Sorcery & Cecelia: Or The Enchanted Chocolate Pot (2015) - Plot & Excerpts
During a gap in my NetGalley reads, I was looking for an interim book and happened on Sorcery & Cecelia or The Enchanted Chocolate Pot: Being the correspondence of two Young Ladies of Quality regarding various Magical Scandals in London and the Country. I liked the cover, and the blurb mentioned The Royal College of Wizards, so I ordered it.And did it ever surpass my expectations! Set in Regency England, the book is a comedy of manners, a paranormal fantasy, an epistolary novel, and an absolute delight. I loved it, and I suspect Jane Austen and Georgette Heyer would have loved it, too.Cece and Kate are two cousins who, having gotten into trouble before, are not allowed to have their London seasons together (Aunts Elizabeth and Charlotte are afraid it would be disastrous for all concerned). Therefore, Kate and her younger sister are whisked off to London for their Season, and Cece must wait until the following year for hers.Cece and Kate are reduced to keeping in touch by frequent letters, neither of them happy about their separation. As it turns out, however, Cece's country life becomes more interesting, and Kate in London is about to be entangled in magic. Magic is an accepted part of life (a family acquaintance has just been inducted into The Royal College of Wizards), but the girls have little experience of it as Aunt Elizabeth is adamantly opposed to anything magical. Nevertheless, when Kate inadvertently enters a door into an enchanted garden where a beautiful woman believes Kate is someone else in disguise, magic and sorcery gain access to her life.In the meantime, life in the country gets more interesting when the beautiful young Dorothea arrives and is immediately surrounded by besotted suitors who cannot resist her. Dorothea, a shy young woman, seems almost as bewildered as Cece over the enchanting effect she has over men. Cece befriends Dorothea and has great sympathy for her when Dorothea's stepmother arrives and insists on taking Dorothea to London. Cece is also put out by a young man who has been spying on them.The letters fly back and forth--asking questions and giving advice, describing balls, dresses, and people, and more importantly, trying to solve some mysterious puzzles. Eventually, connections between the small country community of Rushton and the events in London are made, and the intrepid young women take on forces that are threatening and dangerous.What fun! I loved both Cece and Kate and their friendship, high spirits, and satirical comments (oh, the many ways to tie cravats). I loved finding allusions like "messing about in boats" and "ill-met by moonlight," references to Walpole, Lady Caroline Lamb and Lord Byron, and the title of the book The Theory and Practice of Charms: Being an Inquiry int the Making of Bags, Boxes, and the Like by Cuntry Witches and Their Ilk. I loved the odious Mysterious Marquis, the magic, and both Cece and Kate.The opening letters are a bit slow, but serve to give an impression, an atmosphere, of the time period; the pace quickly picks up, however, as our undaunted heroines exert their efforts with aplomb and determination.When I finished, I discovered that the process of writing was a game the two authors engaged in. The Letter Game was suggested by Ellen Kushner, another talented writer. A few excerpts from the Afterword:"The game has no rules, except that the players must never reveal their idea of the plot to one another. It helps to imply in the first letter why the two characters must write to each other and not meet in person." (Caroline)"As the opener of the letter exchange, I was responsible for choosing a setting, as well as for defining my own character. I decided on England just after the Napoleonic Wars, in an alternate universe in which magic really worked...." (Pat)The authors never discussed the plot with each other; only through the letters of the cousins was information about plot shared. As a result an organic kind of story took form with each author using the letters as key.This novel was great fun to read, and I can only imagine the fun of writing it. Perfect for Carl's Once Upon a Time Challenge.(Attachments by Rainbow Rowell, which I also thoroughly enjoyed, is a form of The Letter Game using emails.)Paranormal Fantasy/Comedy of Manners/Historical Fiction/YA. Kindle ed. 2012. Print length: 336 pages.
