
Emily Wilde's Compendium of Lost Tales is the third book in this delightful historical cozy fantasy by Heather Fawcett. Released 16th Jan 2024 by Penguin Random House on their Ballantine
imprint, it's 368 pages and is available in hardcover, paperback,
audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a
handy interactive table of
contents as well as interactive links and references throughout.
This
is a historical academic fantasy with light romance elements set in
Edwardian England and is so beautifully written that the descriptive
prose is occasionally breathtaking. The titular protagonist, Dr. Emily
Wilde, is a prickly strong-willed academic who is performing field
studies to categorize and understand the fae (dryadology). This often lands her and
her colleagues in dangerous situations, though she usually manages to
extricate herself using her prodigious knowledge and sheer will (and
cleverness). She finds
it easier to confine herself to codifying the unspoken rules which
govern the fair folk than to understand the same with her fellow
humans.
There is (naturally) an element of slow-burn romance in
the form of an former frenemy (now firmly in the romantic lead role, and her betrothed), the exasperating (but devilishly
handsome) Dr. Wendell Brambleby, well-born (he's royalty in exile), charming, and infuriatingly
indolent. It's marketed as a YA selection, so there are some smouldering kisses, but nothing outré or explicit.
For fans of Katherine Arden, Natasha Pulley, Cat
Rambo, and Catherynne Valente, this book will recall the wonderful
feelings from those authors' books. It's not derivative in any way, but
it *is* magical. Dr. Wilde is
refreshingly forward thinking and the book more or less simply ignores the
inconvenient proscriptions against women being unchaperoned and engaging
in academic careers on a somewhat level playing field with their male
colleagues. It's delightfully peppered throughout with academic notations, referencing (and lampooning) non-existent literature. The footnotes elevate the whole to a *chef's kiss* other level.
The unabridged audiobook format has a run time of 11 hours 43 minutes and is expertly narrated by series narrators Ell Potter, and Michael Dodds.
They both have eminently listenable voices and make a nice contrast to
one another; Ms. Potter's cut glass RP accent contrasting nicely with
Mr. Dodds' lower tenor Irish lilt. Sound and production quality are high
throughout the read.
Five stars. Gorgeous. It's a continuing series, and would make a great binge/buddy read.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.