That Scoundrel Emile Dubois is something of a genre-bender. It is set during the Regency era (in terms of its atmosphere and background, rather than in a strictly chronological sense), and evokes a social milieu that will be familiar to readers of Jane Austen. The heroine, Sophie, is also a character that Austen might have recognised: a plucky poor relation who has to transcend social boundaries in order to find love (in this case with her distant but much more noble relative, the titular Emile Dubois). Dubois and his valet Georges are the kind of scoundrels who find a natural home in gothic romance. After escaping from Revolutionary France (where he suffered horrific personal tragedies), Emile becomes a ‘Gentleman of the Road’ – the kind of mannerly, dashing highwayman who wouldn’t be out of place in a Barbara Cartland novel. What follows, however, owes less to Mills and Boon than to the Hammer House of Horror, just as it owes less to Austen than to the sensational gothic novels of Ann Radcliffe.

This is a vampire novel, and a genuinely creepy one on occasion. Every blast of wind and flurry of snow seems to herald some stealthily-approaching menace. Dark deeds are carried out in isolated country houses, and mysterious creatures flit outside the windows; some places are so cursed, so abhorrent to nature that even the birds refuse to sing there. It is also, in part, speculative fiction, with time travel forming a significant strand of the story. Arguably, it might fall under the admittedly vague heading of ‘steampunk’, though in general steampunk is inspired by the mid- to late-Victorian period. ‘Regencypunk’, perhaps?

Sophie, at the outset, is meek, unassuming, and altogether rather unassertive (and not, therefore, the kind of feisty heroine we tend to admire these days). Gradually, however, as she finds herself fighting for both her own soul and that of Emile, she begins to draw upon inner reserves of strength; ‘I must be braver and fight harder,’ she tells her tough, sensible maid Agnes. Sophie, a good Christian girl, sees vampirism as an aberration from God’s ordained plan, a monstrosity; but to other, less devout characters it holds a distinct attraction: ‘Is it so bad a fate, mon ami, to lose the threat of the worm and the grave?’

I was impressed by the way Elliot not only reproduces the style and tone of the late eighteenth century, but maintains it throughout the novel. Admittedly, I’m by no means an expert on the period, but I couldn’t detect a single lapse or false note. The novel is also notably well-researched, to the extent that Elliot includes a glossary of terms at the end.

There is also a lovely vein of humour that runs through the novel. A few examples:

‘Mademoiselle Sophie has seen something unpleasant – do not glare at me so, it was no part of me.’

Just prior to a marriage proposal: ‘Alors, you deserve to be asked with all due punctilio, though I think I see some splinters on the floor, which I will avoid, as my springing up with a yell would detract from the gravity of the occasion.’

‘I never thought things like this would happen here in our village … Now, if it had happened down in Swansea, where folks are about All Sorts of Mischief, I would be less surprised.’

It’s difficult to point to any particular weaknesses in the novel. The only one I could honestly complain of was the ‘clunkiness’ of one or two sentence constructions: ‘Forgive my roughness, I must be careful, which also applies to what Ma Tante terms these Mischievous Experiments as much as my strength, chérie, given you have poor taste enough to fear the loss of your wicked brigand.’ I would have split that sentence up a bit, to make it read a bit more smoothly; as it is, it jolted me out of the story for a moment while I tried to understand exactly what was being said. However, this only occurs once or twice in the course of the novel, and didn’t spoil my overall enjoyment of it. If you like gothic romance, vampire fiction, humour, or indeed all three, this would be an excellent choice of reading.

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This book became quite the delightful addiction for me, causing me to neglect almost everything else! I loved how the author fleshed out every character. I came to feel I knew them all quite well, and they all had their own unique personalities. The story is one of the wittiest I’ve ever read, and flows quickly from one event to the next. There is no tedium here. The dialogue, especially, is crisp and natural and often made me laugh out loud. Beneath the fun and laughter, though, there is a darker element: a mysterious premonition that bodes ill for our heroes & heroines. I was moved, for instance, by Sophie’s distress as her beloved husband falls further and further away from being human into being a monster, and begins to want her in ways that terrify and disgust her. Yet her love never fails, no matter how cruel he becomes.

