The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion

Volume 3

by Beth Brower

Review posted August 27, 2024.
Rhydon Press, 2020. 217 pages.
Review written July 16, 2024, from my own copy, a birthday gift.
Starred Review

Again, I first have to thank my sister Becky for giving me these delightful books for my birthday. I was a little dismayed when I realized it wasn't a 3-volume work, but more of a serial - indeed like a journal. But the good side of that is that the fun doesn't end soon!

Volume 3 is thicker. It covers two months, like the others, this time July 1st through August 31st, 1883. In this volume a new sort of subplot was introduced -- revealing another quirk of St. Crispian's. It turns out that every July 15, a secret performance of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar is performed - and those who want to attend must follow a series of clues in order to win tickets. Emma and the odious Cousin Archibald (who lives in her home at Lapis Lazuli House) become temporary allies in order to obtain the prize. But alas! There is a disaster with repercussions that last the rest of the book.

And while this is going on, Emma finds out more about the Mysterious Tenant. She attends parties to be a foil for her cousin Arabella, some of them being tedious and some frightfully interesting. She deals with the scoundrel Jack, her friend Mary's fake cousin. And she's in more interesting situations with intriguing people.

And as the volumes go on, I really shouldn't say too much about each one, because I don't want to give spoilers from what's gone before. This isn't exactly a Jane Austen read-alike, because Emma is far too unconventional and interested in so much more than finding a man. (Oh, and she's in London about 75 years after Jane Austen's heroines.) But I can safely say that if you love Jane Austen's books, chances are good you'll love Emma M. Lion as well.