The Passion of the Purple Plumeria

July 1, 2013
The 10th in Willig's witty series about Napoleanic-era spies focuses on a far-from-drowsy chaperone. Gwen, lady companion to Jane, aka the notorious English spy Pink Carnation, is enjoying her sojourn in Paris. There, she is not a pitied, unmarriageable spinster but a proficient and daring spy in her own right: She sallies forth at night disguised as a gentleman to learn, among other state secrets, what Napoleon's foreign minister, Talleyrand, is up to with a certain opera diva, Aurelia Fiorila. Too abruptly, Jane and Gwen are recalled to England: Jane's sister Agnes has disappeared from her boarding school. At the school, Gwen meets Col. Reid, who's come from India to reunite with the daughters he sent to England to be educated years before. Now, his daughter Lizzy has gone missing along with Agnes. Reid assumes the girls have taken refuge with his older daughter Kat in Bristol. After journeying there and learning, to Reid's dismay, that Kat is now taking in laundry and living in a hovel, Reid and Gwen are set upon by brigands. Although Gwen handily fights them off by deploying her sword parasol, Reid is wounded. Mutual attraction smolders as Gwen nurses Reid back to health. Back with Jane's family in Bath, Gwen is alarmed that Jane seems so susceptible to the blandishments of the Chevalier de la Tour d'Argent, who is either a double agent or a charlatan or both. The plot thickens when the colonel and Chevalier escort the two spies to an opera performance starring Fiorila. Gwen chronicles and exaggerates the exploits of her alter ego, Purple Plumeria, in a swashbuckling novel in progress, the Convent of Orsino. A present-day frame story features Colin, a descendent of the Pink Carnation, and his Harvard historian girlfriend, Eloise. The writing is acerbic, arch and funny, but the complex back story demands familiarity with the earlier books. For fans enmeshed in this intricate world, a welcome installment which those new to the series might find a bit too in media res.

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Starred review from July 1, 2013

In April 1805, Col. William Reid has retired from the East India Company and is anxious to reunite with the daughters he sent to London a decade ago for safety and schooling. He finds, however, that his youngest, Lizzie, is missing along with her roommate Agnes Wooliston, little sister of Jane, aka The Pink Carnation. Did the girls run off on a lark or is there something sinister behind their disappearance? Miss Gwendolyn Meadows, Jane's right-hand woman, steps up to the challenge of finding the girls despite having to work with the very handsome and charming Colonel Reid. And the sparks begin to fly. VERDICT This tenth bloom (and the first trade paperback original) to be added to Willig's popular series (The Garden Intrigue; The Secret History of the Pink Carnation) is just as fresh and satisfying as any of the other flowers in the best literary bouquet ever created! Fans can rejoice in finding the outstanding features they've come to count on: intriguing historical details, double-crossing deceptions, complex characters, and plenty of romance. Readers will be pleased to discover a more mature couple featured within the historical portion of the story, the wink-wink humor of Miss Gwen's gothic novel, and the continued progression of our beloved contemporary couple.--Stacey Hayman, Rocky River P.L., OH

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Starred review from July 1, 2013
There is nothing Miss Gwendolyn Meadows finds more satisfying than secretly thwarting Napoleon's plans to take over the world. When Gwen's employer, Miss Jane Wooliston (aka the Pink Carnation), receives news that her youngest sister, Agnes, has disappeared from Miss Climpson's Seminary, however, Jane has no choice but to return home to England. Upon arriving at the school, the two ladies discover that Agnes is not the only missing student. Agnes' good friend, Lizzy Reid, is also gone. Working together with Lizzy's father, Colonel William Reid, to locate the girls would seem to be the most logical course of action, but Gwen's partnership with William just might turn out to be her wildest adventure yet. With delectable wit and a deft hand at imaginative plotting, Willig expertly matches up the redoubtable, parasol-wielding Gwen (truly a kindred spirit to Elizabeth Peters' Amelia Peabody) with the perfect hero. The result is a completely captivating tale that fans of this long-running series10 books and countingwill cherish.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)