The Garden Intrigue, #9 in the Pink Carnation Series
Lauren Willig
Penguin Audio
February 2012
The Pink Carnation series by Lauren Willig is a mixture of history and romance concerning the exploits of a group of aristocratic British spies active in the early 19th century. The group is headed by a Englishwoman with close ties to the Bonaparte regime through her brother are determined to foil the plans of Napoleon Bonaparte. Owing much to the Scarlet Pimpernel stories by Baroness Orczy, the series manages to combine farce with romance and action, while staying firmly rooted in history. I have enjoyed all of the Pink Carnation series even though I found the first one, The Secret History of the Pink Carnation, much more fluff than substance. I think the series has improved with each book and The Garden Intrigue is the best yet.
Augustus Whittlesby has been in France for more than 10 years, posing as an affected poet who writes perfectly execrable poetry and goes about declaiming it. The poetry is indeed so bad that Augustus can send intelligence back to England through his poetry and have no fear that French Security will stick with it long enough to crack the code. However, Augustus is feeling the loneliness of his exile harder to bear than ever. When he is told by another agent that Napoleon is having a "secret device" demonstrated at Maimaison, Josephine's country home, he knows he must wrangle an invitation somehow. Jane Wooleston, the Pink Carnation, teams him up with Emma Delagardie who has been commissioned by Josephine to write a Masque for the gathering. Emma is an American, niece to the American Envoy and a very fashionable widow, close friend to both Josephine and her daughter, Hortense. Emma has no idea that Augustus is an agent and she is far from a favorite of Augustus as she makes fun of his poetry unmercifully. Besides, Augustus has fallen in love with Jane or so he thinks.
One of the things I have enjoyed the most about the series is the way that Willig can take a character who appears unlikable throughout several books like Lord Vaughn or as comic relief like "Turnip" Fitzhugh and develop them into characters who are well rounded and human. While we may not love Lord Vaughn, we at least understand him and "Turnip" turns into a real romantic hero--even though still not the brightest bulb! Willig accomplishes this once again in the Garden Intrigue. Augustus has appeared in several of the previous books, mostly as a comic character even though we know he is an agent. With Emma and Augustus we have two characters whose lives are all pretense. They are both lonely and and feel unanchored. The dialogue between Emma and Augustus is witty and charming throughout. Now one has to wonder when Jane is going to "crack!" So far she has been all business with no hint of the young woman hiding beneath the facade.
The Pink Carnation series also has a secondary, present-day story of Eloise and Colin. Eloise is an American doctoral candidate on fellowship in England and Colin is the descendant of the Selwick family. The Selwick family and friends figure prominently in the series. Eloise is investigating his family archives for her doctoral dissertation. Eloise and Colin have a developing relationship in the background of the main story. It is a nice addition but I have to say that I personally would run from Colin's family baggage! It appears that the action may pick up on that story line in the next book in the series.
I can't say enough good things about Kate Reading's performance of all the Pink Carnation books. I enjoy them so much that this series is a "must" in audio book form for me. Highly recommended, especially the audio books, but I would start at the first book and stick with the reading order.
Rating 4 Pink Carnations
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