2018/70: Band Sinister -- KJ Charles
2018/70: Band Sinister -- KJ Charles
A splendidly Heyeresque romp, in which nobody dies horribly (though Amanda's riding injury, unlike those in Heyer novels, is graphic and frightful) and all receive their just, and most beneficent, desserts.
Guy Frisby and his sister live quietly in the countryside, their lives blighted by a dreadful scandal (or two) and their finances controlled by disapproving Aunt Beatrice. Guy whiles away his time reading unexpurgated Latin poetry and trying not to think too hard about why he prefers it unexpurgated: Amanda, meanwhile, has been writing a Gothic novel, The Secret of Darkdown, whose characters are based on their disreputable neighbour, Sir Philip Rookwood, and his coterie of wickedness, a.k.a. the Murder. ('if you go around belonging to a hellfire club called ‘the Murder’ and having orgies, you can’t complain if people wonder about you'.)
Guy is horrified. Amanda is blithe, and has been paid ten pounds for her novel.
( minor spoilers )
"I know it's not Latin because obscenity was the sole aspect of my classical studies to which I paid attention. I believe the word there is irrumare," Philip added, somewhat smugly.
"Fellare," Guy corrected without thinking.
"I'm sure Catullus has irrumare."
"He does, but it doesn’t mean quite the same thing."
Philip's grin was an evil joy. "You really will have to explain the distinction." [loc. 2691]
A splendidly Heyeresque romp, in which nobody dies horribly (though Amanda's riding injury, unlike those in Heyer novels, is graphic and frightful) and all receive their just, and most beneficent, desserts.
Guy Frisby and his sister live quietly in the countryside, their lives blighted by a dreadful scandal (or two) and their finances controlled by disapproving Aunt Beatrice. Guy whiles away his time reading unexpurgated Latin poetry and trying not to think too hard about why he prefers it unexpurgated: Amanda, meanwhile, has been writing a Gothic novel, The Secret of Darkdown, whose characters are based on their disreputable neighbour, Sir Philip Rookwood, and his coterie of wickedness, a.k.a. the Murder. ('if you go around belonging to a hellfire club called ‘the Murder’ and having orgies, you can’t complain if people wonder about you'.)
Guy is horrified. Amanda is blithe, and has been paid ten pounds for her novel.
( minor spoilers )