Download The Shadow of Albion (Carolus Rex, Book 1) djvu

This is the first book of a pair of alternate-history fantasy romances, the sequel being LEOPARD IN EXILE, which I had already read and enjoyed. So it was great to get the backstory. Set mainly in England during the Napoleonic era, but descendants of Charles II hold the throne, and the American Revolution never occurred. The heroine is an American frontierwoman from the same era, but our own timeline, so she has to navigate a very different political structure than she expects when she is pulled from her own universe to replace her dying doppelganger, a British noblewoman. Her new life comes complete with a ducal fiance whose business is espionage. Much confusion and suspense ensues.

The romance element is understated, the suspense is pretty alarming, and there is a reasonable amount of comic relief. The period dialogue is not quite as fluent as Naomi Novik's, but better than Patrick O'Brien's. There are some fun historical footnotes. Recommended for anyone who enjoys history, fantasy, and romance, but doesn't require much bosom-heaving.

The "Carolus Rex" series is set in a world in which James, Duke of Monmouth was recognized as the legitimate son of Charles II, the latter having married the Duke's mother while living in exile. The restored Stuart King acknowledged this fact to his councilors and the Duke of Monmouth was crowned King Charles III upon his father's death - instead of the late king's ardently Catholic brother James (James II of history). But these first two books are set in the reign of King Henry IX of England, during the time of England's confrontation with Revolutionary and Napoleonic France.

Strongly Protestant in religion and reportedly possessing his royal father's famous charm in full, King Charles III holds England's loyalty and faces down though does not entirely eliminate the threat from diehard Catholic English lords. He is succeeded in direct line by Charles IV, James II, Charles V, and Henry IX - all of the House of Stuart. With the Stuarts on the throne instead of the prickly Hanoverians, relations with the American colonies were given more consideration and revolution and separation have been avoided. America is now governed by a Lord Protector (Thomas Jefferson, Earl of Monticello) and the colonists have full representation in the London Parliament. As in Ireland, a line of American titles has been created - though likewise considered somewhat second-class. But the Stuart England of the widower King Henry IX must still contend with the revolution of 1789 in France and now in 1805 by the newly born Empire - and its martial emperor Napoleon I - and the threat from internal Catholic opponents also remains.

The authors have added a further, and for them familiar, spark to their mix - magic. While the great majority of their world's population lives in a fashion familiar to historians of our world, Andre Norton and Rosemary Edghill have introduced a backstage war of the shadows that draws both on traditions of conspiracy and espionage from our world and added a further layer of the supernatural. Hereditary monarchs in their world rule with the acquiescence, allegiance, and support of a parallel magical world - a world that works in this one through individual practionners of magic as well as selected residents of this parallel world, reminiscent of Ireland's Tuatha De Danaan. The usurper Napoleon has broken the bonds between the two worlds that serve to sustain rightful kings and kingdoms, thus depriving himself of the benefit of the powers of that world and made this magical world the natural if secret ally of Stuart England. Napoleon's action also threatens the continued hidden existence of that magical parallel world as its ties to the real world are already dwindling in the face of modern science.

The first book is set in 1805. The armies of the Triple Alliance of Great Britain, Prussia, and Russia are in the field and the Royal Navy has benefited from the service of Admiral Lord Nelson. King Henry IX is hoping to seal an alliance with Denmark by marrying Crown Prince James Charles Henry David Robert Stuart to Princess Stephanie Julianna, Granddaughter of Denmark's King Christian VII. This proposed marriage becomes the target of British and French efforts on the principle arena for these books - the realm of espionage, agents, plot, and counterplot. This allows for the introduction of the two main characters - Rupert St. Ives Dyer, Captain His Grace the Duke of Wessex and his fiancée, Sarah Marchioness of Roxbury.

The Duke of Wessex fits well within the model of English aristocratic literary adventurer heroes such as the Scarlet Pimpernel - elegant foppish aristocrat to the general public, a hard experienced secret agent of the King otherwise. The two families arranged his engagement to Lady Roxbury when they were much younger and there has been no rush to nuptials on either part. For her part, Lady Roxbury is even more an example of the high handed and high-living English aristocrat than Wessex at his most foppish. But her health has suffered and she is now reportedly near death - and this is when the magic comes in.

