Die Upon a Kiss (Benjamin January, Book 5) [Mass Market Paperback]

Barbara Hambly (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 30, 2002

In February 1835, the cold New Orleans streets are alight with masked Mardi Gras revelers as the American Theater’s impresario, Lorenzo Belaggio, brings a magnificent yet controversial operatic version of Othello to town. But it’s pitch-black in the alley where free man of color Benjamin January hears a slurred whisper, spies the flash of a knife, and is himself wounded as he rescues Belaggio from a vicious attack. Could competition for audiences—or for Belagio’s affections—provoke such violent skulduggery? Or is Shakespeare’s tragic tale, with its spectacle of a black man’s passion for a white beauty, one that some Creole citizen—or American parvenu—would do anything to keep off the stage? The soaring music will lead January into a tangle of love, hate, and greed more treacherous than any onstage drama, as he must discover who is responsible...and who will Die Upon a Kiss.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The opening in New Orleans in 1835 of a new opera company propels Hambly's fifth atmospheric historical mystery (after 2000's Sold Down the River) featuring freed slave Benjamin January. As with the other entries in this popular series, the background is a hook on which Hambly hangs her main theme the conflicts of a society based on race, sex and class. A widowed, European-trained surgeon who makes his living as a piano player and teacher, January is in the orchestra of an Italian opera company backed by the "Americans" who are moving south into New Orleans and threatening the power of the Creoles those of French and Spanish heritage in a city still French three decades after the Louisiana Purchase. When two members of the company are attacked and a backer murdered, January and his colleague, the erudite, consumptive, white violinist Hannibal Sefton, help their friend Abishag Shaw, the wily Kentuckian of the New Orleans City Guards, to investigate. The Benjamin January series is well worth reading for the depth and richness of the author's historical research and her exquisite evocation of the Byzantine class structure, exotic culture and menacing politics of antebellum New Orleans. In an afterword, Hambly describes early 19th-century opera as "grandiose, overblown, politically hot, sometimes silly but enormous fun." Unfortunately, this could also describe this book, which is crowded with so many red herrings, subplots and characters that the reader often needs a program to keep track.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Hambly's sure touch enlivens New Orleans in 1835, where carnival celebrations mask assault and murder revolving around the production of the city's first Italian opera. In a place obsessively conscious of such categories as Creole, slave, American, free black, "foreigner," and the various mixtures thereof, the debut of the opera Othello with its racially explosive subject matter apparently arouses enough resentment to cause danger for the opera company and Benjamin January, the free black surgeon and sometime sleuth (A Free Man of Color) who plays piano there. Marvelous description, historical details, memorable characters, priceless dialog, and intricate plotting make this an indispensable purchase for all collections.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 480 pages
• Publisher: Bantam (April 30, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553581651
• ISBN-13: 978-0553581652
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 1 x 6.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #465,610 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Dear Barbara: Fewer Characters, Please. Signed: Confused, March 31, 2002

By 

Michael Weber "fairportfan" (Atlanta) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Die Upon a Kiss (Hardcover)

I have enjoyed every one of the Ben January "mysteries" from the first up through this one.

But i had to make about three starts at this one before i made it through.

There are too many characters, too many of whom really failed to register on me. I barely managed to keep track of the principals, and probably lost a number of plot details because of not grasping character interactions properly. (I generally like Hambly's books better when they feature smaller casts.)

I must also agree that i could have done with more of January's family (though his placee sister is featured in a rather tense little side-plot) and, perhaps, more of Rose -- although i suspect that "more of Rose" is going to be rather prominent in some future volume.

I especially would have enjoyed more of Abishag Shaw, the Colombo-esque "American" police officer with whom Ben has a working relationship based on mutual respect and trust that's about as close to true friendship as a free man of color and a white man would be able to come in the New Orleans of the mid-nineteenth century. ((Ben's friendship with his Irish fellow-musician is a special case...))

And i'd certainly welcome more of Marie Laveau...

That all being said, i still enjoyed the book quite a bit -- even if i lost track of the details of the mystery part of the plot -- because Hambly, as always, spins a great story of hope and despair, love and hate, life and death and tears and laughter.

While this is not the volume i'd choose to hand to someone who hadn't read any of the previous books -- i'd definitely recommend beginning with "A Free Man of COlor", the first -- and while i found it the most difficult of the series so far, i would not hesitate to recommend it to anyone who asked me if they ought read it.

