This book is pure fun. It is an historical thriller but be prepared for the depravity of Georgian London including its aristocrats. The contrast between the lives of the wealthy and the everyday lives of the poor including the routine use, abuse and neglect of children is starkly portrayed in this novel. But the essence of the book is an intellectual and psychological battle between a highly clever and ambitious woman and a male British aristocrat who consumes and destroys everyone near him. Who will survive and who are they, really, this mesh of characters linked by history and fate? Very well done by this relatively new British writer. It's not great literature (nor does it pretend to be) and for that reason I have given it only 3 stars but where reader enjoyment is high the author has succeeded. If I might draw a comparison to my reading of The Road by Cormack McCarthy which I did not enjoy one bit though apparently critics think its literature, I know what I would choose. Now I'm looking for her earlier book "The Edge of Pleasure". A Factory of Cunning is out in pb by Harvest and by Abacus but the HC 1st may still be on the remainder table at your local bookstore. ( )

First, one of the reviewers says that this novel is set during the era of Charles III. It's actually set during the Georgian era (1784 making it during the time of George III), one of the most interesting periods of history for historical writing, I think.

This epistolary novel is a continuation of Dangerous Liaisons. It's a good attempt, but I wasn't thrilled with it. Basically, it centers around the plot of what might have happened if the Marquise had escaped France and made it to England to wreak whatever havoc she might wreak there, while also helping a friend destroy a villainous earl.

The characters in the novel are very well-written: Mrs. Fox is very sharp-witted and clever, Lord Danceacre and his friends are funny and entertaining, and Violet is by turns hilarious and ridiculously stupid. Stockley also manages to give her writing that witty spark that is so necessary in novels centering around a clever, selfish woman. The plot itself is also tightly woven, bringing seemingly random occurrences and people together in the end, as all novels of this type should do.

Something, though, just never seemed to click for me. Maybe it was because there was not even one character with whom a reader could really sympathize. Or, more likely, perhaps it was that the supposed villain of the plot was hardly ever in the novel, except to be described by other people. Set up as someone who would finally match wits with the marquise, I was disappointed by the lack of interaction and repartee between the two. Considering all the dire warnings about the earl's vengeful and almost satanic nature, he was a bit of an anticlimax to me.

However, the book was an enjoyable read, and definitely conveyed the mood of the times. Stockley clearly has a sharp wit, and it comes out in her portrayal of several characters. For that, it's worth reading, though perhaps it's better to get it from the library or borrow from a friend than to purchase it yourself. ( )

Novel