Píše sa rok 1817, mágia je reálna vec a vyzerá to tak, že dovtedy nerozlučné sesternice Cecelia a Kate budú na pár mesiacov rozdelené. Ich tety totižto usúdili, že je pre dievčatá ten správny čas urobiť debut v Londýnskej spoločnosti. Dobre však vedia, že keď sú Cecelia a Kate pohromade robia len neplechu a tak pošlú do Londýna s Kate jej sestru Geoginu, zatiaľ čo Cecelia zostáva sedieť doma na zadku. V Essexe. Celá kniha je poskladaná z korešpondencie, ktorú si medzi sebou posielajú. V úvodných listoch sú popisované samé smrteľne dôležité veci (kto s kým tancoval, kto má na svedomí aký škandál, kto mal aké šaty, ako najefektívnejšie odstrániť škvrnu z rukavice a pod.), ale potom Kate napadne čarodejnica so šálkou otrávenej horúcej čokolády a Ceceliu potajomky stalkuje nejaký chlapík (síce dosť nešikovného, lebo mu na to vždy príde, no i snaha sa počíta). Skôr než si to vôbec uvedomia sa obe zapletú do žabomyšej vojny Londýnskej smotánky o začarovaný hrniec na čokoládu a pochopia, že ak chcú, aby sa všetko vyjasnilo, musia vziať veci do vlastných rúk. Listová forma je pre túto knihu perfektná, vlastne si ani neviem predstaviť, ako by vyzerala keby bola písaná normálnym štýlom, ale na čare by jej to mohlo rozhodne len ubrať. Je pravda, že sa z listov dozvedáme už len popisy minulých udalostí, takže samé rozprávanie, takmer žiadne ukazovanie, ale môžeme tiež sledovať ten istý príbeh a stretávať nové postavy z dvoch odlišných uhlov pohľadu, čo je najoičividnejšie keď na scénu prichádzajú "protivný" markíz Thomas a "neznesiteľný" James Tarrington. Cecy a Kate majú tiež dosť jasne určené životné priority, takže tie pre dej naozaj dôležité veci, ako krádeže a pokusy o vraždu sú zväčša veľmi vtipným štýlom zmienené len tak mimochodom, pomedzi výlevy o tom, kto sa počas čaju o piatej dopustil módneho faux pas. Hlavnou hybnou silou a tým čo drží celý príbeh pokope je vzájomná dôvera, podpora a priateľstvo, ktoré si sesternice navzájom dokazujú. Obe patria medzi môj najobľúbenejší typ knižných postáv. Rozumné dievčatá, ktoré sa rozhodli vykašlať sa na tie typické, trpiteľské reči hrdinov so zvrátenou logikou, ktorí zadržujú informácie a nehovoria mladým dámam to čo potrebujú vedieť, lebo je to tak pre ne údajne bezpečnejšie. K celej situácii sa postavia veľmi prakticky, pozbierajú indície, zrátajú si dve a dve, všetko si to v pokoji roztriedia až nakoniec prídu na to o čo vlastne celú dobu išlo. Až vtedy berú veci do vlastných rúk doslovne. Áno, sú tu aj romantické zápletky. Dve hlavné, točiace sa okolo Cecy a Kate a zopár menších, vedľajších. Všetky však majú spoločné to, že sú absolútne očividné, absolútne predvídateľné a absolútne roztomilé. A to hovorím ja - osoba, ktorá by všetky romantické zápletky, hlavne v YA knihách najradšej zakázala (predpokladám, že by som na svoju petíciu, zrejme nezískala veľa podpisov, ale za pokus by to stálo). Vo väčšine diel, ktoré majú dvoch, alebo viacerých rozprávačov mám obľúbenú postavu, na ktorej časť príbehu sa teším najviac. Tu sa to nestalo. Obe dievčatá sú až na niektoré povahové črty dosť odlišné a každá popisovala inú dejovú líniu a situáciu, no tešila som sa na obe úplne rovnako. Ale to je asi len jedným zo znakov, ako veľmi dobre autorky vedeli čo robia, navzájom sa dopĺňali, nechali vyznieť informácie tej druhej, ale čo je asi najdôležitejšie, ani jedna sa nesnažila ukradnúť príbeh sama pre seba. Takto by mala vyzerať každá kolaborácia.
