A Dangerous Affair

Recently, I was told that the “historical novel is dead.” Well, I think that stories of the historical novel’s death are greatly exaggerated (to paraphrase Mark Twain).

Caro Peacock‘s US debut with A FOREIGN AFFAIR did very well, thank you, and I believe her follow up A DANGEROUS AFFAIR will do just fine.

A FOREIGN AFFAIR introduced us to heroine Liberty Lane–name so because her late parents were proponents of the spirit of the American revolution. There, she foiled an assination attempt on the young Queen Victoria–ironic, in a way.

Now, she must help uncover the truth about the death of a young dancer…while also getting involved (through the intervention of the youngish Benjamin Disraeli) with some of the politics of the day.

What I loved about these books from the get-go is that Caro Peacock writes not only about the aristocracy of the day, but also about those who live in the demi-monde…the artists, writers, and thinkers of the Victoria period. And while we think of that time as being incredibly repressed, it was also a time of great economic and social upheaval. Oh no, that sounds boring–believe me the book isn’t boring. It’s great stuff.

If this historical novel is dead, please let me know, because I’ve also lived through the demise of the historical romance and the contemporary romance, which is kind of news to me.