The human agents of that world of magic intervene and switch Lady Roxbury with her twin from a parallel universe - our world. Thus our world's Sarah Cunningham of Baltimore, Maryland of the independent United States of American finds that her transatlantic voyage to Great Britain has brought her not to the home of distant English relations but instead to Mooncoign House, home of Lady Roxbury and her doppelganger in this world. There Sarah is now addressed as and recognized by all - save herself - as Marchioness Roxbury. But this Lady Roxbury has memories of life in a different world in which she lived in the wilderness with the Indians, learned to fire a rifle accurately, and was not the extravagant socialite of her reputation. Sarah's efforts to cope with this duality and Wessex's indecision about his engagement and his confusion over the true character of his fiancée represent the major nonpolitical story line. In a twist not yet fully explored in these two books, Sarah is more in touch with the world without being fully aware of its reach and importance, while Wessex displays a rationalist disbelief that is likely to be tested in future books as the deus ex machina of the magical realm intervenes in his war of the shadows activities.

The political story of espionage, plot, and counterplot would be recognized by Sir Walter Scott and Alexander Dumas. The cast of characters - minor and otherwise - that populate the two novels that so far populate the series include George Washington, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Talleyrand, the Marquis de Sade, the Dauphin, Nelson, Wellington, Andrew Jackson, and Jean Lafitte. Napoleon himself has not yet appeared as a character but as Emperor of the French is an overarching backdrop to the events that play out. The world of magic is mostly a backdrop to this story, intruding occasionally and only coming to the foreground at particular moments.

Born Alice Mary Norton in Cleveland, Ohio on February 17, 1912 in Cleveland, Ohio, Andre Norton began writing in the 1930s - first as Andre Alice and eventually just as Andre Norton. Her published work includes poetry, short stories, and novels - as well as collaborations with other authors that have dominated her recent published work. Andre Norton is generally considered a fantasy author; many of these works reflect her interest in history, as do her historical novels. Her collaborator and apparently the principal author of these books, Rosemary Edghill, has been writing since 1984, producing numerous fantasy, romance, and mystery novels under several pseudonyms. She is currently working on several different series of books, some in collaborations such as this with Andre Norton. A third novel in the series is reportedly under way but no publication date has been announced.

The two books constituting the series to date may be mildly diverting for the general reader of historical fictionbut are more likely to be of interest only to those students of the Napoleonic area who also enjoy fantasy and magic. One is tempted to suggest that in blending these three genres the authors may be presenting themselves with too great a challenge as they attempt to meet the potentially contradictory demands of each. Of course, the introduction of magic offers them a ready device for resolving such conflicts and the use they make of their historical characters - the Marquis de Sade for example as the Emperor's Governor General of Napoleonic Louisiana - offers some entertainment.

This regency/alternate earth collaboration by Norton and Edghill, which looks to be the first of a series, is a winner! Is it perfect? No. The last half of the book is a bit rushed and the use of magic is uneven. Even so, I believed in the characters; their dilemmas are real and not easily resolved. The dialogue is appropriate to the setting and I loved Sarah taking over the rifle and shooting down the French troops, to the amazement of her so-reluctant husband - right before they fly away in a hot-air balloon! This is a merry-go-round of a book with pretensions to be a carousel.
Playing in an alternate earth is always fun: lots of name dropping occurs as real historical figures turn up in new walks of life. Beau Brummell finally finds his proper niche as a valet, while John Adams still loves his wife! This book deserves a sequel - there's lots of room for more intrigue, romance and magic in this world - or in an alternate Carolinian earth! I'm looking forward to our English Prince meeting his Danish bride; Wessex and Sarah consummating their marriage (I don't believe they got that far at the end of this book) and Wessex getting over the "honor" and spying question...Let's enjoy all the benefits of a Regency/Scarlett Pimpernel romance and alternate history scifi whirlygig next time.

The Shadow of Albion has a lot of promise. Wessex is a fascinating character, a member of a secret spy organization and carrier of such interesting gadgets as a pocketwatch/pistol. And Sarah, although annoyingly perfect as fantasy heroines too often are, manages to be slightly likeable. The little in-jokes are nice, too, especially the Orczy one. Really, I enjoyed the book most of the way through, until the ending. A subplot which had been heavily developed in the middle of the book was suddenly resolved in a flippant chapter I only half understood. Instead of closing the book with a satisfied smile, I felt frustrated and cheated. Additionally, the lack of explanation of how magic works in the world was frustrating. Magic was a convenient device used only to further the plot, while if magic existed, it would certainly affect the undercover operations Wessex takes part in far more than shown. Still, I wouldn't mind reading another book about Wessex and his good-natured partner Ilya. If Sarah has to come along too, then so be it.