silver

I almost didn't finish A Natural History of Dragons. Here's what the back cover says:

You, dear reader, continue at your own risk. It is not for the faint of heart—no more so than the study of dragons itself. But such study offers rewards beyond compare: to stand in a dragon’s presence, even for the briefest of moments—even at the risk of one’s life—is a delight that, once experienced, can never be forgotten...

All the world, from Scirland to the farthest reaches of Eriga, know Isabella, Lady Trent, to be the world’s preeminent dragon naturalist. She is the remarkable woman who brought the study of dragons out of the misty shadows of myth and misunderstanding into the clear light of modern science. But before she became the illustrious figure we know today, there was a bookish young woman whose passion for learning, natural history, and, yes, dragons defied the stifling conventions of her day.

Here at last, in her own words, is the true story of a pioneering spirit who risked her reputation, her prospects, and her fragile flesh and bone to satisfy her scientific curiosity; of how she sought true love and happiness despite her lamentable eccentricities; and of her thrilling expedition to the perilous mountains of Vystrana, where she made the first of many historic discoveries that would change the world forever.

Interesting, right? Victorian lady off on dragon-hunting adventures? Natural history? ADVENTURES HUNTING DRAGONS?!

The dragons. The dragons. I'm in it for the dragons.

I'm starting to think I should stop reading Victorian-set literature (as separate from literature written by Victorians, is what I'm trying to say) because with few exceptions, the overall tone is maddening. I'll get into that at the end of the review.

The novel begins in Isabella's youth, where her interest in dragons begins: she finds a sparkling in the garden, a tiny dragon. At that time sparklings were classified as insects, and dragons were not well studied because of the difficulty in preserving them. Any specimen that a hunter or a researcher brought down and shipped home would have decayed into dust or fragments in a few days. However, what little is known of dragons fascinates Isabella, and she concocts many schemes to learn more, like getting her brother to pilfer books from her father's library.

Isabella chafes at the restrictions on her life. Although it's called Scirland, the novel is very clearly patterned after Victorian or Victorian-adjacent England; as a young woman of breeding, she mustn't do this and that etc, sneaks out in boy's clothing and nearly gets herself killed trying to see a dragon, etc etc, her father puts together a list of eligible gentlemen to marry (he's starred the ones who own a copy of "A Natural History of Dragons", the first book Isabella read about them), tries to push down her interests but ends up talking to gentlemen about her dragon fixation, etc...

( rest of the review )

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I'm gonna stop reading fiction set in the Victorian period (unless it is written by Victorians.) There's this arch, coy voice which is SO ANNOYING, as well as the apparent prevalence of "I'm not like those girls" (let's punish other people for conformity) and "all mothers are daft", both of which drive me up the wall.

(OH MY GOD IF YOU DON'T KNOW HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF OR STAY OUT OF TROUBLE WHY DO YOU MANEUVER YOURSELF INTO THESE SITUATIONS.)