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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
interesting mix of worlds, October 9, 2001
I picked up this book because I thought that a fantasy story set in the London of Elizabeth I would be an interesting read. While I enjoyed it, I soon realized that such an extraordinary mix of genres and themes could not appeal to a very wide audience. One finds in this world a very historical novel trying to merge with a typical fantasy story of the fairy world. In the novel itself the merge is more of a clash than a smooth blend, and the same can be said for the literary style. Given that I am a student of history and literature as well as a fantasy fan, I rather enjoyed the concept and had fun making my way through the process.In the book, one is presented with a picture of Elizabethan London. Court intrigue, meetings in pubs, bookselling rights, and the scare of the plague all are part of the basic setting. The author has done her homework and seems at times to almost go out of her way to include some interesting tidbits of history. Real figures from history, such as Christopher Marlowe and Thomas Kyd, make their way into the story. (But fear not, while the author does take liberties with these personalities, they are not subject to the same brutal misrepresentation as befell Chaucer in A Knight's Tale!) Amidst this historical cast, one encounters Alice Wood - a widow who is struggling to keep her husband's business of bookselling running. It is her missing son, Arthur, that draws the fairy folk to London and involves her and her friends in the battle between the light and dark fairy. It took me awhile to really become involved in this story. There are so many subplots at the beginning that one doesn't know which to follow or become attached to. Nevertheless, they all are witty and entertaining and eventually one sees how they all fit together. I enjoyed the story as it developed and appreciated the rich description and philosophical musings as well. This book is not for everyone, but for those who find Elizabethian London and the fairy realm fasinating, I would highly recommend it.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
She understands the Fair Folk and Elizabethan England, September 10, 1998
A marvelously gritty and precise picture of London under Elizabeth I, and a complex and compelling mystery story involving a rare woman member of the Stationer's Guild whose child may be the answer to the battles between the Seelie and Unseelie Courts of Faerie. Lisa Goldstein gets it just about perfect. Also see her exquisite story in Sandman: Book of Dreams.
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3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Bad, bad, bad, July 31, 2006
This is one of those books that sounds really good but turns out to be boring and stupid. There's just something really appealing about the combination of Elizabethan history, the plague and the fairie world and it's clear this author is attempting to imitate Judith Merkle Riley with a funny, cute blend of fantasy and history. But this book does not manage to combine the elements of fantasy and history its plot relies on together into a realistic picture. In fact, there is so little historical information in this book I'm surprised it was even listed as historical fiction.
The fairies in this book are odd, their story is never explained, and nothing is really said about the great conflict between their two sides and the changeling fairy King they all want back. The people working for them don't make sense, the conflict doesn't make sense, and the whole plot doesn't make sense. The whole aspect of the story that deals with fairies is written as if it was told by an outside observer (who doesn't know much) to the author and then written down, which just means that all in all I understood about a fourth of what happened in this book. And that fourth wasn't even good. It jumps several years forward in time for no good reason, the characters are impossible to care about, and what was Christopher Marley doing in this book? The whole playwright part of this book was weird and awful-like the author just inserted conversations playwrights might have had and threw in some fairy dust. This is just a badly written and poorly executed book.
If you want something about the fair folk look elsewhere. This book probably shouldn't have been published as it is. With a lot of writing work, a clear back story and a less obscure plot, way more explanation on the fairy stuff and better writing it might have been ok. As it is it is just a collection of strange events leading to a rushed conclusion.
One star only. This is a bad book; I was terribly bored reading it.
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by Lisa Goldstein
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