A Curious Beginning is the first of the Veronica Speedwell
series by Deanna Raybourn.
I started out enjoying the book very much.
Veronica Speedwell is a lepidopterist, a person who studies
and collects butterflies.
She has just lost the second of the two women who were her
guardians and took care of her, her whole life. The vicar and his wife propose
taking her in, but Veronica has an adventurous streak.
“I took a sip of my tea, pleased to find it scalding hot and
properly strong. I abhorred weakness of any kind but most particularly in my
tea.”
She has already traveled to many places around the world and
brought home many butterfly specimens that she sold under a nom de guerre so
that the buyers wouldn’t know she isn’t a man. It is 1887, after all. She
believes herself to be “a foundling, orphaned and illegitimate.”
When she goes home to get her things together and leave for
a new adventure, a new adventure comes calling in the form of a man who has tossed
her cottage very destructively. An older gentleman comes to her aid and ends up
taking her to a friend of his, Stoker, until he can return. He never does.
Soon, Stoker is wanted for murder and Veronica is one of the few people who know he couldn't have done it. This is the beginning of their adventure
together, which reveals much about Veronica’s heritage. Stoker’s own life is a
mystery through much of the book.
It’s an adventure no doubt, and other different
circumstances I might have enjoyed it more. Perhaps part of it is this time we’re
all living through, but it just wasn’t holding my attention very well. In the
end, it was okay, but I wouldn’t pick up another of the books unless there wasn’t
much else to choose from.
The purple prose is a little bit tedious. I know that it is
meant to portray the manner of speech during this time and in her social
circle, but it seems a bit much and it gets tiring. On the other hand, if you
enjoy this level of ornate language, then this might be a good book for you.
Veronica is very progressive thinker for the times when it
comes to equality in sexual relations for men and women. The issue comes up
several times. It’s a little strange because she doesn’t seem to care who knows
it, and yet she states that she is very careful to only pursue such diversions
while abroad.
I finished the book and it was okay, but I’d probably give
it somewhere between 3 and 4 stars.
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