Historical Novels Review - February 2009

THE MYSTERY OF THE FOOL AND THE VANISHER
David and Ruth Ellwand, Candlewick Press, $18.99/C$21.00, hb, 103pp, 978-0-7636-2096-7

This gorgeously designed book is a journal-within-a-journal, the story of a modern-day photographer who finds the papers and photographs of a Victorian faerie researcher. It is also a meditation on the uses of history and photography, and the enduring power of folklore.

David Ellwand, photographing the Downs one day, comes across a mysterious locked box near a crumbling ruin. He finds that the box contains the effects of Isaac Wilde, the official photographer on a Victorian archaeological dig, and collector of faerie artifacts. Included in the box is a series of wax phonograph recordings, the transcription of which forms the middle section of the book, Isaac’s daily journal of his work on the barrow Downs dig.

Isaac comes to believe, as the locals do, that disturbing the great barrow will disturb the pixies, and attempts to photograph the fae in their environment in order to show evidence of the destruction to the arrogant scientist in charge, in order to stop the dig. When the scientist mysteriously disappears, Isaac is forced to flee and leave the evidence of the fae hidden…until Ellwand finds the evidence and shares it with us.

Ellwand’s photographs of the Downs and the twisting trees of the forest are moving and ethereally beautiful, and the photos “taken” by Wilde are clever and lovely in their own right. The book is beautifully designed with charming surprises throughout. This is a clever, enchanting book that would be a welcome addition to any history, photography, or folklore buff’s coffee table.

UNITED STATES OF ATLANTIS
Harry Turtledove, ROC, 2008, $23.95/C$28.50, pb, 438 pp, 978-0-451-46236-7

Atlantis has been settled by the English and the French for over 300 years. Now, at the end of the 18th century, and following a bloody war for dominance of the island in which the French were vanquished, the English Atlanteans are beginning to rankle under the heavy hand of George III. When tensions over taxation bubble over and the garrisoned redcoats on the island are attacked, England decides to put the upstart colony in its place. Victor Radcliff, descendant of the man who discovered Atlantis and hero of the war against France, is again pressed into service and the United States of Atlantis are born.

The story is an alternate history, imagining what would have happened if Atlantis was discovered and colonized first, rather than North America (“Terranova” in the world of the book). It is the latest in a series, though it is not necessary to have read the previous books.

While the concept is interesting, I found the writing choppy and the book hard to get into. There was little character development (in fact, many of the Atlanteans were simply stand-ins for Washington, Franklin, Jefferson, and Howe and Cornwallis are included as they were). I found I did not care for the protagonist, Victor or his struggles. While the world building is convincing, and the concept is interesting, the book overall is dry. I would have expected that the book would have taken the idea of colonies and revolution in a new direction – it is Atlantis, after all – but it is simply a retelling of the American revolution in a new geographical setting. I was hoping for more invention and creativity and, sadly, did not find it in this book.