Popular Culture Review Vol. 5, No. 1, February 1994 | Page 92

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Regency setting in which magic works. The Regency details are fitted
neatly into the fantasy framework. The book blurb illustrates this
well:
Indeed, there's a great deal happening in London.
First, there was the matter of the witch trying to
poison Kate at Sir Hilary's induction into the Royal
College of Wizards . . . .
What spell did the
beautiful Dorothea cast to nuike her the toast of the
town? And how to tell Aunt Charlotte that Oliver
has been turned into a tree?
Even the silly fop who thinks of nothing but his cravat, a Regency
staple, is the object of a plot to drain his latent magical talent. In
fact, the central magical object and bone of contention is a chocolate
pot suitable for high tea.
Plots merge as well as detail. The acceptability of using charms
neatly parallels the proper uses of personal charms, as two pairs of
lovers, country and city, must use both spells and wits to thwart evil
magicians and clear the path for true love. A good example of this is
Dorothea's mother, Miranda. She combines both the mercenary
Regency mothers who scheme for a brilliant match and the powerhungry sorceresses of fantasy court intrigues. In dealing with her,
both female heroes become capable spell-weavers while also finding
love matches. Cecelia is a well-balanced blend of the two forms.
Wrede's second Regency use, Mairelon the Magician (1991), uses
the same Regency setting cWefly for language, custom, and high-low
contrast rather than for plot details. The lingo still includes
avoiding Robin Redbreasts (Bow Street runners) and piking off after
gentry coves (following members of the nobility), but while the
period references add texture to the novel, it is a classical fantasy
tale of discovering and utilizing magical talent while fending off
corrupt practitioners.
As in Cecelia and several of Wrede's fantasy novels, the plot
revolves around a magical object. Kim, a street girl living disguised
as a boy, first spies on and then works for the toff magician,
Mairelon/Richard Merrill, whose act covers his search for ritual
artifacts stolen from the Royal College of Magicians. Kim's rise from
rags to comparative security through discovery of her own powers is a