Volume 5 of the Emma M. Lion series is the first to clock in at over 200 pages, and just like the previous volumes, it is a quick and highly enjoyable read. We have reached the end of 1883, with Emma’s journals covering November and December. Emma has reached a point where she has been forced to confront the terrible loss of her intended and the ensuing grief, which has been building up for 3 years. Yet, Emma also finds herself surrounded by an unexpected support group and a larger community that sees more than Emma realizes.
As the weather turns cold and dreary, Emma’s mood, which is normally quite cheerful, takes a bit of a hit. She presents a brave face to the world, but Emma is grieving Max Stewart. Her fiancé died in Afghanistan 3 years ago but his body has only recently been returned to England for burial. In the previous volume, Emma confronted Max’s horrible family and attended the interment. While she tries to go about life as usual, those close to her, such as the maid/cook Agnes and her tenant Pierce, notice that she is losing weight. Emma brushes off their concerns and goes about her usual business. The social season is over, and Emma gets a needed respite from her overbearing Aunt Eugenia. She now has time for more personal matters such as trying to figure out how to supplement her income. Renting rooms to photographer and friend (maybe more???) Niall Pierce has been enormously helpful but Emma’s banker Mr. Penury tells Emma that she will need more than that if she hopes to keep Lapis Lazuli house. As it happens, Emma has a couple of female friends who lead independent lives. Saffronia is an artist who had studied with Emma’s father. She has traveled Europe painting and taking commissions but is now back at St. Crispian’s, where she introduces Emma to some of her artist friends. School friend Mary has been living in a women’s boarding house and working for years. By day she works as a typist for the telegraph company and by night she types manuscripts for a college professor who thinks she is a man. There is a delightful scene with Mary, Emma and the professor in this volume and I can’t wait to see what transpires in the future for Mary.
Another interesting plot line in this volume involves Emma’s quest to find “the Roman.” The Roman is the ghost that everyone knows haunts St. Crispian’s. He does no harm but Emma feels somewhat affronted that she has never encountered him, and so she hatches a plan to track his movements. As she reaches out to the locals for information, she finds a surprising ally in her abhorrent cousin Archibald. She also, however, encounters some pushback from certain people. The matter with the Roman will certain be a constant in future volumes and I very much want to learn more about this character.
Finally, several of my favorite characters make wonderful cameo appearances in this volume. The scoundrel Jack comes back to call in his second favor from Emma, revealing previously unsuspected layers to his character. One cannot help but feel a bit sorry for him but he is still a dangerous person to know. Mrs. Penury returns (hooray!) for one of the best scenes in the book when she comes to tea and meets some of Emma’s friends. We also learn that there is something like a neighborhood watch in St Crispian’s —a group of oldsters who see a lot more going on than Emma realized. Fortunately, they, like all sensible people, take a shine to Emma and promise to be a fount of information for her in coming volumes.
Of course, the highlight of any volume involves Emma’s three unexpected friends and protectors: Pierce, Islington and Young Hawkes. Their concern for her is lovely, but they also provide a lot of comedy, which is needed. I think I am in love with Young Hawkes. His past is unclear even to his closest friends but I suspect we will eventually learn more about this extraordinary minister and friend. The Christmas scene at the end of this volume and Emma’s epiphany are beautifully written and I probably will feel the need to reread this one next month to add to the holiday spirit.
And just because I feel the need to put this in writing: I am loving Beth Brower’s ability to bring Bronte and Austen-like “heroes” into this story. Emma’s love for Jane Eyre has been front and center since volume 1, and Niall Pierce is the dark, brooding “Rochester” of this novel: he doesn’t reveal much about his past, he has a limp that must have been sustained when he was a war photographer, and he drinks a lot. I am worried about the Roman’s prediction regarding him and Lapis Lazuli house. If anything happens to that house, I swear I will be more put out than Lady Catherine De Bourgh when the shades of Pemberley are polluted. I’ve never been a fan of the Bronte sisters’ male leads — they are miserable jerks who bring down the people who care about them. Islington, on the other hand, is a “Darcy” and therefore the one I want Emma to end up with: super wealthy and handsome, he is the catch of every season but remains elusive. He also has a relationship with Emma that starts out a little rocky, but their mutual charms are having an effect on each other. Young Hawkes might be a Tilney? A well educated minister who seems to know much but exercises discretion and wisdom and is exceedingly kind. I love him. He is a balm for Emma and given his reaction to Emma’s Christmas gift to him, perhaps she is one for him as well.
