The Twelfth Enchantment: A Novel

I enjoyed this book very much. I purchased it because it showed up on the page of another book I was considering and it sounded appealing to me because of its blending of literary figures and the supernatural. I had never read other works by the author, and so I did not go into my reading with any preconceptions. I found the story engaging. The narrative was sometimes clumsy, especially at the beginning, but soon enough the plot was rolling along at a good clip. The novel reminds me, of course, of Austen in its focus on the roles available to women in society and on forming matches. Lucy Derrick could easily be an Austen heroine as she seeks to find a place for herself despite a reputation clouded by an instance of youthful indiscretion. She begins the novel with a personality and outlook rather like the younger Bennett sister who eloped with the cad. As the novel progresses, Lucy matures and grows less silly. I liked the confident woman that Lucy became, but I understood her clinging to her old notions about society and her value in it--those lessons are ingrained and hard to displace. The novel also reminded me of Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, by Susanna Clarke, because of its focus on texts and fairies and magic. This book is shorter and less dense and has more overt humor, all of which make it more appealing to me! The magic as presented in the novel is interesting, and I had no difficulty suspending my disbelief to go along with the premise. I was not expecting realist narrative. I also liked the inclusion of William Blake and Lord Byron as characters. The Twelfth Enchantment is a fantasy novel, so the fact that Liss took liberties with the lives of actual historical figures was fine with me. The personalities he imagines for these gentlemen seemed plausible to me. This book was a fun escape. The ideas here are interesting, so I am willing to overlook some rough patches in the narrative. I plan to read more David Liss.

If you are looking for a sober, serious read, this is not for you. As a long ago student of English literature and a long and continuing occupation in the law, however, David Liss provides me with entertaining creative storytelling, using the style of language and manners that brings me back to writings of the period. I find it jarring when a character set in 18th or 19th century England suddenly uses a phrase that sounds more like 20th century New York. And having read my share of works like Middlemarch, don’t always have the desire to make the commitment that books from that period require. David manages to find a compromise between the lovely but heavy prose of the period And modern readers desire for an approachable but imaginative tale of adventure and romance.

This was nowhere near the best work I've read from David Liss. He has been one of my favorite authors over the past few years, but this book and his previous one were both disappointments. I read and LOVED A Spectacle of Corruption , The Coffee Trader , A Conspiracy of Paper , The Devil's Company , and The Whiskey Rebels . But then this summer I was dumbfounded by his horrible The Ethical Assassin . It was so bad I couldn't believe it was the same author. I loved his previous books so much though that I decided to give him another chance and pre-ordered The Twelfth Enchantment . Next to The Ethical Assassin, this was my second least favorite of his books. Luckily it wasn't the same activist drivel as Ethical Assassin though. It was an interesting story and a good read, but not at all as magical as the subject was supposed to be. Here's the thing. Liss has made a remarkable career of writing fascinating historical novels set in various periods. He has provided interesting perspectives on subjects that may not have been all that interesting on their face (like the struggle between Hamilton and Jefferson). So now he gives us an interesting period setting at the onset of the Industrial Revolution. So far so good. He presents us with the group called the Luddites, whom most of us have heard of but might not know much about. Even better. My mind is open and I'm ready to learn. But... Aw[...] We almost got some decent substance, but instead he only superficially described the Luddites and even confused the facts (since history really questions whether Ludd was a real person or not). Instead, the Ludd character in this book is a supernatural spook who may or may not be of this world. The story deals more with magic and occult. It's not that I don't enjoy a good fantasy, but I don't think Liss pulled it off. He has far too much talent with more worldly subjects, like trading and mercantile intrigue. Instead, the magic was more of a cop out. I could see Liss trying not to take too many shortcuts when using magic as a plot device, but he succumbed to his own dark arts and dabbled in literary shark jumping. Oh well. Nice try. It was a pretty interesting story on its face, but it wasn't as strong as his previous works. If you're tempted to read it, wait 'til the price drops a little or find some other way: check it out from the library or borrow it from a friend. Don't pay hardback prices for this story though. It's just not magic enough.

David Liss is well-known and well-regarded for his historical fiction. I have read several of his works with great enjoyment. I have also learned a good bit about history from him, as a reader should in reading a reliable and talented story teller. In The Twelfth Enchantment, he departs from his usual themes but maintains his period voice. He also creates a female protagonist, a first to my knowledge. A young woman is defrauded of her inheritance. She gets mixed up with the famous poet and rake, Lord Byron. Penniless, she lives on the sufferance of her mother's sister's husband, a man who has no regard for her at all. What unrolls is a tale of greed, murder and otherworldly beings of great power, danger and mystery. I thought this was a good read and a genuine departure for an author of great scope and understanding. Recommended. I urge first time Liss readers to seek out his other work. He is very very good.

I have read two or three books by David Liss before and enjoyed them. One (The Conspiracy of Paper) was set in the early eighteenth century and was a straightforward thriller inspired, I think, by the South Sea Bubble. Its great success was that it felt as though it had been written in the same time frame. By that I don't mean that the language was cod archaic. It just felt right. No trace of modern attitudes or usage crept in. It was completely convincing, seemingly authentic, absorbing and a thoroughly satisfactory read. The Twelfth Enchantment is set in the early nineteenth century and has the same feel to it. The style of the language makes you feel that you are reading a contemporaneous record of real events, except that you are not, because even though real people (Byron, Blake and Spencer Percival) do appear in the story, so does Mary Crawford from Mansfield Park along with a variety of supernatural beings. Magic and witchcraft abound, yet the whole feel of the story is that these events, are, if not commonplace, then to be taken in our stride. It is a novel and beguiling way of treating events and characters that we normally see hyped to the nth degree in gory Gothic fantasies. It is not really possible to summarise the story effectively without giving away too much. Suffice it to say we have a heroine who has problems to overcome and a quest to follow. She is beset by other characters, some we like and some we don't, but none of whom can we or Lucy, our heroine, trust. Such is the nature of the writing, we cannot be certain that everything will come out all right in the end, because this emphatically is not a "romance". Perhaps you will like the ending, perhaps not. I won't say anything more about it than that. I loved this book. I felt for the heroine and sympathised with her dilemmas in a way that would not have been possible in the usual run of the mill Gothic fantasy. It also made me look at Byron in a whole new way.

Disappointing from David Liss. I enjoyed reading but often found myself wanting to finish it and get it over and done with. Too many predictable points, and a confused and quite fairy tale like story. Not really on a part with his other, much more historically sound and more intriguing, novels.

A different genre by David Liss and one he should not try again.