The Magicians and Mrs. Quent

Rating NR Genre fantasy Author Galen Beckett Publisher Bantam Dell Publishing

Take a pinch of Jane Austen, a little bit of Charlotte Bronte, and add some magical flavor and you’ll have the perfect spell for a great story.  Galen Beckett’s novel The Magicians and Mrs. Quent casts just such a spell on readers.  Beckett takes the society and characters of Austen and Bronte novels and inserts them into a fantasy world of her own.

Ivy Lockwell keeps her family’s spirit alive, giving hope to those around her.  The eldest of three girls, she takes care of her sick father, who has retreated into his silent vigil in the library upstairs.  Everyone blames his illness on magick, and Ivy feels that magick is her father’s only hope for a cure.  When she finds a riddle her father left behind for her when he became ill, Ivy begins to learn more about magick, her past, and how she is connected to a young nobleman named Dashton Rafferdy and his friend Eldyn Garritt.  Together, they must fight a secret web of highwaymen and revolutionaries who populate the island nation of Altania.

Behind all this is a love story similar to Bronte’s Jane Eyre.  When Ivy takes a job as a governess, she clashes with her employer; but the more time they spend together, the more she comes to like him.  Her employer is a hard working man, however, and is often away from home on business for the king.  Little does Ivy know that his business has a lot to do with her and the mystery her father left behind.  A dark storm heads toward Altania and Ivy will find herself in the middle of it.  Will she be able to save Altania from everlasting darkness? 

The Magicians and Mrs. Quent is surprisingly well-written, considering it is Beckett’s first novel.  Told in a way similar to Austen and Bronte novels, it keeps the readers attention.  The plot unfolds slowly, but each revelation keeps the reader glued to the pages.  The book is divided into three parts.  The first and third parts are told in third person and the second part is told from Ivy’s point of view.  While the change in perspective can throw the reader off, Beckett’s writing quality is consistent and the delightful story is a page-turner all the way to the end.  A few small things are not explained in the novel, but they are either not important or will most like be answered in the next book, The House on Durrow Street, which Beckett is currently working on.

Full of magicians, witches, illusionists, and other magical characters, Beckett’s novel will capture the fancy of any Austen, Bronte, or fantasy genre fan.  There isn’t much to disappoint readers in The Magicians and Mrs. Quent.  It’s a long 498 page read, but it’s also an addicting read.