Customer Reviews

The Women of Nell Gwynne's

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The "Women of Nell Gwynne's" is an interesting short novel set in the early-Victorian period of Kage Baker's Company universe, a side-story not really involving any of the series' major characters or plot lines, but nicely filling out some background. Followers of the series will get the most from it, but it stands pretty well as a independent and amusing story. Nell Gwynne is the madame of a very polished and high-class brothel that operates as a front for a Company intelligence operation. To investigate rumours of some anomalously advanced technology, the ladies arrange to be hired as the entertainment for an orgy at a country estate - complications ensue, including a few murders to avoid being framed for, secrets discovered, etc. This particular Subterranean Press first-edition was nicely illustrated by the delightfully named J.K Potter (no doubt related to Harry Rowling :), and (unexpectedly) signed by the author.

In Kage Baker's alternate Victorian reality, the women are just as devious, daring, and clever as the men, and this is their story. You'll tear through this novella in no time at all, rooting for the Women of Nell Gwynne (particularly Lady Beatrice, our wronged heroine) in their machinations for the good of the Crown.

The one thing other reviewers haven't spent enough time on is the absolute beauty of these Subterranean Press Deluxe editions. This particular publisher regularly issues short run novellas, as well as reprints of full size novels, in a higher end format. They pull out all the stops, thus the generally higher prices. For example, the artwork on the cover and in several interior illustrations is gorgeous, and so detailed you'll spend time trying to decide if they somehow involve photography. The end papers are quality linen, and in my case, I received a signed issue. (I don't believe that's guaranteed, though, as Subterranean issues a specific number of signed copies and then that's it.)

In summary, with stellar writing, illustrations that could be mounted on the wall, and print quality you don't often see anymore, this book is a keeper. It made me very happy in a kid with a new toy way, as well as a dedicated fan of Subterranean Press. So, if you are in the mood to treat yourself to a collectible book you'll keep forever, the extra bucks are highly worth it.

In "The Women of Nell Gwynne's," author Kage Baker tells the story of Lady Beatrice, the daughter of a British Army officer, who, through tragic and difficult circumstances, became a London streetwalker. She is recruited to join an exclusive brothel (the eponymous Nell Gwynne's), which is the sister organization of the Gentlemen's Speculative Society and specializes in gathering secrets from powerful men. Lady Beatrice and her fellow courtesans are hired to attend a party at Lord Bascomb's estate. When the party takes an odd turn, it's up to the women to investigate and resolve the situation.

This novel is great fun. The characters are quirky and interesting. The story is tightly plotted and suspenseful. There is enough similarity to the Company novels to be welcoming, without feeling like a retread. The illustrations are brilliant and engaging - I found them just a bit disturbing as well.

The one caveat: this independently-published book is really quite expensive for the length of the story, so those who would feel cheated with such a slight volume might prefer to get it from the library. Overall, a really terrific, fun, escapist read.

The Women of Nell Gwynne's
Kage Baker
Subterranean Press
ISBN: 9781596062504
Publication Date: June 30, 2009
122 pages
Illustrated by J. K. Potter

"The Women of Nell Gwynne's" is a Victorian steampunk murder-mystery with characters and locations reminiscent of a Dickens novel. Nell Gwynne's is a high-class bordello in London that caters to Parliament, nobility, and the aristocracy. While servicing these distinguished men the women of Nell Gwynne, a highly unusual group of whores, attempt to uncover and collect political secrets for use by their employer the GSS, a super-secret scientific agency that protects the Crown.

While attending a diner party held by a British nobleman, Lady Beatrice and her fellow ladies-of-the-evening, uncover a scheme to sell anti-gravity technology to the highest bidder. After the various groups retire to their bedrooms for a night of frolicking the host is found murdered and the women take it upon themselves to investigate. As well they should. Mrs. Corvey, the madam, and her stable of working girls are no ordinary whores. They are strong, smart, capable, and not above kicking some high-brow ass when needed.

