Friday Fiction: A Lady's Guide to Marvels and Misadventure by Angela Bell

Fall is in the air, and with it always comes—at least for me—a renewed desire to travel to faraway and magical places! As the days grow colder and the nights grow longer, what better time can there be to curl up with a mug of tea and a book?

For me, Angela Bell’s A Lady’s Guide to Marvels and Misadventure proved to be a delightful escape into a world of Victorian whimsy. I haven’t read much steampunk, and so I appreciate that A Lady’s Guide is a very gentle introduction to the genre. While near-magical inventions—whether flying owl machines or mechanical birds—abound throughout Clara and Theodore’s, the middle-class Victorian setting was familiar enough to keep the story grounded.

As a lifelong lover of literature, I am always delighted when authors engage with each other through their works of fiction, and I loved Bell’s subtle nods to The Nutcracker throughout A Lady’s Guide. While the quest/chase plot of A Lady’s Guide has little in common with The Nutcracker, the magic and whimsy are certainly familiar, as are the redemptive themes woven throughout. While Bell is clearly a Christian author, her spiritual themes stop short of being on-the-nose, adding another layer to the story without detracting from the plot.

Bell also did a great job with the interpersonal relationships in A Lady’s Guide! The main character, Clara, is immediately lovable and relatable, while still imperfect. I deeply related to her character arc, and loved Bell’s sensitivity and nuance in developing her character!

Clara’s family were also very well written, and to excellent comedic effect! At one point, Clara’s mother ran the risk of becoming a caricature, but Bell saved that well, instead developing Clara’s mother into a wise and loving (though still amusing) mentor figure.

The romantic subplot added a delightful layer to the story! The romance was limited to brief kissing, but the chemistry between Clara and Theodore kept me turning pages and culminated in a heartwarming climax.

All in all, if you love whimsy, adventure, romance, or historical charm, A Lady’s Guide to Marvels and Misadventure is the perfect book to lose yourself in this fall!

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Grace MacPherson is the author of the Christian fantasy novels The King’s Sword and Domitian. You can read more about her at authorgracemacpherson.com, where she blogs about literature and shares book recommendations and writing updates.