"plenty of magic, occult, mystery, danger, laughter and wit"
Patricia C Wrede's MAGICIAN'S WARD is a totally delightful
book! It's both a regency and a paranormal. It's also the
sequel to MAIRELON THE MAGICIAN, which I've not read but
it's not required to enjoy WARD. Wrede pens a fun, pithy, exciting story of the 'Pygmalion'
type evolution of a young street thief, Kim, who's spent
most of her youth disguised as a boy.. Mairelon, a wizard,
is also Richard Merrill, youngest son of a noble family in
Regency England. While actual ages are not specified, you
can infer Kim's in her late teens, early twenties, and
Mairelon is late twenties, early thirties. Not quite a May-
December romance -- in fact, the thrust of the book is NOT
romance though it does end with one-- the oft
misinterpreted interactions between the magician and his
ward are based on both the differences in their ages and
social status. An attempted theft of a book of spells from Mairelon's
townhouse and the subsequent events are the story of
MAGICIAN'S WARD. There's plenty of magic, occult, mystery,
danger, laughter and wit. I was particularly impressed with
Wrede's secondary characters. But Kim, the ward, steals the
show, as rightly she should. She has an admirable strength,
some of it gutter-grown, and a large dose of moxie. But
she's also unsure and vulnerable about herself, her mage
talents and her social status, and shows real growth in
those areas. A thoroughly likable heroine! I've not read Wrede before but will definitely seek out her
other books. Linnea Sinclair © Copyright November 2000
Reviewed by PNR Group Member
Posted April 19, 2002
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From Ingram
When Mairelon made Kim his ward, he promised to teach her
to be a lady and a magician. But magic proves to be harder
than it looks, and being a lady is even harder. Before
frustration--and Merrill's formidably correct aunt--can
drive Kim mad, a mysterious gentleman attempts to burgle
the Merrill town house. Soon, disaster strikes Mairelon,
and Kim braves London society and her old, familiar back
slums to save him, helped by a London moneylender, a
Russian wizard prince, seven legendary French wizards, and
Mairelon's charmingly eccentric mother.
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