Sorcery and Cecelia: a book recommendation
5 out of 5 stars.
I first read Patricia C. Wrede’s and Caroline Stevermer’s Sorcery and Cecelia almost fifteen years ago (as young Yahong kindly pointed out recently, I am old) when it still had the cover you see to the right. It has since been reprinted, given a snazzy new cover (see below), and also given sequels. I have not read the sequels (though they are in my enormous To Be Read stack), but I have read Sorcery and Cecelia at least 5 times… Possibly more… It’s just so good!
It’s 1817, and Kate has been sent to London for her sister’s debut. When she stumbles into a party and ruins the poison chocolate meant for someone else, she suddenly has a whole world of magic (and trouble!) out to get her. To make matters worse, the odious marquis (for whom the poison was meant) is entirely too handsome and simply will not leave Kate alone.
Meanwhile, Cecelia, Kate’s BFF, is stuck back in Essex trying to console her mopey brother whose heart has broken since Kate’s sister went away. But oh, bother — now Oliver has been turned into a tree, there’s a new girl in town who is a bit too bewitching to be natural, and what is that infuriating (yet rather dashing) James doing spying on everyone?
This book is told in a series of letters, alternating Kate and Cecelia. What makes it SO AWESOME is that it was actually written as a series of letters between Stevermer and Wrede. Stevermer = Kate, Wrede = Cecily. They started it as a writing game/exercise, and then they were having so much fun, they decided to actually go all the way and make it into a book!
And, my dear friends, reading the book is so much fun too! You can just feel the enthusiasm on the page, and both Kate and Cecelia are such lovable characters (though I’m more of a Cecelia fan, myself). Plus, James? And the Mysterious Marquis? DOUBLE SWOON.
If you like Jane Austen, Regency tales, historical capers, or heroines who can kick butt without spilling their tea, then you will love Sorcery and Cecelia.
You tell me: Have you read Sorcery and Cecelia? The sequels? Or, do you have any other great historical/fantasty YA novels to recommend me? Most importantly of all, would you ever consider writing fictional letters back and forth like these authors?
January 14, 2011 @ 1:18 pm
I’m running to buy this right this second! That sounds like so much fun!
Second, I think writing fictional letters back and forth sounds like the best idea EVER! lol Writing letters is fun, first and foremost, and having the freedom to fictionalize them would be amazing.
I know, I’m a nerd.
Now, all this old business has got to go! If you’re old, that means I’m old, and I am *not* accepting that label. *crosses arms in a huff* lol We are young and vibrant! 😉
January 14, 2011 @ 1:44 pm
YES to writing fictional letters! I was stuck waiting 2 hours at the doctor this morning, and all I did was daydream about a fun time period/setting for letters like these to take place!
And YES we aren’t old. Yahong has since retracted her statement, but all the same… It stung. 😉
January 14, 2011 @ 3:08 pm
Any time you need a pen pal for said letters, you just let me know! lol
January 14, 2011 @ 2:06 pm
I *did* mention the adjective old was used relatively… but let me apologize to both of you now. You are young and vibrant, oui. 😀
Actually, I know of a number of YA (all contemp though) novels which are comprised of fictional letters (and now e-mails!), but I can’t say I enjoyed them very much. I do love the second cover – the blue colour against the monochramtic rest of the art is prrretty.
January 14, 2011 @ 7:50 pm
I forgive you, Yahong. 😉 One of my friends turned 30 today — now THAT’S old.
But were the novels written as REAL letters? Yeah, lots of novels have been written in letter form, but I don’t know any where to authors just corresponded through the mail for the heck of it! 🙂
January 14, 2011 @ 10:13 pm
ROB&SARA.COM (yes, that’s the title) was written through actual emails between the two authors, according to the endnotes. I didn’t like the book (which was unfortunate because I was doing it for a novel study). I’m checking SORCERY AND CECILIA out – I’m sure it’ll be better than ROB&SARA.COM. 🙂
January 14, 2011 @ 5:50 pm
I haven’t read this book but it’s been on MY enormous to-be-read pile for years. But I have read Patricia C. Wrede’s Enchanted Forest Chronicles, beginning with Talking To Dragons, one of my all-time favourites. I think I read it first when I was about 12, and then the three prequels several years later. Since then I’ve read it at least half a dozen times. If you haven’t, I highly recommend checking it out 🙂 Besides being a really clever tale, you can’t beat character names like Cimorene and Shiara 🙂 (both of whom were my girl-power heroes growing up).
January 14, 2011 @ 7:52 pm
OMGosh, I LOVED that series. I thought Cimorene was shiz-nit, and then when I read them as an adult, I decided Morwen was pretty awesome herself.
GREAT SERIES!! I think I got my first book (Searching for Dragons) when I was about 12 too. Le sigh…fond memories of childhood reading. 🙂
January 14, 2011 @ 9:52 pm
I will definitely be checking this one out! I love books of letters because a) it lets you feel so close to the characters. You’re reading their mail! and b) it makes me feel like I am an archaeologist/super scholar who has discovered a cache of letters somewhere and is piecing together the past.
January 14, 2011 @ 10:16 pm
That’s so true, Carrie — you really DO feel close to the characters. Kind of like journal-style novels, there’s a different kind of personal connection than simple first person POV.
I hope you enjoy it! Let me know if you do! 😀
January 15, 2011 @ 2:52 am
I’ve not read this, but it sounds good.
January 15, 2011 @ 10:30 am
Let me know if you do read it, and tell me how you like it!! 🙂
January 18, 2011 @ 8:55 pm
I love Patricia C. Wrede. Her fantasy books are always so enchanting and her humor is just spot-on. I haven’t read this one, but I shall. Soon. I have read the Enchanted Forest Chronicles –the second book (chronologically) is my favorite. Mendanbar is such a cutie pie 😀 Have you read her latest book, The Thirteenth Child? It’s different from EFC, but it was pretty cool, too.
Thanks for the recommendation!
P.S.: I just thought you should know this: I got a pocket watch from that Enchanted Locket store you talked about! 😀 It just arrived today and I’m SO excited. It’s adorable. Thanks for that, too!
January 20, 2011 @ 6:23 am
Oh, I loved this book. It has everything I love: Regency, romance, and magic.
Patricia Wrede also wrote two novels (Mairelon the Magician and Magician’s Ward) which were combined into A MATTER OF MAGIC. It’s slower and isn’t as fun and snappy as SORCERY & CECILIA, but it’s one of my favorites. It also has all three elements above. You definitely should give it a try! :]
January 30, 2011 @ 2:23 pm
Totally already capitalized on the whole fictional-letters deal. I’ve been working on a novel with a friend of mine from art school…told entirely through letters we send back and forth to one another. It’s fantastic because it progresses steadily while also inherently acting as a side-project, since it has built-in breaks! It’s great, highly recommended. 🙂
Sorcery and Cecelia sounds like so much fun, I can’t wait to pick it up.