A Scholar Of Magics by Caroline Stevermer
01/07/2004 . Source: Jennifer Howell 

pub: TOR. 300 page hardback. Price: $19.95 (US), $27.95 (CAN). ISBN: 0-765-30308-6.

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Ironically enough, for a book that is so quaintly and quintessentially English, the author bio proudly proclaims Caroline Stevermer to have been born on a dairy farm in Minnesota. Which makes sense, in a strange kind of way. It probably takes an American eye to capture the sheer clichéd Englishness of it all and yet, in a charming, quirky fashion, it works.

Set around Glasscastle University, a kind of Oxbridge teaching magic, in an alternate 1908ish England, there's a mad attempt at a plot involving magical weapons of mass destruction being developed, complete with mysterious abductions and much odd academic behaviour.

The appeal of it all, though, lies in the very British characters (and one bewildered American) and the odd quirks of magic up against the very proper social code of the time. The devil is in the details and this is a story that immerses itself in etiquette in a gently amusing way, but never mocking.

Much of this is seen from the perspective of Samuel Lambert, a former sharpshooter with 'Kiowa Bob's Wild West Show'. He was hired by the dons of Glasscastle to help them research a new project needing to analyse his shooting skills. With the obvious entertainment of the Wyoming/Glasscastle culture clash set aside, Sam is sweetly chivalric and quietly envious of the daffy undergraduates who get to study magic all day.

Knowing that this is a sequel to first book, 'A College Of Magics', I automatically assumed that we got to see Sam's recruitment in the first book. It's not until Jane Brailsford, the sister of one of his host academics, appears that it clicks and the whole backstory starts falling into place.

It's certainly not a sequel that follows directly on, preferring instead to strike off at a tangent from the more conventional fantasy plot centred around Jane in the first book. To this end, it stands alone perfectly, although I was distinctly tempted to go hunt down book one. Jane, a thorough modern miss for her time, is a teacher at a kind of magical finishing school for girls in France...and she's on a mission from a former pupil.

Jane being the kind of girl who likes to drive really, really fast and has a bit of magic of her own to throw around, she's also completely beguiling. Most of the book is beguiling, come to think of it. The subtle magic system is not the main attraction considering the deft characterisation and absolutely perfect dialogue.

Not quite historical fantasy, not quite a period piece, there's a note-perfect restrained attempt at romance to edge the plot along without ever falling into cliché. Highly, highly recommended if you're after something a little different or you nurture any kind of nostalgia for an England that never quite was. Absolutely charming.

Jennifer Howell