I was originally going to cover the subject of “What else do you read?” but decided instead to talk about Kate Ross, whom I would have talked about anyway. She’s a writer who died in her early 30s, having only written four books; and she was the sort of writer you wanted to have around for years. She’s not a romance writer, but her books are set in the mid-1820s and feature a dandy and detective called Julian Kestrel (great name!).
I find with a lot of historical mystery series I find myself muttering, “Oh, for God’s sake, check the fingerprints,” before realizing the technology was decades, or centuries ahead. Or frankly, they’re just silly (like the impeccably researched medieval series, I mention no names, that had chipmunks frolicking in the grounds of a medieval abbey). But Kate Ross and Kestrel are just, well, in a word, fabulous. He’s not an aristocrat, but a self-made man who lives on his wits and gambler’s instincts. He reminds me a little of Lord Peter Wimsey set a century earlier–cultured, witty, super-intelligent, and with a frivolous, flippant demeanor that hides a deeply serious and private personality. He moves easily between the fashionable world and its dark side, both beautifully evoked by Ross.
Three of the books are set in England. The fourth, and her most ambitious–I suspect Ross knew time was running out, and stretched herself–is set in Italy, has an extremely and convoluted operatic plot, and finally gives us the truth about Kestrel’s origins.
Ross’ secondary characters are great, too. There’s his manservant, Dipper (slang term for a pickpocket, which was his former profession), and Sally, a whore and thief and his sometime accomplice and lover. Kestrel resists Sally for a time, and then capitulates. This wonderful bit of writing describes his state of mind before they make love for the first time:
So it was over–the struggle and suspense between them. But it was no ending as he had expected, or resolved. Because in that moment his perspective shifted. He had often tried to fathom what she meant to him; he had never once asked himself what he meant to her. Looking into her upturned face, he saw her for the first time, not as a seductress, but as offering him the only thing in the world she had to give.
All four of the novels–Cut To The Quick; A Broken Vessel; Whom The Gods Love; and The Devil In Music–are all still in print. Check them out.
Janet
I’m so glad you posted about these books, Janet–they are wonderful. I was very sad to hear of Kate Ross’s passing, and the fact that there would be no more adventures of Kestrel to read! I let myself reread them every once in a while, after enough time has passed so they feel sort of “new” to me again.
Does anyone know of any other good Regency-set mysteries? I’m a big mystery reader, and it seems like there are quite a few Victorian series out there, and a few Georgian, but not many Regency.
Janet:
I love Ross, too. I’ve been saving The Devil in Music for a really big treat.
Amanda, Madeline Robins has written two Regency-set mysteries: Petty Treason and Point of Honour (they go in order, I forget which way). And Bernard Cornwell has an awesome one called Gallows Thief. Plus Bruce Alexander did some just slightly before Regency with Sir John Fielding as his protagonist. I guess those are probably the Georgians you mention.
Of course, there’s also Rosemary Stevens’s Beau Brummell mysteries! She used to write Regency romances (and very funny onces, too) and I find her Beau Brummell mysteries quite entertaining. Also, Ashley Gardner (who also writes Regency historicals under the name Jennifer Ashley) writes a gritty Regency mystery series — her protagonist is an ex-army man.
I don’t read a lot of mysteries (they don’t work right with my brain) but I did read all the Kate Ross books! Fascinating. I was quite stunned when she died.
Cara
I’ve read those Madeleine Robins books, and really enjoyed them! I can see where some “Regency purists” might get uppity, but I love the weird, creative things she’s done, and I think her heroine is great. I have Gallows Thief and one of the Bruce Alexander books on my TBR pile. Plus I’ve read some of the Ashley Gardner books (very dark and gritty, great stuff!), the Beau Brummell books (I like them, but I can’t help but think how sad it is how he’ll end up!), plus those mysteries where Jane Austen is the detective.
A couple of years ago I read a couple of mysteries I found at a UBS (I think they came out in the early ’90s originally). They were by Quinn Fawcett, and titles were Death Wears a Crown and Napoleon Must Die. The detective was a Frenchwoman, whose husband was some kind of high officer in Napoleon’s army. Totally different viewpoint from what we usually get in Regency romances! I loved them, but those appear to be the only 2 that ever came out in the series.
I haven’t read them (though I own several–typical), but there is a mystery series by Stephanie Barron in which Jane Austen is the detective. Don’t know if they’re any good. There is also a book by Carrie Bebris called PRIDE AND PRESCIENCE in which Elizabeth and Darcy are the detectives.
I read and liked Point of Honor by Madeline Robins, but I didn’t realize she’d written a sequel! I guess I’ll have to check it out. 🙂 I also read those Quinn Fawcett books, and I did enjoy them a lot, though truthfully the writing really wasn’t very good. The heroine was engaging, though, and I liked the plots. I found one other Quinn Fawcett mystery, but not in the same series; haven’t read it yet. And I liked Cornwell’s GALLOWS THIEF very much, too. Some of his Sharpe novels have something of a mystery subplot as well–he also writes modern mystery thrillers.
I loved the Kate Ross books, and I was very sad when I heard that she had died. Some people should live forever.
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Barbara Hambly writes a series set in 1835 New Orleans featuring a black detective…I have two of them, have read neither, but got them because they looked so interesting. Clearly not Regency, but historical. I really like those kind of books, although I haven’t gotten swept away by Anne Perry yet.
Well, if we’re going to venture into Anne Perry territory (i.e., the Victorian period), I’m a big fan of the Sherlock Holmes stories, and even of some of the later writers who made use of the characters. In this context, I particularly like Laurie King–especially THE BEEKEEPER’S APPRENTICE, THE MOOR, and JERUSALEM, but they’re all great. There’s also a series of children’s mysteries by Robert Newman that I like. The first, and the only one to actually feature Holmes as a character, is THE CASE OF THE BAKER STREET IRREGULAR. But, as mentioned before, there are lots of Victorian-set mysteries out there.
And BTW, since discovering the existence of PETTY TREASON, I ran right out and got it from the library. 🙂
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