The New York Times bestselling author of the Lady Julia Grey mysteries returns once more to Victorian England and introduces intrepid adventuress Veronica Speedwell…. London, 1887. After burying her spinster aunt, orphaned Veronica Speedwell is free to resume her world travels in pursuit of scientific inquiry—and the occasional romantic dalliance. As familiar with hunting butterflies as with … with hunting butterflies as with fending off admirers, Veronica intends to embark upon the journey of a lifetime.
But fate has other plans when Veronica thwarts her own attempted abduction with the help of an enigmatic German baron, who offers her sanctuary in the care of his friend Stoker, a reclusive and bad-tempered natural historian. But before the baron can reveal what he knows of the plot against her, he is found murdered—leaving Veronica and Stoker on the run from an elusive assailant as wary partners in search of the villainous truth.
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Deanna Raybourn is one of my favorite historical romance writers!–she never disappoints.
Just finished this book, the first in the new Veronica Speedwell series from Deanna Raybourne, and I loved it! I would even go out on a limb and say Veronica is Ms. Raybourn’s best character yet! If you are a fan of her Lady Julia Grey series, like strong, smart heroines, brooding heroes, intrigue or all of the above you will enjoy this book!
A book club I used to belong to invited me back for a guest visit and they assured me I would love this book. They were right! I did! The characters were just unpredictable enough to keep you interested but not unpredictable enough to sacrifice believability. In addition, it is the first of a series so you know I will have to keep reading. The plot thickens…
Veronica Speedwell is my new favorite female sleuth. Raybourn once again delivers beautiful historical detail, flawed, lovable characters, and a gripping plot. Like a female Sherlock Holmes but more awesome.
Will remind readers of Amelia Peabody. Good solid mystery and slow-burn romance that likely won’t be culminated for several books to come.
Need a charming, engaging historical romp of a book to entertain and delight you? Deanna Raybourn’s Veronica Speedwell mystery series is fabulous. Definitely start at the beginning with this, the first book in the series.
The heroine, Veronica Speedwell, defies Victorian convention with her dauntless confidence and unabashed spiritedness. A charmingly polished fiction (the first in a series), which I devoured with relish! Ms. Raybourn pens erudite prose with clever brilliance, aligning her with my other favorite authors.
This is a new series by Deana Raybourn taking place during the Victorian era. Veronica Speedwell would have been called “an Original”. She was raised by two woman who told her that she was a foundling that they took in. They never stays in one place very long, so she basically homeschooled herself in what ever interested her and she became a “naturalist”, her specialty, lepidoptery (the study of butterflies). After she buries her last “aunt”, she is ready to embark on a new expedition when she is nearly abducted, but then saved by a German baron, who promises to tell her about her past. He leaves her in the temporary hands of a friend, Stoker, a fellow naturalist, but is murdered before he can reveal her beginnings. Since her promised to protect her, Stoker and Veronica are forced out on an adventure to figure out who murdered the baron, who is trying to frame Stoker for the murder and why Veronica is in danger. The characters are captivating, the adventure intriguing and the way the author includes the science of the times fascinating. A Curious Beginning is the beginning of an exciting series and “the begining of a beautiful friendship”.
You can never go wrong with a Deanna Raybourn book!
A great start to a new series! Veronica Speedwell is a force of nature, and I’m looking forward to reading about this extraordinary young woman’s future adventures.
What a wonderful surprise I found in A Curious Beginning by Deanna Raybourn. Our heroine, Veronica Speedwell, is full of curiosity, feisty and smart. Ready to start a new adventure with her new found freedom, she finds herself in a bit of trouble (to put it mildly). Now she and Stoker are trying to get answers. I loved the witty banter between them and their journey full of mystery.
Happy reading!
I have been curious about Ms. Raybourn’s new series since it first came out, but this was my first opportunity to read any of the books. I love this author’s writing and plotting style and wondered how I’d feel about Veronica since I had thoroughly disliked Lady Julia in the earlier series. Unfortunately, I really, really, really did not like Veronica. Don’t get me wrong, I love a strong, pragmatic, practical, intelligent, and decisive heroine but that wasn’t what I got. In my opinion, Veronica is self-centered, overbearing and arrogant – and I’d dislike those traits in a man or a woman. She also goes on and on and on about how unconventional she is. Maybe it hit me so strongly because I listened to the audiobook and it just felt like those things were pounding into my brain. That is why my true rating for this book is 3.75 rounded up to 4. The mystery was excellent, the tension between Stoker and Veronica was excellent – well – everything was excellent except Veronica herself. I will try another book from later in the series to see if Veronica has mellowed into a real human rather than the caricature she seemed to be in this book.
Veronica Speedwell was a foundling who was taken in by two ladies who insisted she should call them Aunt. They never lived in any one place for long, sometimes moving up to four times a year. She, nor her aunts, ever made friends in any of the places they lived. In order to escape the confines of the cottages they lived in, Veronica would escape to the meadows to catch butterflies and she became a renowned lepidopterist. When her last surviving aunt became ill, Veronica returned home from her latest expedition to nurse her aunt.