((Incidentally, if you have read this book or any of the previous books in this series and enjoyed them, but have not tried her fantasies, i definitely recommend them -- particularly my favourite, the unfortunately out-of-print "Stranger at the Wedding", which straight-facedly combines the best aspects of a Georgette Heyer romantic farce with a mildly gruesome horror plot.))

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars an exquisite crafted novel and a wonderful read, July 3, 2001

By 

tregatt (Portland, Oregon) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Die Upon a Kiss (Hardcover)

Barbara Hambly has written another brilliant Benjamin January mystery in "Die Upon A Kiss" -- Hambly ably mixes political intrigue with the over the top shenanigans of the opera stars, adding a dollop of two of assault, battery and murder. Add to that her very astute and bitingly sharp observations of the class, race and gender practices of New Orleans in the 1830s, and you have a very entertaining, finely detailed and informative novel.

It's Carnival time in New Orleans, and the American Theatre (sponsored by the 'American' community in New Orleans in direct competition to the Creole sponsored opera company) is about to open with it's first opera season under the aegis's of an Italian impresario, Lorenzo Belaggio. And Benjamin January has been able to successfully acquire a job with the orchestra of this new theatre. One night, as he is leaving the theatre after a late rehearsal, Benjamin walks into an attempt on Belaggio's life. Benjamin successfully defends Belaggio from his attackers, and in the chaos that follows, the hysterical opera director accuses first two of his tenors (Belaggio is an Italian who supports the Austrian occupation of the northern cities of Italy, while the two tenors, Cavallo & Ponte, are firm supporters of the New Italy movement); and then the manager of the rival opera company (and Benjamin's friend, John Davis) of the attempted murder. As the hours and days pass, Belaggio's accusations against Davis mount, much to Davis's consternation. Things between the Creole and 'American' communities are tense as it is, without Belaggio's inflammatory claims against Davis. And so Davis asks Benjamin to look into things, and hopefully discover who was really behind the attempt on Belaggio's life, before the next, and perhaps fatal, attempt takes place.

The suspects and motives are many. Definitely Cavallo and Ponte despise Bellagio for his political stance. But would the two men actually kill Bellagio simply for supporting the Austrians? Benjamin senses something deeply personal about this attack. And when it turns out that Belaggio's current mistress, the prima donna of the company, the beautiful Drusilla, is also being courted by one of the sponsors of the theatre, Benjamin wonders if it may be a case of one rival getting rid of another. And then another tantalizing thought comes to mind: the company will be performing "Othello" and Benjamin wonders if someone may be going all out to prevent the play that tells of a black man's love for a white woman from being performed. So many possibilities; where is Benjamin to start? Fortunately, Benjamin has his trusted friend and fellow orchestra player, Hannibal Sefton, as an ally in this quest. But even before Benjamin and Hannibal have even started their investigation, their good friend Madame Scie, the ballet mistress is attacked and severely injured. It looks as if someone is hunting the members of this new company, and for Benjamin, the hunt for this assassin has suddenly become very personal indeed.

"Die Upon A Kiss" is a really brilliant read. The plot is a little convoluted, but well worth the effort of sticking it out. I was simply glued to the pages. Not only was the story outstanding, but the use of language and imagery was absolutely exquisite! Hambly has successfully imbued this novel with that dark atmospheric almost gothic feel -- I could almost taste and smell the dark, cool New Orleans nights that she so ably describes. The characters were all very well defined, and the level of tension/suspense was well sustained. But what I liked most was her droll and biting observations about New Orleans society (both black and white) and the dramatic and grand gestures that the members of the new opera company indulged in. This novel is an absolutely wonderful read, and well worth a five star rating.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars My least favorite of the series, August 23, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Die Upon a Kiss (Hardcover)

I got stuck about 20 pages into it and from there restarted reading it about four times before I finally finished it. I was inundated with the cast of characters and found it very difficult to keep all the relationships and subplots straight. This, along with the author's writing style of constantly interrupting the sentence flow by inserting other lengthy information right in the middle of it (count the em dashes in the book sometime!) made this book a tedious read. I did enjoy seeing Benjamin's & Rose's relationship further develop, and of course getting a great feel for how life was in 1830s New Orleans.