Ruddy Gore

May 1, 2005
St. Kilda, Australia, in the 1920s is a fascinating place, and none of its citizens better embody its freewheeling spirit than the debonair and delightful Phryne Fisher. This prequel, which tells the story of how Phryne first met her Chinese lover, Lin Chung, also features interesting tidbits about Gilbert and Sullivan. As the adventure begins, Phryne is off to see a special performance of " Ruddigore," a lesser-known G&S operetta. Then the character playing Sir Ruthven collapses onstage, and his understudy falls ill soon after. As Phryne investigates, Greenwood recounts the story of " Ruddigore "through song lyrics and plot synopses--which will be a joy to G&S fans and interesting even to the uninitiated. The denouement is a bit convoluted, but as G&S might say, "It really doesn't matter." The appeal of this story is the glimpse it provides into the 1920s theater world and the opportunity it affords to observe Phryne and Lin Chung's romance from its inception.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2005, American Library Association.)