of people are readily evident on every page. While one can find small deficiencies with which to quibble in her first novel (as in any other), the book shows great promise and is a great diversion. If anything it’s greatest weakness is its lightness. There is no heavy moral here. And the story does not create a great set of questions one is left to ponder for months after. Instead, the questions and story are light yet still manage to rise beyond mere entertainment.Truly a worthwhile read from a worthwhile talent. I look greatly forward to what the future will bring from her. show less

I am, I freely admit, a fan of Heyer’s novels, and while I wouldn’t call myself an Austen fan, I’ve certainly read her books. So when I first saw Kowal’s Regency fantasy, I knew that sooner or later I’d be picking up a copy. In fact, I received this book as a Christmas present. And read it during the journey back to the UK. It’s pretty much as you’d expect – old-maid-ish daughter of comfortably well-off provincial family gets all excited when eligible men turn up at the local nob’s house. The difference here is that people can practice a sort of light-based magic, “glamour”, which allows them to create illusions – and this has become a new… well, not art-form, but certainly a form of “accomplishment”. Jane show more is the plain older sister of beautiful Melody, whose charms are sure to land her a good match, except Jane is gifted at glamour – so cue a pair of “interesting” gentlemen who are drawn to Jane, Melody’s bitterness because she’s smart enough to realise a pretty face is not enough, the return of a childhood friend who proves to be a bounder, a young girl who Jane takes under her wing… It’s a polished piece, perhaps a little too polished – there was something that didn’t quite ring true about it all, not that it prevented me from enjoying it. Kowal handles the relationships well, and the glamour is nicely done – but the story seemed wrapped up almost as an afterthought with a throwaway happy-ever-after ending. At the moment, I’m not sure if I’ll be bothering with the rest of the series. show less

Jane Ellsworth is not blessed with the beauty of her younger sister Melody, but she excels in artistic pursuits such as music, painting, and "glamour," or the ability to manipulate magic to create illusions. Both Jane and Melody wish to marry well, but opportunities in their quiet neighborhood are scarce, and Jane, with her plain features, has nearly resigned herself to the fate of a spinster. Will love ever come her way?

Kowal does a good job of echoing Austen's tone, though Kowal's novel is simpler than any of Austen's. The plot is reminiscent of Sense and Sensibility, but it's not just a lifeless copy -- Kowal's story is a gracefully balanced homage with plenty of unique details. The magic system is a perfect fit for this sort of show more story, enhancing but not overpowering the plot. I look forward to reading more by this author. show less