Unnatural Fire: A Countess Ashby de la Zouche Mystery (Countess Ashby de La Zouche Mysteries) [Paperback]

Fidelis Morgan (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

A boisterous, bawdy romp through Restoration England, Unnatural Fire introduces a pair of unlikely heroines and sets them on a merry chase through London just before the dawn of the 18th century. The Countess Ashby de la Zouche has lost her place in society with the death of Charles II, her former paramour, and the subsequent disappearance of her husband, a swindler who's gone to America to seek his fortune. Languishing in debtor's prison, she's soon rediscovered by her erstwhile maid Alpiew, whose circumstances aren't much better than her former employer's. But the two women swiftly discover how to turn their shared fondness for gossip into a tidy livelihood as stringers for an infamous scandal sheet. Hired by a wealthy matron to get the goods on her philandering husband, they stumble on a murder that sets this fast-paced, funny story in motion. The mystery mixes royal intrigue, theatrical shenanigans, cross-dressing strangers, and secret formulas into a delicious potion brewed by an actor and playwright who specializes in Restoration comedy. Author Fidelis Morgan's thorough familiarity with the period informs every paragraph of this delightful historical romp. --Jane Adams --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

British actress and playwright Morgan's (Hangover Square) love of Restoration comedy fires her first novel, a bawdy romp featuring a pair of unlikely female sleuths: the intrepid 60-year-old Lady Anastasia Ashby de la Zouche, who was once Charles II's mistress, and her former personal maid, the buxom, alluring Alpiew. Desperate for money, the countess and Alpiew join forces to write articles for a London scandal sheet, but get sidetracked following a well-to-do merchant, Beau Wilson, at the behest of his worried wife, who is suspicious of his long, unexplained absences from home. As they trail Beau around London's seedier districts, the countess and Alpiew attend a play or two as well as a lecture on the eclipse of the sun (due later that year of 1699), comment wittily on the state of the theater and scientific learning and eventually stumble on their quarry, his throat cut from ear to ear, one night in Covent Garden. Like a comic Restoration play, the action proceeds pell-mell, replete with bad puns and knockabout farce. The discovery of a secret "elaboratory" where Beau dabbled in the "hermetic arts" (alchemy), a fishing outing to the country, the murder of the Wilsons' loyal servant, Betty, and a cipher in alchemical symbols all lead in the end to a surprising plot involving King William himself. Fans of light historical mysteries are sure to be amused. (Mar. 16)Forecast: The BBC and Channel 4 are adapting Unnatural Fire for a TV movie; A&E and PBS are both interested in U.S. rights. Adaptation by either of the latter will boost sales of the book down the road.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

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

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Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Harper Perennial (February 5, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060007834
• ISBN-13: 978-0060007836
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #982,908 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Unnatural Fire, October 4, 2002

By	Barbara J. Frayser (The Book Place, Inc. Memphis, TN USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Unnatural Fire: A Countess Ashby de la Zouche Mystery (Hardcover)

A historical mystery that is a delightful rowdy romp through London in 1699. Not at all the usual 'researched and narrated to the nth degree' slow moving dull historical mystery one finds so often. Countess de la Zouche, bawdy ex-mistress of Charles II, keeps out of debtor's prison by selling naughty gossip tidbits with the aid of her former maid, Alpiew. Their adventures include murder, scandal/mystery involving alchemy, numerous backstreet characters and nobility. Witty and satirical, this book is definitely a fun read.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very Entertaining--especially for a first novel, February 15, 2002

By	Eric McCalla "reviewboy" (Denver, COLORADO) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Unnatural Fire: A Countess Ashby de la Zouche Mystery (Countess Ashby de La Zouche Mysteries) (Paperback)

Fidelis Morgan's UNNATURAL FIRE is an unnaturally enjoyable historical mystery. She blends mystery, comedy, intrigue and a healthy measure of period details of Restoration-era London to whirl the reader back in time. I do sincerely hope she plans to write a long-lived series featuring Countess Ashby de la Zouche and her fiery partner-in-criminal investigation, maid and confidant, Alpiew.

They do make a winning pair!

Hats (or should I say, wigs?) off to Miss Morgan for a finely written and very, very enjoyable "romp" through the back alleys and other unseemly places of ye olde London!!

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars an engaging good read, March 11, 2001

By	tregatt (Portland, Oregon) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Unnatural Fire: A Countess Ashby de la Zouche Mystery (Hardcover)

I really do hope that "Unnatural Fire" by Fidelis Morgan is the first book in a new series featuring Anastasia Ashby de la Zouche and Alpiew. This book is simply brimming with ingeniousness, vivacious energy and a great deal of humour.

It's 1699 and William of Orange sits on the thrown of England, much to the disgust of Anastasia Ashby de la Zouch, Baroness Penge, Countess of Clapham and one of Charles II's former mistresses. The Countess is down on her luck -- high living, pilfering servants, and a husband who ran off with much of her money, has all but landed her in a near peniless state. Not one to throw her hands up in despair and do nothing, the Countess has tried her hand at various ventures. The current one being journalism. The Countess works as a stringer for Mr. Cue, ferreting out bits of information about the rich and the titled in society, and selling it as gossip to Mr. Cue. However she is 'between engagements' when she is thrown into Fleet Prison for non payment of a debt. Knowing that only she can get herself out of this jam, the Countess ferrets about for some juicy tidbit in order to buy her way out of the Fleet. And indeed she gleefully stumbles onto the sensational news that a very rich man about town has secretly wed an employee of a sex shop. Surely Mr. Cue will pay handsomely for this little tidbit! Unfortunately for the Countess, her former maid, Alpiew, is also in the Fleet, and she has also latched on to the same piece of gossip and successfully uses it to buy her way out of the Fleet.

Alpiew immediately tries to finagle a contract for work from Mr. Cue. But he will only hire her if she has a permanent address. Realising that she needs the Countess, Alpiew strikes a bargain with the Countess: they will work as partners and Alpiew will use their initial earnings to buy the Countess's way out of the Fleet. And so the most unlikely of partnerships begins.

The next day, a mysteriously veiled young woman arrives at the Countess's doorstep. Mr. Cue has recommended them to her as trustworthy agents. The lady wants the Countess and Alpiew to follow her husband, Beau Wilson, and to see what he is up to. She fears that he has a mistress and that he is bankrupting them to fulfill his greedy mistress's rapacious needs. The Countess and Alpiew readily agree to follow Beau about. And their quarry takes them all over London -- through the coffee shops to the halls of academia to the theatre to St. Paul's where it looks as if Beau is finally about to meet his inamorata. However instead of stumbling onto the guilty lovers, the Countess and Alpiew stumble over the dead body of Beau instead! Alpiew successfully takes to her heels, but the Countess is arrested by the watch for the murder. Now Alpiew must somehow unravel what is going on and rescue the Countess before she can be tried and hanged for a crime she did not commit!

"Unnatural Fire" is a well written and researched mystery novel, that vividly evokes London in the 17th century -- scenes and chartacters just seem to come alive before your eyes! The novel is tautly and evenly paced, and I found myself unable to put this book down -- I just had to know what Beau was up to and why he was killed. The unlikely pairing of an aging Countess -- still full of vim and vigour, and her former maid, who while not as outrageous as her former employer, is as resourceful and as adventurous -- is not only brilliant but actually works very well, and is the highlight of this novel. Here are two women who have faced much adversity and hardship, but who refuse to give up without a fight. Their tenacity is awe-inspiring.

This mystery novel is an engaging and riverting read, and well worth the 5 star rating.