Review: That Inevitable Victorian Thing

That Inevitable Victorian Thing

E.K. Johnston
Dutton Books

From Goodreads:

Set in a near-future world where the British Empire was preserved, not by the cost of blood and theft but by effort of repatriation and promises kept, That Inevitable Victorian Thing is a novel of love, duty, and the small moments that can change people and the world. 

Victoria-Margaret is the crown princess of the empire, a direct descendant of Victoria I, the queen who changed the course of history two centuries earlier. The imperial practice of genetically arranged matchmaking will soon guide Margaret into a politically advantageous marriage like her mother before her, but before she does her duty, she'll have one summer incognito in a far corner of empire. In Toronto, she meets Helena Marcus, daughter of one of the empire's greatest placement geneticists, and August Callaghan, the heir apparent to a powerful shipping firm currently besieged by American pirates. In a summer of high-society debutante balls, politically charged tea parties, and romantic country dances, Margaret, Helena, and August discover they share an unusual bond and maybe a one in a million chance to have what they want and to change the world in the process —just like the first Queen Victoria.

 This one was one of those books where I was solely attracted to the cover and felt kind of "meh," about the synopsis. But it was also one of those times when my expectations where hugely exceeded! I absolutely adored this novel. The imagined world in which the Queen's empire is still in tact in the future, though at times complicated, was intriguing. The novel combined those deliciously romantic, Victorian things such as balls and corsets, with modern values and even appliances. Helena dancing around the sweeper bots in the kitchen? Sounds like me and my Roomba!

Of course there is much more to this novel than Victorian frivolity, namely the characters and their relationships with each other. Long held beliefs are challenged. Lifetime friendships are made seemingly out of thin air. While at times solutions became a little too convenient given the scope of the problem (the main example I'm thinking of is a spoiler) that didn't detract from my rooting for happily ever after.

You'll definitely want to pick up a copy of this book and be sure to read the author's note at the end, it really ties everything together.