REVIEW: Waistcoats and Weaponry
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feather_ghyllWaistcoats and Weaponry: Gail Carriger
Finishing School Book the Third, Atom, 2004
As I’ve said before, I enjoy this series, following Miss Sophronia Temminnick of Mademoiselle Geraldine’s Finishing School in a streampunk Britain with supernatural elements. I have to admit that the plot of this instalment started off a little raggedly, but the book ended dramatically, with Sophronia’s relationships with four characters having changed drastically and our heroine having embarked on a new relationship that may answer the book’s central question about what Sophronia’s plans for her future are. This is put to her in a very important exchange (it’s too long to quote) with the finishing school’s real headmistress, Lady Linette. She actually asks where Sophronia’s loyalties lie. Sophronia parries by asking where her wishes come into all this and mulls over both questions throughout the book. Her education is preparing her to work for Queen and country or for a patron, who may be supernatural, as a spy. The young ladies are also supposed to aim for an advantageous match, but as a cover for this work.
The first few chapters, entitled ‘sessions’, are about Sophronia and her class-mates’ unusual lessons with their unusual teachers, during which, Sophronia discovers her signature weapon (waistcoats barely come into the story.) Just after this, one of her friends receives a message from home, and it soon becomes clear it’s bad news, although irritatingly, it happens off the page.
Sophronia and her best friend Dimity leave the school accompanied by Sophronia’s potential beau, Felix, Lord Mersey, amongst others, to go to the Temminnicks home for a masquerade ball being held to celebrate one of Sophronia’s siblings’ engagement. Sophronia intends to put her initial lessons about seduction into practice, because perhaps Felix’s greatest attraction for her is not his blue, blue eyes but the challenge of turning him from the anti-supernatural prejudices his father, a Duke, has installed in him. Her flirty relationship with Felix is certainly causing problems with Soap, the black sootie who wants to be more than Sophronia’s friend.
As always, I like the way the author slips in a slightly wiser POV than that of her heroine, who for all her intelligence, quick thinking and loyalty is a sixteen year old girl trying to work things out. Some of those things are personal – her heart, her beliefs, her future – and relatable, but others are of wider import.
That loyalty to Sidheag, whose family (werewolves all) are breaking apart, leads Sophronia and some of her pals on a journey of adventure – while ignoring the very peculiar thing that happened with the mechanical servants at the ball – and running smack bang into an old enemy, uncovering plots that are not what they think they are and challenging Sophronia’s philosophical stance of being for balance.
The second half of the book is stronger than the earlier machinations, as Sophronia finds that some questions are very simple to answer, after all. In different ways, she, Sidheag, Soap and Felix have to make decisions about their futures.
It’s aimed at a slightly older audience than ‘Perfect Scoundrels’. There’s violence and bloodshed (at which Dimity faints), not to mention male nudity, as Carriger plays with teenage desire and Victorian sensibilities. Our heroine and her peers are starting to think semi-seriously about engagement and matrimony while being clueless about the full impact of the seduction techniques they’re starting to learn. For me, the apogee of this was when Dimity’s brother Pillover becomes an unlikely ladykiller at the ball – HE’S JUST FOURTEEN – and, bless, is very harried by the attention he gets. But then there’s a romantic subplot between supporting characters that I raised my eyebrows at, in a setting where period-appropriate snobbery and racism make the romance I was cheering on transgressive.
Whatever my issues with plot, I still love the writing. There’s enjoyable wordplay – Sophronia accusing two angry young men of fighting over who has the biggest top hat, which resonates because of the later use of an actual top hat. Also, to be fair, the number of times I stumbled over an Americanism could be counted on one hand. How Sophronia bosses the most unexpeted people to do what’s needed continue to be a joy. I admire Carriger for going where she did towards the end, and look forward to finding out what else Sophronia and co. get up to as she finishes!
