A Factory of Cunning [Hardcover]

Philippa Stockley (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 11, 2005

Set in late eighteenth-century England, Philippa Stockley's American debut gives us a wickedly delightful but deadly serious battle of the wills and the sexes. It begins with the arrival in London of the mysterious Mrs. Fox. On the run from a scandalous French past, she takes on a new identity, determined to rehabilitate herself. To do so she must pit her formidable skills for revenge against Earl Much, a British aristocrat with no less notorious a past and easily her match in sinfulness and intrigue. Between these two swirls a story featuring venal lords, wronged maidens, and reprobate clergymen, transporting readers from bawdy houses to country estates-places where the pleasures of the flesh are both high comedy and serious business.

A Factory of Cunning takes readers to the world immortalized in Dangerous Liaisons. And, like Michel Faber's The Crimson Petal and the White, the vividly rendered setting and characters give the thrill of a fresh discovery.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

If you like your women as cruel as they are beautiful, you may fall hard for Philippa Stockley's darkly witty novel, A Factory of Cunning, which follows an exiled French aristocrat as she pimps and swindles her way through London in the summer of 1784. Having been routed from Paris by a mob (for her involvement in a scandal), our resourceful heroine set herself up as a brothel keeper in Amsterdam, hiding behind her faithful but almost equally heartless servant Victoire. When the marquise's past misdeeds pursue her in the form of an assassin, she and Victoire flee for the English capital, where she assumes the name "Mrs. Fox" for reasons too ribald to reveal here. In journal entries and letters--especially to her Dutch admirer and protector Hubert van Essel, who enlists her in a long-simmering revenge against a former friend--"Mrs. Fox" describes the havoc she wreaks before stepping daintily out of danger, lifting her skirts to show her pretty ankles. In the spirit of Les Liaisons Dangeureuses, though composed in a higher key, A Factory of Cunning is the very definition of a guilty pleasure. --Regina Marler

From Publishers Weekly

"Cunning" is an apt word for the plot of Stockley's (The Edge of Pleasure) intriguing historical novel, set in 18th-century England; "devilishly clever" would be even more appropriate. The truth about any character or event is never what one expects, despite arch foreshadowing, and the reader is unprepared for the shocking denouement, which carries echoes of Les Liaisons Dangereuses and the Grand Guignol. A beautiful 29-year-old Parisian aristocrat arrives in London in 1784, fleeing a scandal and the pursuit of a vengeful victim. On the surface, the penniless woman, who adopts the name Mrs. Fox, makes admirable efforts to establish herself in English society. Sharp-tongued and arrogant, she doesn't hide the fact that during a sojourn in Holland, she was the madam of a whorehouse, or that she is coolly manipulative, or that she is voracious for money. She meets her match in the mysterious Earl Much, a man who oozes malevolence and power. Their battle to the death involves a large cast of Dickensian characters, each one of whom hides his or her true identity. Narrated with wit and sexually provocative detail, the novel portrays London as a pit of licentiousness, amorality, greed and deceit. It's entertaining and suspenseful, and the most monstrous characters are those who wear the facade of moneyed respectability.
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Product Details

• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; 1 edition (April 11, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0151011729
• ISBN-13: 978-0151011728
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.6 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,087,567 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Promising at the start ..., August 5, 2005

By 

Chapati (Chicago) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: A Factory of Cunning (Hardcover)

First, one of the reviewers says that this novel is set during the era of Charles III. It's actually set during the Georgian era (1784 making it during the time of George III), one of the most interesting periods of history for historical writing, I think.

This epistolary novel is a continuation of Dangerous Liaisons. It's a good attempt, but I wasn't thrilled with it. Basically, it centers around the plot of what might have happened if the Marquise had escaped France and made it to England to wreak whatever havoc she might wreak there, while also helping a friend destroy a villainous earl.

The characters in the novel are very well-written: Mrs. Fox is very sharp-witted and clever, Lord Danceacre and his friends are funny and entertaining, and Violet is by turns hilarious and ridiculously stupid. Stockley also manages to give her writing that witty spark that is so necessary in novels centering around a clever, selfish woman. The plot itself is also tightly woven, bringing seemingly random occurrences and people together in the end, as all novels of this type should do.

Something, though, just never seemed to click for me. Maybe it was because there was not even one character with whom a reader could really sympathize. Or, more likely, perhaps it was that the supposed villain of the plot was hardly ever in the novel, except to be described by other people. Set up as someone who would finally match wits with the marquise, I was disappointed by the lack of interaction and repartee between the two. Considering all the dire warnings about the earl's vengeful and almost satanic nature, he was a bit of an anticlimax to me.

However, the book was an enjoyable read, and definitely conveyed the mood of the times. Stockley clearly has a sharp wit, and it comes out in her portrayal of several characters. For that, it's worth reading, though perhaps it's better to get it from the library or borrow from a friend than to purchase it yourself.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Factory of Cunning, August 22, 2005

By 

K. Freeman (Apple Valley, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Factory of Cunning (Hardcover)

An epistolary novel that offers a "sequel" to Les liaisons dangereuses.

I found Factory clever, often devastatingly funny, wonderfully differentiated in its voices and considerable in its tension -- the latter two qualities being difficult to achieve in epistolary novels. Some of the plot elements -- Violet's experiences and the long-lost sister -- are well-worn, but the manner of telling is so fresh that it doesn't really matter. "Mrs. Fox", unrepentantly awful and cheerfully unsinkable, is a gem.

I think some readers will have trouble following the plotline, especially in the beginning, and the quick-spoken, intricate period diction, particularly in Mrs. Fox's voice, may lose some, but the book rewards close attention. It would appeal to readers who enjoyed books like SLAMMERKIN and THE DRESS LODGER, but its tone is far more arch.

Recommended.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars a highly entertaining read, April 14, 2005

By 

tregatt (Portland, Oregon) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Factory of Cunning (Hardcover)

In 1784, a French noblewoman hunted and on the run, arrives in London in order to start afresh. With practically no connections and just one loyal and good friend, Mrs. Fox (an assumed name), hopes to carry on as she had in Holland, running con games. This time however, Mrs. Fox has another mission aside from the one of stark survival, for she has agreed to help her good friend, Dr. Hubert van Essel, bring his enemy, the rich and debauched Earl of March, low. Corrupt and lecherous, the Earl of March has been responsible for a lot of misery and pain, most especially to a lady that Dr. van Essel had esteemed greatly. Mrs. Fox is nothing loath to help. But has she met her match in the Earl of March? Always barely one step ahead of those who wish her harm, Mrs. Fox will have to work very fast to accomplish her mission -- provided, of course, that she doesn't get side tracked with schemes of her own...

I suppose that because "A Factory of Cunning" does have at its heart one character from "Dangerous Liaisons," and the period and setting is similar to "Tom Jones," comparisons are inevitable. However, "A Factory of Cunning" lacks the sophisticated wit of "Dangerous Liaisons" and the sardonic, rollicking style of "Tom Jones." On the other hand, "A Factory of Cunning" is a highly polished and entirely engrossing novel. The author does a fantastic job of rendering scenes and of conveying a sense of the period. And even though she uses letters and journals (mostly Mrs. Fox's) to tell the tale, the author does a first rate job of giving each onr of her characters a distinctive voice and feel, thus making them real, multi-faceted and complex. So that even though "A Factory of Cunning" may never be up there with "Dangerous Liaisons" and "Tom Jones," it still makes for a highly entertaining and compelling read.