I have to disagree with other reviewers who did not like the books shifts in view and separation into parts. The shifts in point-of-view acutally added to the book and by setting it off into its own part made it easy to handle. I looked at this book on 3 different times before buying because I have many times observed that books over 400 pages would be much better if they received a severe pruning. However, this author, manages to write a book where it all ties up neatly in the end and there are no extra characters or events that weren't important to the plot. The book manages to do Jane Austen style but has enough action to satisfy moderen readers, is partly a Gothic without the exceedingly dumb heroine, and is of course a fantasy with magicians and werewolves but in such a refined way it isn't in the least violent. Really quite a feat. Oh, and don't forget a satisfying romance for us romance fans that as another review mentions one could read to your Mom.

In this fantasy homage to Austen and Bronte, we meet the three Lockwood sisters whom their mother hopes will marry advantageously since their home is entailed and their father, a magician, was struck down by a strange malady years ago and is unable to help support them. Their lives intersect briefly with Dashton Rafferdy, the idle, witty son of nobility, and his friend, Eldyn Garritt, who is secretly barely able to maintain himself and his sister and who has been forced to leave university in order to 'pursue some business opportunities.'

Ivy Lockwood, the eldest sister, a bookish intelligent girl intent on helping her father out of his impaired state, knows she does not move in Rafferdy's circle, even though their minds and perhaps their hearts grow close. Rafferdy also knows he must eventually fulfill his duty to his father and his name. And Eldyn knows he cannot pretend much longer that he's able to maintain the carefree life of a gentleman, having no source of income and the care of his younger sister. Meanwhile, treason and revolution are whispered about on the streets and in the taverns and highwaymen and bandits are increasing hazards of the roads. And Ivy's inquiries into the mystery of her father's illness may point to a magical conspiracy and a possible threat to the world at large.

This is not a fast-paced, action-filled book, but will intrigue those who may like a little fantasy in their Austen or their Gothic Romance. The characters were all sympathetic, Ivy in particular was a nice mix of being a well-brought up girl of her society and yet also intelligent, curious and strong. The magics were interesting and varied--with the learned, academic magic of the magicians (which has only lately come back into favor among the nobility), the wild magic of the witches and the outlaws--and trees, the illusions of the mysterious theatrical, disreputable Siltheri, and the unknown alien threat that may come through a door that should not be opened.

Although this book concludes at a suitable point, there is much more to explore in this world and with these characters and I'm glad to know that there is a sequel in the works. I'm curious to know more about Eldyn and the Siltheri, who are still just sub-plot in this very long book.

The story was somewhat slow in parts and seems to fall into three distinct parts, the first part being very Austen-like (with plot and character elements drawn from _Pride and Prejudice_), the second part bearing a resemblance to _Jane Eyre_ with bits of other notable tales mixed in and strangely switching to a first-person epistolary style, then back to third-person and the various viewpoints of the three main characters again for the last part. The ending does seem strangely flat and rushed compared to the sedate pace of the first two parts, but isn't horrible. I'd have liked to have an explanation of the varying lengths of days and nights, even if it were only that it was magical or natural and no one knew the mechanism of it. But I still enjoyed reading this more than I had trouble with it, and as I said, am curious enough to be looking forward to the sequel--mostly in hopes that the characters and the world will be better fleshed out and live up to the hints that there may be interesting things revealed.

I am on page 142 and came to Amazon in the hopes that there were good reviews for this book which would encourage me to keep reading. This is one of the most laborious and boring books I have read in quite some time. It is droning on about nothing and I'm about to reach the "put down point" to move onto something a bit more interesting, I mean if a booked hasn't picked up by almost 150pgs in I have a hard time believing it will. I will give it to 200 then I'm calling it quits. I'm sad I paid full price and for a hardback no less...

I picked it up on a whim and I enjoyed the read.

It is a fantasy story set in an alternative universe based on Regency England. The book is broken into three parts. In the first we meet Lily Lockwell, her family, and associates - a number of which are copies of Jane Austen's characters. Her mother is Mrs. Bennet, her cousin is CLEARLY Mr. Collins, and there is even a Lady Katherine. No Darcy though.

Lily is trying to save her family from ruin (the house is entailed to the cousin), her father from magickcal madness, and her heart from the handsome Mr. Rafferdy. Mr. Rafferdy needs to learn to accept the responsibility of his place in the world - a place Lily can never be part of.

