I don’t recall being this engrossed in a book series since reading The Ring. I started out of order by accident; one night I was looking for something to read in bed and my wife tossed me The Game. With a quick skim of a page I was intrigued enough to accept it, hoping for little more than something to entertain my mind as I unwound for sleep. Within two pages, I was completely enraptured, and consumed the book quicker than I would have liked, for there was no assurance we’d have any of her other writings at hand. Fortunately for me, my wife quickly located The Beekeeper’s Apprentice, and I readily dug in again, this time beginning in proper chronologic order. This book was even better, for not only was I experiencing the writings by a younger author’s hand, but also younger characters, “watching” them grow into each other.
The series in order is:
The Beekeeper’s Apprentice
A Monstrous Regiment of Women
A Letter of Mary
The Moor
O Jerusalem
Justice Hall
The Game
Locked Rooms
Each book strikes a balance between the strongly charactered Mary Russel, her partner – both in work and life: Mr. Holmes, and the puzzles they decipher together with their bevy of associates and partners. Laurie King treats each with the utmost care, not depicting Holmes as some mysterious omnipotent superhuman, but rather as a sharp-tongued man of intellect and character, yet with a sometimes alluded too all too human weakness. Everything about her characters defies convention: Holmes is middle-aged when he first meets the teenaged Russel, retired to the country where he continues his life’s work in a much lower profile, seeking serinity from the world of crime and espionage. Russel herself is a complex character; a Jew in a very Christian country, American raised in England, orphaned as a teenager, and fiercely independent at a time when woman in England were just barely allowed to vote … although as is often the case with fictional characters who indulge in high adventure, is independently wealthy. The odd coupling of the two occupies much of the books, as King explores the highly paternal and intellectual aspects of their relationship (which is never, mind you, the least bit bawdy) as they set out to solve mysteries and challenges that quite often fall right into their hapless proverbial lap. King does an amazing job of writing in period, using the suffragete movement and the Great War as additional scenery and in at least one case – a large part of the mystery. Using Russel’s strong Jewish upbringing as well as her academic career in theology, the author at least once (Letter) explores misogynist aspects of religion, perhaps projecting her own causes through her character.
All in all, delightful reads that have had a rather addictive effect on myself. I’ve had my nose in these non-stop since I started The Game. On the morning tube, the evening tube, at night in bed. At least once I’ve been tempted to cut off work early so I could continue reading, and it’s to the point where I’m reading on the escalators in the station if I’m right at the end of a chapter. I haven’t been eating much the last few weeks (hectic schedules at work) but I’m quite certain that my colleagues will find me eating in solitude, preferably with a really well made soup, as I read. It’s actually oddly reminiscent; to be as completely lost in my books as when I was an adolescent riding these same trains and tracing the steps of my past.
Unfortunately, I’ve finished A Letter of Mary, and the library is now closed. We’ve not The Moors. Dommage …
I did, however, pick up a few fascinating looking books at a used book fair at work, including two items on the finer political and cultural aspects of Haitia, a primer on Mary of Magdalene (yes, Russel would be proud, would she not ? ) , and one on the industrial design of common items with an emphasis on usability written in the 60’s, so I’ll certainly find stimulating enough entertainment for my mind during this unwanted hiatus from King’s works.
If you think you’d enjoy my tastes, then try one of these books out. But don’t take my word on it, take theirs.
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