Shades of Milk and Honey

In Regency England, Jane Ellsworth of Dorchester is a woman ahead of her time.

Not only is she highly skilled in the manipulation of glamour - plucking strands from the Ether to create genteel magical illusions - she's also ambitious for her art, and dreams of being recognised as a glamourist of note in her own right, as men are permitted to.

First and foremost, however, a lady of quality must marry well, and alas Jane's ambitions do not extend to her romantic prospects. Compared to her beautiful sister Melody, Jane feels invisible to suitors, and is resigned to a life of spinsterhood.

But when her beloved family comes under threat, Jane uses her magical skills to put things right, which attracts the attention of professional glamourist Mr Vincent . . . and unwittingly wanders in to a love story of her own.

“Kowal sets her own mark on this kind of comedy of manners and creates a low-key and witty debut novel, one that succeeds through understated humor and sprightly prose, rather than through absurd juxtapositions of the historical and the supernatural.”

The Glamourist Histories are comedies of manners and magic, and a whole new way of looking at an era that we only thought we knew before. -- John Scalzi With magic, manners, mayhem, and no small measure of derring-do - the Glamourist Histories are everything you could wish for in a sleek, fashionable fantasy series. A shimmering adventure for history buffs and glamour enthusiasts alike. -- Cherie Priest A beautiful, lyrical, tightly woven meld of Jane Austen, Jane Eyre and Beauty and the Beast - I couldn't put it down! -- Lili St. Crow Shades of Milk and Honey could easily fit into Austen's canon... Kowal has captured both the style and content of an Austen novel, adding her own speculative fiction twist. Readers who enjoyed such novels as Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell will find this novel appealing as well. -- The Jane Austen Centre San Francisco Chronicle If Jane Austen had written a fantasy novel, [this] would have been the result. Written with painstaking attention to detail, Kowal's prose is serenely evocative of the time period, and the fantastic elements are a seamless fit. The characterization is extremely well done and Jane is a sympathetic, strong and intelligent heroine whose devotion to her family trumps nearly every other concern.= RT Book Reviews, 4 stars, Top Pick!, Seal of Excellence winner I love these books! They're an ideal mix between adventure, character, and magic. -- Brandon Sanderson

Mary Robinette Kowal is an author, professional puppeteer and voice actor. Mary currently lives in Chicago, Illinois. for more information about her fiction and her puppetry.

In Regency England, Jane Ellsworth of Dorchester is a woman ahead of her time.Not only is she highly skilled in the manipulation of glamour - plucking strands from the Ether to create genteel magical illusions - she's also ambitious for her art, and dreams of being recognised as a glamourist of note in her own right, as men are permitted to. First and foremost, however, a lady of quality must marry well, and alas Jane's ambitions do not extend to her romantic prospects. Compared to her beautiful sister Melody, Jane feels invisible to suitors, and is resigned to a life of spinsterhood.But when her beloved family comes under threat, Jane uses her magical skills to put things right, which attracts the attention of professional glamourist Mr Vincent . . . and unwittingly wanders in to a love story of her own.

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