Dear Reader,

I beg your kind indulgence as I feel I must share with you the delightful experience I had reading a charming novel entitled Sorcery and Cecilia or the Enchanted Chocolate Pot: Being the Correspondence of Two Young Ladies of Quality Regarding Various Magical Scandals in London and the Country. This novel was named an ALA best book for young adults, but I believe readers of any age would find it diverting. If you enjoy novels of an historical nature that also include fantasy and romance, I daresay you will find the hours spent reading Sorcery and Cecilia most pleasant.

Sorcery and Cecilia contains the correspondence of two charming cousins, Kate and Cecy. Kate is sent to town with her aunt to be introduced to society, but Cecy stays in the country. While one might think it would be frightfully dull to be separated from one’s favorite cousin, both young ladies begin investigating strange happenings among persons of their mutual acquaintance and subsequently encounter magic of both the black and white varieties.

Some novels of a fantastical nature spend far too much time on exposition to an extreme degree. I must own that occasionally I find it tedious to read a long tale of the Elven King’s second cousin once removed or many paragraphs detailing the metaphysical nature of spells. Sorcery and Celia is most entertaining in the way that magic is mentioned as a casual matter, without the tedium of the exposition that many authors fall victim to. For example, Cecy finds a charm bag in her brother’s bedclothes shortly after he vanishes mysteriously. She does not find the charm bag remarkable, yet she attempts to learn more about its construction and wonders who would place such a thing in her brother’s bed. Her investigation leads her to commit acts of subterfuge that are quite entertaining.

Besides the Enchanted Chocolate Pot, Sorcery and Celia also contains tales of a Mysterious Marquess, a Rather Handsome Young Man who Lurks in the Shrubbery, a Odd Snuffbox, Two Interfering Aunts, the pain of wearing Made-Over Gowns, and a Silly Brother who is turned into a Beech Tree. Throughout the novel Kate and Cecy display a great deal of good humor and initiative and they comment wittily on all of the events that unfold. I must confess that I am quite looking forward to reading the sequel to Sorcery and Celia, titled The Grand Tour : Being a Revelation of Matters of High Confidentiality and Greatest Importance, Including Extracts from the Intimate Diary of a Noblewoman and the Sworn Testimony of a Lady of Quality. I fervently hope that my poor description of this most entertaining novel may inspire you to read it yourself.

I remain your most humble and obedient servant,

tangognat