I love Gail Carrigers writing. Reading her first novel Soulless made me fall in love with the characters, the world she created, as well as her style of writing. The whole series The Parasol Protectorate remains one of my favorites and The Finishing School books are also always highly anticipated by me. I might write more about any of them at some later point but now I want to talk about Prudence, which is the first book in The Custard Protocol series. Set in the same world as The Finishing School and The Parasol Protectorate and starring the daughter of earlier protagonists, I knew the book would be a must-read for every fan of the world.
The world
Trying to convince friends to read any of Carrigers books, I typically describe them as a mixture of Jane Austen and steampunk. Then I start ranting about werewolves and vampires and ghosts, many of which are surprisingly openly queer, about the witty writing that has me laughing out loud at times and about the often rather campy romance plot that nevertheless keeps me enthralled. Coming back to the setting one concludes that her books happen within a British society that seems Victorian but has been changed by the influences steam inventions and the supernatural had on it. Throughout the books there are many hints how, for example, vampires have had influence on its fashion.
Prudence
Prudence is the daughter of a woman without a soul, Alexia Tarabotti, and a werewolf alpha, Lord Maccon. Her conception and birth are well covered in The Parasol Protectorate books. As the daughter of a werewolf and a preternatural, she is what is called a metanatural (or less favorably a "soul-stealer"). This allows her to touch a supernatural, turning them mortal and herself into their supernatural form, "stealing" their abilities. In this book Prudence has become a young woman, who takes her friends Primrose, Percy & Quesnel on a trip to India in her new dirigible, with a mysterious task given to her by her adoptive father Lord Akeldama. They are later joined by the mysterious Sekhmet, who seems to know a lot but does not talk that much with the possible exception of flirting with Primrose.
I devoured the book, the second it was published as I have every book by Gail Carriger before. I especially enjoy the pure number of female characters, who are cast in almost every role. While Sekhmet remains the only significant character of color, this might change in the forthcoming installments as the group around Prudence remains traveling. Other reviews, like this one, have rightfully critizised the book for mostly taking place in India but instead of giving any prominent role to Indians having the white British characters solve their problems. This is something I do hope Carriger will work on in her future books, giving voices to a wider array of characters. There is also a slight romance between Prudence and Quesnel in the narrative but as with Carrigers other books one can assume that other (also queer) romances might be in the future. Still, what I most enjoy about the book is that it celebrates women in their femininity or lack thereof, their determination or submission, their ingenuity as well as their simplicity.
"Rue was not, to the best of her knowledge, a lover of women, but she did have a number of lady friends and enjoyed having females around."
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