The writer does a fantastic job of keeping me in the world and making the world VERY Jane Austen even as it is still original to itself. The characters have the right wit. The language is well done. The story is clever. This section of the book definitely hooked me.

Then the second part of the book takes Lily to a small country estate where she becomes the governess to two wild children. Now we are in Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre's World. And the voice of the story and the words and the scenes shift. There is even a Mr. Rochester!

If someone had tried to tell me about a book like this, I would have rolled my eyes. But the author does an excellent job, and I continue to be engrossed by the story, the characters, and my ever-enlarging view of this very strange world they live in even as the story-telling almost seems to be by a different person.

Part Three - Well... Here the problems start for me. This section is pretty standard fantasy writing. The quick wit of Jane Austen or deep setting of Jane Eyre disappear. The characters lose their individuality as the story becomes rather unoriginal, and I can't help wondering what happened. Where did all the fun stuff go? All I'm left with is a `save the world from the otherworld creatures' storyline, and that was not what I was reading for.

So in the end, I enjoyed the book. I may even pick up the next one. However, in entirety it did not live up to its own promise.

I have to start off this review by saying that I've never read anything by Bronte or Austen, so I can't speak to the comparisons between Galen Beckett's "The Magicians and Mrs. Quent" and those classic works. I suppose if I was really familiar with Bronte and Austen, I might be more critical, but as it is, I went in just expecting a fun historical fantasy novel.

And overall "Mrs. Quent" doesn't disappoint. This rather lengthy novel follows the adventures of Ivy Lockwell, the eldest of three teenage sisters, as she discovers the role magic has played in her family and how it will affect her future. It's a race against time as she works to solve a riddle, left by her now mentally ill father, that will ultimately save the world.

Most of today's authors tend to paint their characters outside of the societal norm, even in a historical setting, but Ivy is firmly entrenched as a woman of the time period (Victorian/Regency). The only character that shows any tendency to be untraditional is the youngest sister, Lily. Everyone else follows the strict social code of the era. This includes a failed romance between Ivy and the dashing Mr. Rafferdy, whose station in life is a little too high for Ivy's family. I thought it would bother me, but it was kind of refreshing to have the main characters actually behave the way people normally would within a certain time period.

But there were also a lot of holes the author left in the story, as well as a weird middle section that made you feel like you were reading two books, and not one. When Ivy goes to the country to take care of Mr. Quent's wards, the narrative suddenly switches to first person and we ignore the rest of the characters we met in the first part of the novel. In fact, only a handful of them remain important by the last part of the book, and Ivy's sisters are relegated to being background information instead of having any relevance to the plot by the end of the book. I also found it hard to believe that Ivy would pour her heart out in letters to her father and not share those same feelings with her sisters, when it seemed that the three siblings were really close. If the middle section was a diary of some sort, it might have been easier to take.

The author also had a tendency to introduce a character or situation, and then once that character was unnecessary, just randomly taking them out forcefully. For instance, in the first section, we meet Mrs. Lockwell, the girls' mother. We learn, repeatedly, that Mrs. Lockwell is quite a bit younger than her mentally ill husband and is in great health. When Mrs. Lockwell suddenly dies, that's it. There's no scene where the doctor pronounces her cause of death. There's no musings from Ivy out in the country about what happened and how it's changed the family. It's obvious from the way the author harps on the fact that Mrs. Lockwell is so young and so healthy what will happen - but then there's no explanation or closure about it.

Another example of this is with the housekeeper Mrs. Darendel in the country. She's surly and doesn't like Ivy; but when the highwayman Westin appears at the estate, she's suddenly helping Ivy. Why the change of heart? We'll never know, because she gets taken out abruptly too. Which I find hard to swallow, given it's her son leading the charge. Why would he allow his own mother to die? We never find out. Apparently those connections just aren't important enough for the author to finish. So I'm not sure why they were introduced at all.

Societal strictures also don't seem to make sense. Ivy and Mr. Rafferdy can't be friends when single, but once she's married, it's totally okay for them to be close friends? I would think it would be the other way around. And Ivy is apparently madly in love with her husband, Mr. Quent, but since we barely get to know him in the book (he's always away on business, and when he does appear he's kind of gruff and quiet), we're not sure what she sees in him.

Crazy holes aside, it is overall a fun book and I'm hoping that the sequel will tie up some loose ends, answer questions, or at least flesh out some of the other characters more.