A Curious Beginning

By: Deanna Raybourn

Narrated by: Angele Masters

London, 1887. As the city prepares to celebrate Queen Victoria's golden jubilee, Veronica Speedwell is marking a milestone of her own. After burying her spinster aunt, the orphaned Veronica is free to resume her world travels in pursuit of scientific inquiry - and the occasional romantic dalliance. As familiar with hunting butterflies as she is fending off admirers, Veronica wields her butterfly net and a sharpened hatpin with equal aplomb, and with her last connection to England now gone, she intends to embark upon the journey of a lifetime. But fate has other plans, as Veronica discovers when she thwarts her own abduction with the help of an enigmatic German baron with ties to her mysterious past. Promising to reveal in time what he knows of the plot against her, the baron offers her temporary sanctuary in the care of his friend Stoker - a reclusive natural historian as intriguing as he is bad-tempered. But before the baron can deliver on his tantalizing vow to reveal the secrets he has concealed for decades, he is found murdered. Suddenly Veronica and Stoker are forced to go on the run from an elusive assailant, wary partners in search of the villainous truth.

©2015 Deanna Raybourn (P)2015 Recorded Books

Not for fans of Christian fiction

What did you like best about A Curious Beginning? What did you like least?

A Curious Beginning could have been a great book. Fans of Ms. Raybourn's Lady Julia Grey mysteries will probably will like it. She is great with characterization, interesting story lines, and witty dialogue. There is no on-page sex in the story; although, sex is mentioned quite a bit. However, as a Christian who likes to read a variety of books, I didn't like the constant jabs at Christianity. It was like eating a rich chocolate cake, only to find the cook didn't mix the baking soda and salt in correctly, and you get a few bites of bitterness. Ms. Speedwell mentions having been influenced by Jane Austen to mistrust the clergy, and she especially disliked clergymen's wives. Both Mr. Stoker and Ms. Speedwell said at different times that while they had been in circumstances where someone might feel compelled to pray, they did not. There was even a random mention of an "aggressively ugly Norman church." As for the character of Veronica Speedwell, I liked and disliked her by turns. I liked her intelligence, her courage, and her verbal sparring with Mr. Stoker. However, she was the female version of a romance novel rake, thinking it was fine to sleep with a different man in each country she visited starting at age eighteen. For example, in one instance, Veronica thinks to herself: "I had become aware of an annoyingly insistent biological demand which I had initially attributed to the excitement of our recent adventures...It had also been... far too long since my last erotic indulgence..." The only reason she doesn't plan to have sex with Mr. Stoker is because she has a rule against having sex with Englishmen. She is also ultra-feminist, thinking motherhood would be torture and going on diatribes about man's oppression of women. I like that she's strong and independent, but there was rarely any softness to her. At the beginning of the novel, her guardian dies, and she feels free, not sadness. Even her attraction to Mr. Stoker was attributed to biology and her enjoyment of their feisty discussions and "pitched battle[s] of wits."

What could Deanna Raybourn have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

I wish Mr. Stoker wasn't constantly trying to find different ways to say God's name in vain, such as "Where in the name of the oozing wounds of Christ have you been?"

Which character – as performed by Angele Masters – was your favorite?

Angele Masters did a great job with every single character. She's a wonderful narrator.

Do you think A Curious Beginning needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

Yes, this is a series, with more adventures to follow for Ms. Speedwell and Mr. Stoker.

Any additional comments?

This is the second book I've listened to by Deanna Raybourn. The first was Silent on the Moor, which I really liked except for the horribly annoying voice of Lady Julia Grey's lesbian sister. I thought I'd try another of her books, but unfortunately, it was a disappointment for me again. I'd recommend to fans of Rhys Bowen, who is also a great writer with witty dialogue and interesting mysteries, but unfortunately also has a penchant for poking fun at Christians.

Good except for. ....

Veronica, the female protagonist, is an insufferable know-it-all and almost ruined the book. It felt like her pompous drivel would NEVER stop.....ugh. I also felt the childish arguing between the two main characters was contrived and annoying. I felt like I was in junior high again. The premise for the story was good. Narration was excellent.

Enjoyable but won't continue series

I did enjoy this story - but there wasn't anything in it to get me to come back and get another book in this series. The female lead was a self righteous know it all which makes her annoying many times throughout the book. The ending was a bit of a scooby doo ending - anyone who watched the cartoon knows what I mean. There are too many books on my wish list to use another credit on this series.

Incredible historical fiction

This story is a little bit of a stretch of the imagination but a fun story.

Intelligent scientist heroine

Although I get the criticism that the heroine is unlikable (more so than the author's other books), I enjoyed the characters and the setting too much to be bothered by that. (And I have enough friends like that in real life that it didn't concern me.) She is a fascinating scientist, as is the male protagonist, and they have a thrilling adventure that isn't quite a mystery, or quite a romance. The minor characters are a hoot, and the settings are fascinating, and all together it was a wonderful ride for this history/mystery lover.