[.ca] The Scandal of the Season (ISBN 1598875299)

Amazon.com Review:
This witty novel feels nothing like a debut; its seasoning is due to Sophie Gee's erudition--she is an assistant professor in the Department of English at Princeton--and her sophisticated approach to the story she has to tell. It is 1711 in London, when beautiful wealthy people spend their time at masquerade balls, levées, assignations and evening performances in the endless pursuit of pleasure, gossip, political and social advantage. Alexander Pope is a poet of some repute who leaves his country home to spend "the season" in London. He is a Catholic and, as such, is aware of the Jacobite plot to return James VII of Scotland and the House of Stuart to the throne of England, which has been usurped by Mary and William of Orange, Protestants who have instituted harsh rules against Catholics. This is one thread of the plot, as Alexander, the canny observer, puts two and two together and deduces who is involved with whom. Three families have long been associated with the Jacobites: the Fermors, the Carylls, and the Petres. More to the point is the intrigue between Arabella Fermor and Lord Petre. The beautiful and haughty Arabella attracts Lord Petre instantly and they spend no time consummating their attraction--with everyone privy to it. Naturally, the expectation is that they will marry, even though Arabella is not wealthy enough to be a really good match. Alas, Lord Petre is prevailed upon by his family to give up Arabella and his doomed Jacobite intentions, marry another and save the family name. Further, he must make a public display of terminating the affair with Arabella. All of this leads to Alexander Pope writing "The Rape of the Lock," in which a lock of "Belinda's" hair is cut--in public! In language and cadences reserved for 16th century novels, Gee has created a delightful and plausible romp through the practices, plots, romances, posturing and superficiality of Pope's time. It is known that his epic poem was concerned with the three families aforementioned; the rest might also be true, but almost three hundred years later what really matters is how much fun this is to read! --Valerie Ryan

A fun read, but a little dissapointing in the end:
I received this book as a Christmas gift, and I was anxious to read it because I usually really enjoy historical fiction. Unfortunately I felt like this book was more romance than history. I mostly enjoyed the romance, and at times the book really was a page turner. But in the end the novel felt a little flat. The characters were quite flat, and there was little of the historical element that I had been expecting. The author writes well, so I hope if there is another novel it has more of a historical slant.

18th century gossip:
In 18th century London, an aspiring young poet, Alexander Pope follows his childhood friends, sisters Martha and Teresa Blount to London for the "season", where he hopes to gain entree to the inner circles of society. The "in" people converse in what they think to be a witty and flirtatious style,in brief, sometimes acerbic sentences which allude to a person's background and breeding. One of the current leading lights of Society is Lord Petre who hails from an old Catholic family and whose financial support is being sought by a group of Jacobites who are planning to restore James Stuart to the throne after assassinating Queen Anne. At first I didn't find it easy to keep up with the story until I began to look at it as a dance, with the main characters tripping delicately around, using academically clever sentences while never saying exactly what they mean, with elegant phrases and then firing a shock into the reader with unexpectedly raunchy statements. In his now famous poem, The Rape of the Lock, Pope wrote the story of Lord Petre's romance with the beautiful Arabella (named Belinda in the poem), joining the romance with broad hints of a Jacobite plot, and eventually became the wealthiest satirist of his day.

Smart, fun, historical read:
I read this book for my book club, and we all really enjoyed it. It didn't give us a ton to discuss, but it's definitely a fun read. I had a hard time putting it down!

A little too clean and lightweight:
While I respect the author's scholarly credentials, this novel did seem a very cleaned-up version of the times it meant to represent. Well, nothing wrong with an occasional light read, but there could have been more intrigue.

Well written and truly fantastic!:
I love reading historical fiction and this book is an absolute pleasure to read. If you enjoy reading novels by Philippa Gregory but also relish the comedy of manners found in Jane Austin storylines then you will love the style of writing that Sophie Gee creates. I am very much looking forward to her next book.