This compact and well-written novella is filled with intrigue, turn-of-the-century dialogue, steampunked technology, murder and mystery and sets up a universe that will hopefully become a recurrent one in Baker's universe of strange and exciting times and places. An enjoyable, entertaining, and quick read I, for one, hope to see more of "The Women of Nell Gwynne's" soon.

4 out of 5 stars

The Alternative
Southeastern Wisconsin

[...]

Plot Summary: The daughter of a British officer grows up in India, and when tragedy erases her status in society, she returns to London and becomes a high-class streetwalker named Lady Beatrice. She is recruited into an exclusive brothel known as Nell Gwynne's, but her primary function is to spy on the lords and lawmakers who frequent the establishment. It's the collective task of all the girls who work there, and they are sponsored by a secret society of scientists who develop technologies far beyond the time period.

Sadly, I was underwhelmed by this steampunk novella. I think long-time Kage Baker fans will embrace it with open arms, especially for sentimental reasons, but first time readers would be perfectly justified in passing it by. At 122 pages in length, The Women of Nell Gwynne's is not a tight enough story to pull off what it's trying to do. The setting couldn't be better though... a brothel in early Victorian London that caters to the men of state, while funneling information to a secret group called the Gentlemen's Speculative Society. Fans of Baker's Company series know that this group is the forerunner of the Dr. Zeus Company, and it's like a peek into their past.

The steampunk elements were blended in nicely, and there was even a "Q" scene, like in James Bond when the nerdy scientist shows off advanced gadgetry. That was cool. What made it awkward was the heroine, Lady Beatrice, who resembled an emotionless robot more than anything. It was so strange to me that Ms. Baker didn't allow her heroine any expression of emotion, aside from resignation. I would have expected her to show some fear, disgust, or excitement at some point, but she went through the story like a zombie.

Kage Baker has a "warm", inventive style that no other author that I've read has. I've read all the "Company" books, and while the progression of this series usually gets more and more complex, this book takes a bit of a different tack, and introduces new delightful and intiguing characters (and new situations) not seen before, while seamlessly integrating into the "Company" universe.

My one complaint is that the book is ridiculously expensive (more than $40) for only about 100 pages of material.

Baker has built up quite a fan base for her novels about The Company but where the first one, _The Garden of Iden,_ was an amazing piece of invention and narrative style, they've been sliding slowly downhill every since. This novella (a little over 100 pages) is a pretty lightweight offering, set in London of the 1840s, and focusing on a bawdy house filled with unusual women. Besides their occupation as whores, they also act as intelligence-gatherers for a secret society (about which we are told almost nothing beyond a few isolated hints) that appears to the predecessor body of Dr. Zeus, Inc. The first third is all set-up, seen through the eyes of Lady Beatrice, an orphaned survivor of the calamitous British retreat from Kabul under General Elphinstone, who is possessed of a steel spine as a result and is not to be trifled with. Her boss, the proprietor of Nell Gwynne's establishment, is blind but has been outfitted with telescopic brass optical implants -- and we're supposed to accept the neurological assumptions without explanation. The aforementioned secret society supplies all these James Bond toys to the ladies whom it sends off to a country estate to investigate an auction being held to sell a mysterious technological device to the highest international bidder. We find out what the device does but the how is also never explained -- which is annoying, since it's not the sort of thing that can be whipped together out of thin air with no predecessor science. The story is marketed partly as a "murder mystery," but it's not that, either, since there's no mystery apparatus or development; the "mystery" and its resolution take place within a few pages of each other. The style is occasionally and annoyingly precious, and there are way too many loose ends left dangling. It's almost as if this were an outline for a novel-length work but Baker got tired of it and abandoned it. You may wonder why you bothered, but at least you won't have spent much time on it.

Grossly Overpriced. While I can understand the attraction of an erotic, steampunk mystery, no book is worth what they're asking for this Novella. I have never paid even half this much for a single book many times longer than a novella; why would I want to start now?

Personally, I'd love to read this story, but I'll wait until I can find it on the used-book market at something less than the typical retail price of a hard-bound novel.