Parasols, Paranormal Mischief, and PRUDENCE: Ms. Gail Carriger Charms Us Again

SOULLESS

It all began with The Parasol Protectorate series, which first introduced us to Carriger’s Victorian London and all its comedic, supernatural charm. Heroine spinster Alexia is a joy to read as she bumbles and pardons her way through slaying vampires and courting werewolves in New York Times bestseller SOULLESS.

About: Alexia Tarabotti is laboring under a great many social tribulations. First, she has no soul. Second, she's a spinster whose father is both Italian and dead. Third, she was rudely attacked by a vampire, breaking all standards of social etiquette. Where to go from there? From bad to worse apparently, for Alexia accidentally kills the vampire -- and then the appalling Lord Maccon (loud, messy, gorgeous, and werewolf) is sent by Queen Victoria to investigate.

With unexpected vampires appearing and expected vampires disappearing, everyone seems to believe Alexia responsible. Can she figure out what is actually happening to London's high society? Will her soulless ability to negate supernatural powers prove useful or just plain embarrassing? Finally, who is the real enemy, and do they have treacle tart?

ETIQUETTE & ESPIONAGE

Carriger returned to her Parasol Protectorate universe in 2013 with a younger audience in mind. The YA Finishing School series is every bit as saucy, witty, and droll as its grown-up counterpart, and every bit as beloved by its fans.

About: It's one thing to learn to curtsy properly. It's quite another to learn to curtsy and throw a knife at the same time. Welcome to Finishing School.

Fourteen-year-old Sophronia is a great trial to her poor mother. Sophronia is more interested in dismantling clocks and climbing trees than proper manners--and the family can only hope that company never sees her atrocious curtsy. Mrs. Temminnick is desperate for her daughter to become a proper lady. So she enrolls Sophronia in Mademoiselle Geraldine's Finishing Academy for Young Ladies of Quality.

But Sophronia soon realizes the school is not quite what her mother might have hoped. At Mademoiselle Geraldine's, young ladies learn to finish...everything. Certainly, they learn the fine arts of dance, dress, and etiquette, but the also learn to deal out death, diversion, and espionage--in the politest possible ways, of course. Sophronia and her friends are in for a rousing first year's education.

PRUDENCE

In the newly released first Custard Protocol novel, the daughter of Parasol Protectorate series heroine Alexia travels to India “on behalf of Queen, country…and the perfect pot of tea.” Pardon me as I disappear for a spell to bury my nose in this book.

About: When Prudence Alessandra Maccon Akeldama ("Rue" to her friends) is bequeathed an unexpected dirigible, she does what any sensible female under similar circumstances would do -- she christens it the Spotted Custard and floats off to India.

Soon, she stumbles upon a plot involving local dissidents, a kidnapped brigadier's wife, and some awfully familiar Scottish werewolves. Faced with a dire crisis (and an embarrassing lack of bloomers), Rue must rely on her good breeding -- and her metanatural abilities -- to get to the bottom of it all...