Outside of a Dog: Wrede, Patricia C., and Caroline Stevermer: (01) Sorcery and Cecelia, or, the Enchanted Chocolate Pot

Pam

Pam wrote on June 24, 2003 at 10:27 PM:

"Freedom and Necessity without the Hegel."

I don't suppose you'd care to unpack that? Apart from some cosmetic similarities (they're both epistolatory novels with elements of swashbuckling and romance, and set in England), I am failing to see how S&C is much like F&N.

Maybe it's because, IMO, Freedom and Necessity without the 18th-century philosophy is like Harry Potter without the magic-- it might be something worth reading, but it would be something entirely unlike Freedom and Necessity.

(I also have a deja vu feeling that we've had this discussion before, somewhere, but if we did, I'm blanking on what you said at the time.)

Kate

Kate wrote on June 24, 2003 at 10:46 PM:

They are epistolary, two-couple novels with witty, compelling characters, set in England in the 19th century, with fantasy elements. (I mean, how many of those are there?)

By lack of Hegel I mean the relative lightness of _S&C_ (no politics, weighty moral dilemmas about means and ends, or serious character angst).

I said it was a little flip.

Katie

Katie wrote on January 9, 2007 at 9:18 PM:

My Aunt bought me the book for Christmas, and I adore it; although I do have a few issues with it:

-How exactly is Kate related to Cecilia, because if magic runs in the family, then why is Kate not a wizard?

-Why is there a love interest between Oliver and Georgina? Gerogina is Kate's sister, and Oliver is Cecy's brother.... that makes Oliver and Georgina cousins, does it not?

Kate

Kate wrote on January 9, 2007 at 9:24 PM:

As I reconstructed the family tree at the time of reading, I believe Kate's mother and Cecelia's father were siblings, making Kate and Cecy first cousins.

As for Kate's magical abilities, read the next books. =>

And yes, Oliver and Georgina are first cousins too. It's my understanding that marriage of first cousins was not considered incest at the time (and indeed is apparently legal in a number of US states).

K

K wrote on January 17, 2007 at 5:32 PM:

Marriage of first cousins is still not really considered incest in Britain, and is legal. Though pretty rare, I'd imagine.

It was less rare when people's social circles were more circumscribed - Darwin married his first cousin, for example.

Michael I

Michael I wrote on September 14, 2008 at 6:13 PM:

Happened to see a copy at a local used book store and decided to give it a try.

A fun read.

The only problem is I'm starting to feel a need to buy the other two books in the series...

Oh, Darn. :-)

Kate

Kate wrote on September 14, 2008 at 8:34 PM:

Michael, glad you liked!