“I know that changes are coming, and we must be ready to face them. Dark and terrible things, things such as what you saw with Lord Byron and at the mill, but those things are … minor disturbances, harbingers of beings much more dangerous.”

Book Review:

Review by Eleanor Bukowsky  AUG 26, 2011)

The Twelfth Enchantment, by David Liss, starts off promisingly. It is the early nineteenth century and our heroine, Lucy Derrick, is a twenty-year-old orphan who is living unhappily in Nottingham, England, with her cruel uncle and an abusive woman named Mrs. Quince. Although she was well-educated by her late father, Lucy was left almost penniless when he died. She is at the mercy of her vicious uncle, Richard Lowell, who cannot wait to be rid of her. In fact, her uncle plans to give her hand in marriage to a thirty-five year old, dried up prune of a man named Olson, the owner of a local hosiery mill.

Although the Industrial Revolution has brought prosperity to some, this newfound wealth and efficiency has come at a high price. Smokestacks belch thick and toxic fumes that pollute the areas bordering the factories. In addition, manual laborers have been replaced by machinery, leading to high unemployment and abject poverty for those who can no longer feed their families. Furthermore, conditions in the factories are vile and unsafe; even the children who work the looms are beaten when they do not meet their overseer’s expectations.

Lucy’s existence is upended by a series of strange events involving Lord Byron (he shows up often in historical fiction these days), a roué named Mr. Morrison who tarnished Lucy’s reputation when she was just sixteen, an avuncular William Blake, and a mysterious and beautiful stranger, Mary Crawford, who introduces Lucy to a world of spells. It seems that Lucy has uncanny abilities that, if harnessed properly, would give her enormous power. She will need to master a huge amount of arcane knowledge and show tremendous courage, for she will find herself pitted against mighty and evil forces.

Meanwhile, Lucy must decide whether to fend off Byron’s not entirely unwelcome attentions (she admits that he is gorgeous to look at but a thorough reprobate). Lucy has a great deal on her plate: Whom can she really trust? Does she have the intellect and determination to use her unique talent effectively? Will she ever meet the love of her life?

By now, you may have deduced that Liss has overstuffed his narrative. There is a derivative quality to this novel that brings to mind familiar (and better) works, such as: Jane Eyre, who was cast off without a penny but stood up for herself as a proud, moral, and independent woman; Hard Times, in which Charles Dickens decries the forced labor of children and excoriates those who would enrich themselves on the backs of the poor; and the Harry Potter series, in which J. K. Rowling breathes life into magic and wizardry, while also dealing with feelings, relationships, and social issues. Liss often writes lush sentences, is a skilled descriptive writer, and he imbues Lucy with warmth and spirit. It is really too bad that, as the book progresses, the author resorts to clichés, contrivances, and silly twists and turns. The conclusion is flat and anticlimactic, when it should have been exciting and exhilarating. Much of The Twelfth Enchantment is captivating, but the weak conclusion may leave readers less than spellbound.

AMAZON READER RATING:	from 47 readers
PUBLISHER:	Random House; First Edition edition (August 9, 2011)
REVIEWER:	Eleanor Bukowsky
AVAILABLE AS A KINDLE BOOK?	YES! Start Reading Now!
AUTHOR WEBSITE:	David Liss
EXTRAS:	Excerpt
MORE ON MOSTLYFICTION:	Read our review of: The Devil’s Company A Spectacle of Corruption The Coffee Trader See also: Jane and the Madness of Lord Bryron by Stephanie Barron

Bibliography:

Benjamin Weaver thrillers:

• A Conspiracy of Paper (2000) /
• A Spectacle of Corruption (2004)
• The Devil’s Company (2009)

Other Historical novels:

• The Coffee Trader (2003)
• The Ethical Assassin (2006)
• The Whiskey Rebels (2008)
• The Twelfth Enchantment (August 2011)

“I doubted the soul-saving qualities of the comptor, for a sodomite sent to spend the night in that fetid prison could well expect endless hours of abuse. In such places, the time-honored tradition required that the most hardened criminals force the sodomites to consume large quantities of human waste.”

Book Review:

Review by Lynn Harnett (OCT 30, 2009)

Benjamin Weaver, Jew, thieftaker, and former pugilist, enjoys a certain notoriety and standing in 1722 London. As a Jew he is accustomed to derision and discrimination and has only in recent years come to bask in a sense of family and community. As a champion boxer he is a bit of a celebrity; feared and admired – a natural for the freewheeling, dubious profession of thieftaker, the 18th century private eye.

Weaver’s reputation and previous successes earn him hefty fees and allow him his pick of jobs. He has therefore turned down a risky, unrewarding, and illegal commission to burgle the heavily guarded headquarters of the East India Company for some office paperwork.

Unwilling to take “no” for an answer, his would-be clients have resorted to force, paralyzing the finances of his elderly uncle and two of his friends, holding ruin over their heads should Weaver not cooperate. And now, not only do they demand the ridiculous burglary, they order him to investigate a murder without mentioning the victim’s name or asking any questions.

Cornered and furious, Weaver naturally attempts to learn what his clients are up to, only to find his every move observed, his conversations overheard, and his friends deeper in peril. Forced to risk the life and liberty of others as well as his own, Weaver is driven to even greater feats of ingenuity and daring.

What Liss (and Weaver) previously did for the South Sea Bubble of 1720 (A Conspiracy of Paper) and the political struggle between the Georgians and the Jacobites (A Spectacle of Corruption), he does now for the burgeoning, scheming, powerful East India Company, not yet an empire builder but with ambitions in that direction.

The issues of capitalism, big business, justice, globalization and beyond have natural parallels to the burning issues of today but, as in all of Liss’ books, this state of affairs feels natural and unforced and is deeply interesting.

And, as always, Weaver takes us on a two-fisted tour of London’s alleys, taverns, whore houses (including gay brothels) and thieves’ dens as well as the feathered nests of the wealthy and the backrooms of the movers and shakers. Workingmen are a day’s pay from poverty and women a man’s heartbeat from the streets. The atmosphere is often fetid, the food and drink foul, but Liss’ London is vibrant with life.

There’s a woman, too, her smarts and skills a match for Weaver’s, and fans will hope to see more of her. The Devil’s Company is on a par with the best of his work, the Edgar winning A Spectacle of Corruption.

AMAZON READER RATING:	from 49 readers
PUBLISHER:	Random House; First Edition edition (July 7, 2009)
REVIEWER:	Lynn Harnett
AVAILABLE AS A KINDLE BOOK?	YES! Start Reading Now!
AUTHOR WEBSITE:	David Liss
EXTRAS:	Reading Guide and Excerpt
MORE ON MOSTLYFICTION:	Read our review of: The Twelfth Enchantment  A Spectacle of Corruption  The Coffee Trader And some more historical fiction: Stone’s Fall by Ian Pears Fingersmith by Sarah Waters Drood by Dan Simmons

Bibliography:

Benjamin Weaver thrillers:

• A Conspiracy of Paper (2000) /
• A Spectacle of Corruption (March 2004)
• The Devil’s Company (July 2009)

Other Historical novels:

• The Coffee Trader (March 2003)
• The Ethical Assassin (February 2006)
• The Whiskey Rebels (September 2008)
• The Twelfth Enchantment (August 2011)