On her way back to the cottage from her aunt’s funeral, Veronica was going over her plans for her next expedition. As she arrived at the cottage, the door was ajar and she entered to sounds of someone in the kitchen – searching. She grabbed a weapon and headed in to apprehend the thief. They fought and the thief ran – but Veronica wasn’t going to let him get away and sprinted after him. When she caught him, they fought and he seized her and began dragging her toward a coach. To her good luck, an elderly German man came to her rescue and helped her fight off the villain. Her rescuer tells her she is in extreme danger and offers to take her to London to keep her safe. She doesn’t believe him, but – well – he is offering her a free trip to London and that is where she is headed anyway, so she’d just save the money.
They drove through the night to arrive in London the next morning. However, rather than taking Veronica to his home, her rescuer (Max) took her to his friend (Stoker) and extracted a promise from him to keep Veronica safe no matter what. Max wouldn’t explain his reasons because he said he needed to check with someone first and then he’d explain. With that, he took his leave of them.
Stoker is a man with many secrets, heartaches, and what would appear to be a sad and unhappy life. These things are all hinted at but we don’t learn a lot about him in this book. Since Veronica’s life is the focus of this book, I assume that we’ll learn more about Stoker in the upcoming books. I loved Stoker and will be interested to learn his tale in the future.
The following day, Veronica and Stoker read in the paper where Max was murdered during the night. Stoker immediately insists that they leave London and go someplace where she’ll be safe and they can formulate a plan.
Veronica and Stoker are off on a wild and exciting adventure with villains coming from several directions. Are any of them good guys or are they all bad guys? You’ll have to read the book to see. I can assure that you won’t solve the mystery until Veronica and Stoker do – and you won’t like the bad guys either – any of them.
As I said earlier, I love the mystery and I adore Stoker, but Veronica is just too over the top for me. I still recommend the book, just be prepared for Veronica – who I sincerely hope will mellow in future books and become less like a caricature than she seemed in this book.
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Very interesting, exciting plot. Hard to put down. Unusual story and characters. Exciting and fascinating. Ending a bit surprising. A good read! Great for a plane or long trip.
Veronica Speedwell is my favorite new character I’ve read in a long time: witty, strong, daring, and entirely her own person.
Loved this beginning to an awesome series. The heroine is intrepid and independent, and is paired with the rough and mysterious Lord Revelstoke Templeton-Vane. Can you even resist a man with that name? Great detail and world-building. Sexual tension is dolled out with a careful yet teasing hand in perfect amounts.
Veronica is larger-than-life and there aren’t many female characters you can say that about. Incredibly ahead of her time, stubborn, brainy with a sharp tongue and wit. Undoubtedly, she won’t be everyone’s cup-of-tea. Stoker (Mr. Ravelstoke Templeton-Vane) is cranky and reclusive who must face Veronica thrown into his life. He has scars on his face from a disastrous expedition in the Amazon. He now makes a living as a taxidermist. The chemistry between them culminates in stellar dialog as they bicker. There are some side characters from the traveling circus they hide in for a few weeks and then friends of Stokers in London society. Mornaday starts in the Circus but ends up with a larger role as the story develops. The little street urchin Badger is the best of the minor characters.
The Circus and even the London house are well utilized. The plot is running from an unknown danger to Veronica, which her significance and the reason why she is in danger is revealed by the end. The pacing is bolstered when they aren’t in peril with the slowly developing relationship between them.
The climax was quite suspenseful, even harrowing. The wrapup left the door open for more adventures with Veronica and Stoker.
I could easily rave about this novel since I was thoroughly entertained. I realize Veronica isn’t strictly a character conforming to the norms of women’s role in that era, and she may even be a little over-the-top. But I found myself chuckling through the book. Give her a try.
Rating: Near Perfect – Couldn’t Put it down. Buy two copies, one for you and one for a friend.
“I am stalwart as a lion, Mr. Stoker. Stalwart as a lion.”
I loved this gaslight historical fiction! An impressive series starter of high drama, intelligence, and adventure.
With an MC named Stoker I had thought there would be vampires afoot but there was no need to plumb the supernatural for drama here.
Both in their past adventures and their future endeavors Victoria Speedwell and Revelstoke have a lot offer a reader.
Next month, next book. Excelsior!
I love Veronica Speedwell. Can’t wait to read the second in the series. I immediately put my name on the library’s wait-list.
Not Your Prim and Proper Victorian Maiden
Mature Audiences
Victorian-style strong language (not a single F-bomb)
Mature situations and sexual references
Meet Veronica Speedwell, adventuress, enthusiastic pursuer of exercise (when it comes to enjoying the attentions of handsome men — as long as they’re not from England), and butterfly enthusiast. The story begins with her attending her aunt’s funeral. Immediately thereafter she becomes the target of pursuers who clearly do not have her best interests in mind. At first she doesn’t believe she is a target at all. She is completely baffled by the question of why anyone would be interested in hurting her since she has no family, no money, and no social standing.
With the help of her somewhat reluctant protector, Stoker, she eludes those with evil intentions toward her while unraveling the mystery of their motives.
Rollicking good fun.
The friendship that develops between Veronica and Stoker continued to make me smile.
Recommended!
This was fantastic read and it hooked me for wanting to know more of the adventureress, Veronica Speedwell, and her hunky sidekick–oh, how he’d hate that term–Stoker. I’ve been a fan of Deanna Rayburn since the Lady Julia days and this is a wonderful series for which I will have to binge on.