Hosted by Austenprose, this tour will offer guest posts, interviews and reviews of the thirteenth entry in Barron's series of stories that have Our Dear Jane solving a variety of crimes that seem to fall across her path in life. This particular tale is set in 1815, during the aftermath of the infamous battle of Waterloo, and Jane has gone to London to aid her brother Henry, whose financial troubles are threatening his health as well.
While in town, Jane is offered an opportunity to meet the Prince Regent(a man she despises for his morals) through the royal chaplain, who urges her to dedicate her upcoming new book Emma to His Majesty. Seeing the financial wisdom in such a move, Jane is willing to take the meeting but winds up discovering a dying man upon the carpeted floor of the Regent's library.
The victim is one Colonel McFarland, whose last words are "Waterloo map...", a phrase that starts Jane off on a quest to find out the truth behind the murder and the map. Much like her clever heroine Emma, Jane uses her sharp wits and intelligence to unravel the clues around, even if she is not very well liked for that:
I have signed up for the tour and plan to have a review of the book by Valentine's Day(Austenprose will also have one that day) and I am really looking forward to checking it out.
For years now, I have been intrigued by these books and meant to read them earlier but wasn't as into Austen themed literature as I am now. Also, jumping into a new series of books can feel pretty daunting, especially if there's a good number of them to go through.
However, since I am a bit more familiar with Austen's life and times that I once was and this series appears to be one that allows you to chose just where you would like to begin, this book sounds like the perfect place to do so. No doubt other newcomers to Barron's style of Regency mysteries would enjoy hearing from another fresh set of eyes to this series:
Among the various goodies to be awarded are signed copies of Jane and the Waterloo Map, plus an Austen inspired game, stationary and Regency cookie cutters. The contest will end on February 29 and the winners to be announced at Stephanie Barron's official website, so I urge you all to attend as many stops on the JATWM tour as you can in order to increase your chances of winning!
The book is now out for sale, so if you're in the mood for some Austen delights with a dash of mysterious flavor, this might be your cup of tea or perhaps a future gift for a certain romantic day of this chilly month? Certainly would be a nice change from the usual candy and flowers, no question about it.
Jane and the Waterloo Map might also be a good way to learn more about the battle of Waterloo or at the very least, find out why Napoleon did surrender as well as see why that history book on the shelf is always repeating itself:
No comments:
Post a Comment