A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I downloaded this book solely based on the cover. Look at it. Just look at it! How can you resist?
I know a 10 year old who is very keen on dragons, so I thought she might like it. Obviously, I can’t give a book to a 10 year old without checking the content is appropriate, so I thought I’d best read it before I gave her a copy.
Like all good fantasy, this is a well developed world. The social mores of Scirland are broadly similar to those of Victorian England. Lady Trent, now an old lady, writes the memoirs of her adventures. As a girl, she had to stifle her inclination towards science, until she meets he husband, Jacob, who encourages her in that direction and is generally, he greatest love and best friend.
If Amelia Peabody Emerson had lived in Scirland and studied dragons instead of Egyptology, this is the memoir she would have written. Given that I love the Amelia Peabody books, it’s no surprise that I adored this book.
Oh, in case you were wondering, there’s a bit of swashbuckling violence, death and a bit where she wonders about a threat to her virtue, but no sex in the book, so it’s perfectly fine to give to a 10 year old. Especially one who is obsessed with dragons.
Rhoda Baxter 