What do You think about Sorcery & Cecelia: Or The Enchanted Chocolate Pot (2015)?
I can't remember when I first heard of this book; it may have been simply through being a fan of both Wrede and Stevermer. I wanted it. A lot. But it was out of print. (*cue tragic music*) I turned to eBay, and as I recall I paid over $25 for my paperback copy. I was dismayed by the price – and dismayed when its condition was such that the seller should have been heartily ashamed of him/herself. But regardless of what it looked like, it was mine and I got to read it and I had a wonderful time. It was worth it. And then, not too long after, it was reissued in paperback and available for about a third of what I paid. (*cue "sad trombone" sound effect*)C'est la guerre. I read it only that one time, but it's always been on the radar for a reread, so when I saw it offered by Open Road on Netgalley I pounced. I have become rather fond of Open Road – almost every book I have had from there has been (or might become) an old favorite being given the respect and digital exposure it deserves – and my fondness for the company grew a little more as I settled in to once more enjoy The Enchanted Chocolate Pot. The short version: What fun. What tremendous fun. The longer version (c'mon, this is me, I don't do short except in height): S&C is an epistolary novel written as a game, as a series of letters between Patricia C. Wrede (in the character of Cecilia) and Caroline Stevermer (writing as Kate). They were real letters, sent through the actual post office, with the story revealing itself as they went along, and if anyone out there ever wants to try this I'm in. When they realized that the Letter Game had turned into something that could be a book, they went through it to edit and tighten and clarify it, and the rest is history. Nothing was planned; each response had to deal with what came before it with whatever surprises had been sprung, and move the story forward. The spontaneity shows – it's unpredictable and fresh and fun (I might have mentioned that), and if there are rough patches due to the manner in which it was written it rolls along so merrily and quickly and enjoyably that they barely register. Kate, in London with her beautiful sister Georgianna for their first Season, stumbles into a garden which should not be where it is and is offered a cup of chocolate by a grey-haired lady holding a striking blue chocolate pot. Kate refuses – wisely, considering the hole a stray drop of the beverage eats in her dress – and writes the whole episode to her cousin Cecy wondering whyever this woman would think she was actually someone named Thomas in disguise! The strange lady is after this Thomas's magic, which involves that chocolate pot intimately, and it soon becomes clear that the lady is not alone. And soon, thanks to Cecy and Kate, neither is Thomas – whether he wants them or not, they become his allies along with his friend James, newly acquainted with Cecilia. And so it begins, an adventure which unfolds in the correspondence between these two clever, affectionate cousins. The ladies have said that when they put all the letters together they needed very little editing to make it all flow as a story (just the occasional back-fill of details that were invented on the spot at later dates). I believe it; these two are natural storytellers. They handle Regency language deftly, and riff off the familiar to create their own magic-infused version of the period. And come on – any book that embraces hot chocolate as its central focus has to be wonderful. Still five stars, I'm happy to say.
—Tracey
One of my all time favorite books, Sorcery and Cecelia started out as a letter game between two brilliant writers. The authors clearly enjoyed themselves and the resulting novel is a joy to read, both as a story and as a window into the fun experienced by to marvelous authors. Set in Austen-like 1817 England, which just happens to have some very polite magic rolling around, the plot is largely driven by excellent characterization, two strong heroines, and a great deal of humor. There are several ditty-like romances, and a tidy little ending that makes for an amuse-bouche of a read - tasty and bite sized. There are two follow up books, however, this one stands beautifully alone. Highly recommended!
—Gail Carriger
Kara I bought the book through Amazon Kindle (I read it on my phone) so I think I can let you borrow it. If you want to, let me know and I'll figure it out.
—Angela
