Book Review: Queen Victoria's Book of Spells

[Amy Darvill]

Title of the book: Queen Victoria's Book of Spells

Authors: It's an Anthology so there are 18 authors, but Gregory Maguire and Tanith Lee are some of my favorites who wrote for this.

Genres: Fantasy, Steampunk, Gaslamp (aka Steampunk if less techy and more magical)

Short summary of the story/Review: That would be nearly impossible to write without writing a novel in the process. But the overarching theme of the book is gaslamp fantasy. 18 different interpretations of magic in the roughly Victorian age. We have a retelling/reworking of Frankenstein (Their Monstrous Minds by Tanith Lee), a secret journal by the Queen hidden by spellwork (Queen Victoria's Book of Spells by Delia Sherman) and a tale about a girl who is determined to get her way in a surprisingly disturbing way (The Memory Book by Maureen McHugh and one of my odd favorites from this book).

The book touches on the belief in fairies and spiritualism that arose during those times. Other stories touch on social issues of the day such as The Governess by Elizabeth Bear and the Unwanted Women of Surrey. Others explored the rapid changes of technology happening as the Victorian age faded into the Edwardian age. And the final tale (Estella saves the Village by Theodora Goss) is a love letter to the great literature of the 18th century. For those who either want to explore a more fantastical twist on steampunk or those who enjoyed the often opposing sides of the times will find a lot to love here. Now I won't lie, not every tale worked for me (I find the final tale to be on the saccharine side). But that's often common with anthologies. What I did come away with some new authors to look for. And frankly, a new genre to explore, as I've long been a fan of steampunk.

I wouldn't really recommend anyone too young to read this. It's decidedly adult and while there are no graphic bits, there's definitely murder, abuse, ghosts, and at least one point where the queen is turned into a frog. Oh, wait, that part is actually kind of fun. Each story comes with a small bit from the author explaining where they were coming from and so you get a bit of history from some of those as well. So as long as you're old enough to read all of Harry Potter comfortably, I would say go for it!