In The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion by Beth Brower, Emma is an orphaned young woman who has just returned to London in 1883 with the understanding that she’s to take possession of her inheritance: Lapis Lazuli House, an allowance, and a salary from having been a companion to her cousin Matilde for the last three years.
But the house is occupied by Cousin Archibald, who is “not only thin in person, he’s thin in humour and spirit and character” (p. 6). He consigns Emma to the garret on the fifth floor rather than her usual rooms on the third and avoids her. When they finally do meet, he refuses to give her the promised salary and on the basis of a flimsy accusation by her aunt.
Emma fixes up her garret, reacquaints herself with the neighborhood of St. Crispians, and reads the only novel she can find, Paradise Lost.
Meanwhile, her Aunt Eugenia wants Emma to act as a foil for her cousin Arabella in finding a suitable match, so she promises to send Emma the requisite wardrobe, calling cards, etc.
There’s a touch of the supernatural in the mention of a neighborhood ghost, but I hope that aspect doesn’t get expanded.
The book is written in the form of journal entries and covers about two months. It’s short, about 133 pages. But there are nine volumes published so far, each covering two months, with an ultimate plan of twenty-five.
Brower has been compared to Jane Austen, P. G. Wodehouse, and L. M. Montgomery. The strength of these books is their clever and often humorous writing.
[Of a bookshop placard] They sell books of the “New, Slightly Used, & Abominably Treated Yet Resurrected Variety.” I adore this shop, but the price for even a resurrected book can be quite steep (p. 13, Kindle version).
[Of the vicar} It is not that he is a hermit, or narcissistic, or odd—he simply maintains an economy of interaction that is spare in its elegance.
You will look very thoughtful and intelligent. Let us hope you are. Unless you hope to marry soon. Then let us hope you are not. It takes a courageous man to marry a woman with a mind (p. 63).
Emma is a plucky heroine, determined to make the best of things as she navigates her way to adult life despite her quirky family members.
I don’t recall that there’s anything very deep in these books so far, besides some of Emma’s musings. But the book is a light, pleasant read. I hadn’t known there were so many volumes. I have the next one already, and we’ll see how far I get with the rest.