(I have to admit it took me just over three years to read this after I’d read the second book in the series, which is the same gap as between the first and second books.)
Finishing School Book the Third, Atom, 2004
As I’ve said before, I enjoy this series, following Miss Sophronia Temminnick of Mademoiselle Geraldine’s Finishing School in a streampunk Britain with supernatural elements. I have to admit that the plot of this instalment started off a little raggedly, but the book ended dramatically, with Sophronia’s relationships with four characters having changed drastically and our heroine having embarked on a new relationship that may answer the book’s central question about what Sophronia’s plans for her future are. This is put to her in a very important exchange (it’s too long to quote) with the finishing school’s real headmistress, Lady Linette. She actually asks where Sophronia’s loyalties lie. Sophronia parries by asking where her wishes come into all this and mulls over both questions throughout the book. Her education is preparing her to work for Queen and country or for a patron, who may be supernatural, as a spy. The young ladies are also supposed to aim for an advantageous match, but as a cover for this work.
The first few chapters, entitled ‘sessions’, are about Sophronia and her class-mates’ unusual lessons with their unusual teachers, during which, Sophronia discovers her signature weapon (waistcoats barely come into the story.) Just after this, one of her friends receives a message from home, and it soon becomes clear it’s bad news, although irritatingly, it happens off the page.
Sophronia and her best friend Dimity leave the school accompanied by Sophronia’s potential beau, Felix, Lord Mersey, amongst others, to go to the Temminnicks home for a masquerade ball being held to celebrate one of Sophronia’s siblings’ engagement. Sophronia intends to put her initial lessons about seduction into practice, because perhaps Felix’s greatest attraction for her is not his blue, blue eyes but the challenge of turning him from the anti-supernatural prejudices his father, a Duke, has installed in him. Her flirty relationship with Felix is certainly causing problems with Soap, the black sootie who wants to be more than Sophronia’s friend.
As always, I like the way the author slips in a slightly wiser POV than that of her heroine, who for all her intelligence, quick thinking and loyalty is a sixteen year old girl trying to work things out. Some of those things are personal – her heart, her beliefs, her future – and relatable, but others are of wider import.
That loyalty to Sidheag, whose family (werewolves all) are breaking apart, leads Sophronia and some of her pals on a journey of adventure – while ignoring the very peculiar thing that happened with the mechanical servants at the ball – and running smack bang into an old enemy, uncovering plots that are not what they think they are and challenging Sophronia’s philosophical stance of being for balance.
The second half of the book is stronger than the earlier machinations, as Sophronia finds that some questions are very simple to answer, after all. In different ways, she, Sidheag, Soap and Felix have to make decisions about their futures.
It’s aimed at a slightly older audience than ‘Perfect Scoundrels’. There’s violence and bloodshed (at which Dimity faints), not to mention male nudity, as Carriger plays with teenage desire and Victorian sensibilities. Our heroine and her peers are starting to think semi-seriously about engagement and matrimony while being clueless about the full impact of the seduction techniques they’re starting to learn. For me, the apogee of this was when Dimity’s brother Pillover becomes an unlikely ladykiller at the ball – HE’S JUST FOURTEEN – and, bless, is very harried by the attention he gets. But then there’s a romantic subplot between supporting characters that I raised my eyebrows at, in a setting where period-appropriate snobbery and racism make the romance I was cheering on transgressive.
Whatever my issues with plot, I still love the writing. There’s enjoyable wordplay – Sophronia accusing two angry young men of fighting over who has the biggest top hat, which resonates because of the later use of an actual top hat. Also, to be fair, the number of times I stumbled over an Americanism could be counted on one hand. How Sophronia bosses the most unexpeted people to do what’s needed continue to be a joy. I admire Carriger for going where she did towards the end, and look forward to finding out what else Sophronia and co. get up to as she finishes!
(I have to admit it took me just over three years to read this after I’d read the second book in the series, which is the same gap as between the first and second books.)
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