Even Kenrick, the bad guy, becomes more sympathetic through his unquenchable need to be reunited with the one he loves. One can understand such obsessions if one has ever loved and lost.

I would personally label “That Scoundrel Émile Dubois” as SATIRE, not a mere vampire or time travel story. It's far too witty, cunning, and subtle to be an ordinary "adventure story."

One thing I will complain about: if a man did that much "Chin Chucking" to me I would divorce him. I quite felt for Sophie in this regard, and was envious of her patience.

I would recommend this book for anyone who likes vampire stories, the kind which seems, somehow, to combine the sexy vampire (à la Twilight) with the evil vampire (à la Dracula). And time traveling. And high adventure, and rascally scoundrels, and Victorian literature, and Welsh scenery. I do look forward to More Work by this Talented Author! ( )

My first impression of this book was that it was Sherlock Holmes meets Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. It's a mystery that you, the reader will be piecing together as you go. Lucinda Elliot opens up with a prologue that will have you wondering how Sophie and Emile got to where they are and she leaves clues along the way that have your mind racing with possibilities. What I want to do most with this book is to read it again to see if I notice more hints along the way of what's to come.

I was a little apprehensive about a story with both vampires and time traveling; however Elliot brings them together well. My only disappointment is that there wasn't more time traveling. The trips to the past that Emile and his friends take are fun little adventures that keep the plot moving at a nice pace. Emile's grief over the loss of his family is moving, and I wouldn't have minded seeing more of him revisiting his past. Also, I wish I had been told a little more about the mechanics of time traveling. The general ideas of how it came about were explained, but I wanted a little more.

Set during the French Revolution That Scoundrel Emile Dubois is a historical fiction with traditional vampires. It's written in a way that feels fitting to the era, but you can understand it as if it were written in modern day English. It's also very reminiscent of "Dracula" with classic mythology, and yet brand new at the same time. You will find some classic themes in this book, but they are used in a very original story.

I really enjoyed seeing scary vampires in a story again, real vampires that hate garlic and crosses and drink blood. Kenrick in particular made my skin crawl, and his wife Ceridwen is a seductive and powerful woman who you'll love to hate. Also, the battle that Emile fights as he deals with this disease as it starts to overcome him will have you feeling his struggle as well.

Elliot's characters are deep and well written. That Scoundrel Emile Dubois is just that, a scoundrel, a highwayman, a rogue. But, he also has a lot of heart and deep down is a truly genuine person. Emile is a Robin Hood type character who gets into some unsavory situations but is always there to do right by good people. His love interest, Sophie, is a little quiet at the beginning of the book. She starts out as the typical subversive female, quiet and polite. But, as the story goes on she really finds herself and becomes stronger and more independent. I really enjoyed watching her character grow. I also found the relationship between Sophie and Emile to be real and heartwarming.

Also, Agnes the Tarot reading maid and Emile's footman Georges added a lot of humor to this piece as well as being deep and fascinating characters themselves.

Some of the details I really loved were the little bits of French, and use of other words and phrases that would be appropriate for the place and time period. Elliot does a wonderful job of letting you know when her characters are speaking in French or other languages. She's able to get that feeling of culture in her story without losing readability. There's just enough hints and actual French thrown in that it flows really nicely. Most of this story is set in English-speaking locations, but for the pieces of it that aren't it felt very authentic to have the characters speaking in the way they would in that area.

This is a complicated story, but the farther I got into it the more the pieces started to come together, and the more it sucked me in. It had humor, and an ending that tied up all loose ends, if you like vampires or historical fiction I would highly recommend this book.

For more reviews by Lauryn April go to http://laurynapril.blogspot.com ( )