The Magician's Ward by Patricia C. Wrede

[meganbmoore]

Set about two years after Mairelon the Magician, The Magician’s Ward has Kim’s training as a magician well underway. Her training, however, becomes a secondary consideration when it comes time to introduce Kim to society as Mairelon’s ward. Brought in for that task is Mairelon’s very very proper aunt, Mrs. Lowe. Not about to be upstaged, however, Mairelon’s mother, Lady Wendall comes to town to try to take over. This set up (the two society ladies battling over the proper way to introduce the recalcitrant young miss) can often be irritating, but is loads of fun here.

But we can’t have a plot from just that (ok, you can, but then you just have a typical traditional Regency Romance) so suddenly, we have magic house thieves! Conspiracy to rob magicians of their powers! Foreign princes! I was told that this book is fun, but not quite as fun as MtM, and that’s about right. Both books are Regency capers with magic, but different kinds. MtM is a manor house mystery, and MW is city streets and high society adventure. I admit to being more fond of manor house mysteries.

I was warned about the romance between Mairelon and Kim before going in, and I’m not sure if that was for the better or for the worse. You may have noticed that, unless handled just right, variations of mentor/ward and large age differences tend to be one of my big squicks (and yet, handled just right, and the latter can become some of my favorite pairings…) so I wasn’t sure how I’d react. Thankfully, Kim/Mairelon is handled in a way that avoids all my issues: it's a time and society where the ages would be considered perfectly normal for a married or courting couple, Kim didn’t come under Mairelon’s care until she was pretty much fully grown, she’s far too independent and strong willed to mistake any gratitude for romantic affections, or to be led anywhere she doesn’t want to go, and, perhaps most importantly, Mairelon clearly was making sure he didn’t use his position to influence her views or decision on the matter. Mostly, though, Ithink I’m neutral on that subplot. I liked their mostly-platonic dynamic in MtM that I think I’m just disappointed to go directly from that to Mairelon silently pining in the background while Kim goes around clueless most of the book. Err…as that’s actually one of my favorite things in fictional pairings (though not, oddly, the reverse) I’m a bit disappointed I didn’t really get into that subplot. I think I would have more with a book in between showing the transition.

Conversely, I’m very glad that Mairelon and Renee’s relationship remained purely platonic, without a hint of past, present, or future romance. I like it when fiction acknowledges that men and women can be friends and nothing else, with no romantic entanglements or viewing each other in a familial way. Though I do wish we’d seen a bit more of her and Alexei. I’m also glad that Letitia was portrayed as looking to marry a rich husband and having it portrayed as the smart a logical thing for a girl in her posirion to do, instead of being vilified for it.

And lastly, I think the absolute best part of the book was when Mrs. Lowe was supremely unimpressed and not budging when the villain was trying to scare her with his magic.
 

Comments

[cerusee.livejournal.com]

In the classic Georgette Heyer Regencies (to which authors like Wrede and Stevermere and Bujold all owe a debt), it's not uncommon to have either the hero or the heroine interested in marrying for money, whether they're thinking mainly of their own future, or needing to place the welfare of their impoverished family above their own desires. It's not like Heyer protagonists are all crazy mercenary, and certainly, romance, love, and happiness are valued above money or status in almost every single one of her many books (I believe there is exactly one where someone marries a woman he doesn't love for her money; although the story ends on a positive note, it's generally acknowledged to be both darker and much less of a romantic fantasy than most of her books), but Heyer is smart enough to acknowledge that financial stability is not a trivial thing, and that is an important aspect of future happiness--even in fantasy, money still shows up.

Obviously, even if your romantic protagonist is interested in money, he or she has to end up in love, whether or not the love is accompanied by money--romances are about finding love, after all--but yeah, in the Regency romance, wanting to marry wealth isn't something that a character needs to be punished for, or to stop wanting; it's a normal, acceptable desire.

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

*nods*

Which is how it should be. Unfortunately, most more recent stuff has the heroine not wanting to marry for money even if it's needed unless it is to save the family from being on the streets, and mothers/guardians who want them to marry and and other women who want to marry for money aren't portrayed well.

[swanjun.livejournal.com]

This is good to know. I have a bunch of Heyers sitting around that I need to read.

[the_rck]

I liked Magician's Ward better than Mairelon the Magician, not vastly so but enough to be noticeable. I suspect that the style of story had a lot to do with it as manor house mysteries, while usually better for me than other types of mysteries*, aren't something I'm of which I'm dreadfully fond.

*My preference in mysteries usually involves stories set in theaters or libraries or places I know really well or historical mysteries set in periods about which I know almost nothing. I definitely tilt toward humorous mysteries when I read them at all.

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

Yeah. I think your preference for mystery type (if you have one) is an influence for these books.

[swanjun.livejournal.com]

It's been several years since I read these, but I think I liked Mairelon the Magician a bit more. I don't remember much except magic platters and things—was that the first book or the second?

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

The magic platters were the first book.