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meganbmooreSet shortly after Sorcery and Cecelia, The Grand Tour features cousins Cecelia and Kate, along with their new husbands, James and Thomas, going on the famed Grand Tour of the continent for their wedding journeys. Naturally, things don't go as peacefully as planned, and the two couples soon find themselves caught up in strange events connected to intruders leaving behind slippers, conveniently running into the same people at many of their stops, strange women, and what appears to be a burgeoning international incident.
The full title is The Grand Tour, or The Purloined Coronation Regalia, being a revelation of matters of High Confidentiality and Greatest Importance, including extracts from the intimate diary of a Noblewoman and the sworn testominy of a Lady of Quality. That should give you something of an idea of what you're in for with it. While the first book is told in the form of letters Kate and Cecelia exchange while Kate is enduring her (really her sister's) Season and Cecelia is stuck out in the country, this one tells Cecy's story through her official recounting of the events, and Kate's through her diary.
Unfortunately, not only does this remove the gossipy quality of the writing, but it also gets a bit confusing at times, as both sides are written in first person, and the cousins are together through most of the book. Their voices also aren't as distinct as they were before, and somehow, the "Jane Austen with magic" loses a bit of its zing. I think that removing it from the country/city settings, and the almost inherent nostalgia and making it a travel story (where the authors are clearly delighting in getting to "visit" all these places) also contributes. The book is still great fun on every level, it just isn't as delightful as Sorcery and Cecelia.
The full title is The Grand Tour, or The Purloined Coronation Regalia, being a revelation of matters of High Confidentiality and Greatest Importance, including extracts from the intimate diary of a Noblewoman and the sworn testominy of a Lady of Quality. That should give you something of an idea of what you're in for with it. While the first book is told in the form of letters Kate and Cecelia exchange while Kate is enduring her (really her sister's) Season and Cecelia is stuck out in the country, this one tells Cecy's story through her official recounting of the events, and Kate's through her diary.
Unfortunately, not only does this remove the gossipy quality of the writing, but it also gets a bit confusing at times, as both sides are written in first person, and the cousins are together through most of the book. Their voices also aren't as distinct as they were before, and somehow, the "Jane Austen with magic" loses a bit of its zing. I think that removing it from the country/city settings, and the almost inherent nostalgia and making it a travel story (where the authors are clearly delighting in getting to "visit" all these places) also contributes. The book is still great fun on every level, it just isn't as delightful as Sorcery and Cecelia.
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Date: 2008-08-18 12:45 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-08-18 05:38 pm (UTC)While I didn't think The Mislaid Magician was as good as Sorcery and Cecelia, I thought it was better than The Grand Tour, mostly because of the return to the letters-between-Cecy-and-Kate format.
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Date: 2008-08-18 05:52 pm (UTC)So all three would be the same format.