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Description edit
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... read more
Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis edit
Summary edit
Poor Alexia. Just as she's about to enjoy some treacle tart at the ball, a vampire attacks her -- before they've been properly introduced. But as any vampire of good society should've known, Alexia was born without a soul, rendering those of supernatural inclinations completely powerless. Now... read more (warning: may contain spoilers)
Characters edit
- Miss Alexia Tarabotti: Our heroine. Spinster, mannered, fashionable, and soulless (preternatural)
- Lord Conall Maccon: Earl of Woolsey, werewolf, Alpha leader of the Woolsey pack, leader of BUR
- Professor Randolph Lyall: Beta to Lord Maccon, werewolf
- Miss Ivy Hisselpenny: Confidante and friend to Miss Tarabotti. Known for her unfortunate penchant for hideous headwear.
- Lord Akeldama: Vampire friend to Miss Tarabotti, fabulous, one of the oldest vampires in London, rove--not a member of a hive
- Mr. MacDougall: An American scientist, who has a small crush on Alexia and who is working in the field of measuring one's soul and the theories of how one becomes supernatural.
- Mr. Siemons: Head of the Hypocras Club, a gentlemen's club with scientific interests
- Squire Loontwill: Miss Tarabotti's step-father
- Ormond Tunstell: Claviger to Lord Maccon
- Countess Nadasdy: Queen vampire of the Westminster Hive
- Lord Ambrose: Member of the Westminster Hive
- Dr. Neebs: Scientist at the Hypocras Club
- Dr. Caedes: Vampire in Countess Nadasdy's Hive
- Lady Loontwill: Miss Tarabotti's mother
- Evylin Loontwill: Half-sister to Miss Tarabotti
- Mr. Haverbink: Member of BUR assigned to protect Miss Tarabotti
- Floote: Butler to the Loontwills
- Felicity Loontwill: Half-sister to Miss Tarabotti
- Biffy: One of Lord Akeldama's drones
- Mabel Dair: Actress and one of Countess Nadasdy's drones.
- George Greemes: Canterbury BUR office agent.
Quotes edit
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“Nothing was funnier than watching a vampire try to emulate a werewolf.”
Alexia -
“What was that, my diminutive gherkin?”
Lord Akeldama to Alexia -
“"Why is it, Miss Tarabotti, every time I have to clean up a mess in a library, you just happen to be in the middle of it?"”
Lord Maccon to Alexia Tarabotti -
“People actually thinking, with their brains, and right next door. Oh, the travesty of it all.”
Alexia -
“Well, you are a werewolf, Scottish, naked, and covered in blood, and I am still holding your hand.”
Alexia -
“"Grovel, you say?" Lyall did not glance away from the latest vampire report he was perusing. "Grovel, my lord"”
Lord Maccon & Professor Randolph Lyall -
“He had never told Alexia quite how old. “La, darling,” he always said, “a vampire, like a lady, never reveals his true age.”
- Popular Highlights from Kindle Customers
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“People actually thinking, with their brains, and right next door. Oh, the travesty of it all.”
Highlighted by 43 Kindle customers -
Strange place, that overseas land, where religion and wealth did the talking and history and age held so little sway.
Highlighted by 40 Kindle customers -
Many a gentleman had likened his first meeting with her to downing a very strong cognac when one was expecting to imbibe fruit juice—that is to say, startling and apt to leave one with a distinct burning sensation.
Highlighted by 40 Kindle customers -
“Well, you are a werewolf, Scottish, naked, and covered in blood, and I am still holding your hand.”
Highlighted by 38 Kindle customers -
Her heart was doing crazy things, and she still could not locate her kneecaps. She took a deep breath and put some serious attention into tracking them down.
Highlighted by 26 Kindle customers -
Bureau of Unnatural Registry (BUR), a division of Her Majesty’s Civil Service, called her ilk preternatural.
Highlighted by 18 Kindle customers -
The ill-informed masses included her own family among their ranks, a family that specialized in being both inconvenient and asinine.
Highlighted by 17 Kindle customers -
“I am not a groveler!” “It is possible to learn many new and interesting skills in one lifetime,” advised Professor Lyall, unimpressed by the posturing.
Highlighted by 16 Kindle customers -
Of course, she always went and spoiled the appeal by opening her mouth. In his humble experience, the world had yet to produce a more vexingly verbose female.
Highlighted by 14 Kindle customers -
He had never told Alexia quite how old. “La, darling,” he always said, “a vampire, like a lady, never reveals his true age.”
Highlighted by 8 Kindle customers
Organizations edit
- Bureau of Unnatural Registry (BUR): Handles law enforcement regarding the supernatural
- Shadow Council: Consisting of a dewan (werewolf), potentate (vampire), and preternatural (muhjah), it administers supernatural interaction with the Crown
- Hypocras Club: Gentleman's clubs for intellectuals, philosophers, scientists, and the like.
First Sentence edit
Miss Alexia Tarabotti was not enjoying her evening.
Table of Contents edit
1. In Which Parasols Prove Useful
2. An Unexpected Invitation
3. Our Heroine Heeds Some Good Advice
4. Our Heroine Ignores Good Advice
5. Dinner with an American
6. Driving with Scientists, Dabbling with Earls
7. Revelations Over Chopped Liver
8. Backyard Shenanigans
9. A Problem of Werewolf Proportions
10. For the Good of the Commonwealth
11. Among the Machines
12. Nothing but Werewolf
13. The Last Room
14. Royal Interference
Epilogue
Glossary edit
- Preternatural: Humans born without souls
- Hive: Colony of vampires with a Queen and complete with drones
- Drone: Humans with artistic leanings who serve as companions and servants for the vampires in hopes of attaining immortality
- Rove: Hiveless vampire
- Claviger: Humans with artistic leanings who serve as companions and servants for the werewolves in hopes of attaining immortality. Often referred to as key-keepers, their primary purpose is to restrain werewolves in danger of losing control.
- Loner: Werewolf without a pack.
- Potentate: Vampire advisor to Queen Victoria. Sits on the Shadow Council
- Dewan: Werewolf advisor to Queen Victoria. Sits on the Shadow Council
- Muhjuh: Preternatural advisor to Queen Victoria. Sits on the Shadow Council; this position is currently vacant
Series & Lists edit
This is book 1 of 5 in The Parasol Protectorate. (standard series)
Followed by Changeless.
This is book 4 of 9 in Steampunk Scholar Top 10. (authoritative list)
This book is in 2011-2012 Iowa High School Battle of the Books. (authoritative list)
Authors & Contributors edit
- Gail Carriger (Author)
First Edition edit
Original Language: English
Publisher: Orbit
Country: United States
Publication Date: October 1, 2009
ISBN: 978-0316056632
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Orbit
Country: United States
Publication Date: October 1, 2009
ISBN: 978-0316056632
Page Count: 384
Awards edit
- Alex Awards (2010)
Classification edit
- Library of Congress: CPB Box no. 3070 vol. 2
- Dewey: 813.6
Subjects edit
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