It has been a long time since I have fallen so hard for a novel series. In fact, I don’t think I have ever loved a set of books more than I love The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion by Beth Brower.
Both Jane Austen and Barbara Pym taught us that the charm of a truly memorable book often lies not in sweeping drama, but in the quiet unfolding of an ordinary life turned extraordinary through wit, voice, and detail. Such is the case with The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion.
The year is 1883, and Emma has returned to the family home, Lapis Lazuli, in the neighborhood of St. Crispian’s in the city of London. Her immediate plans include spending long, lazy hours in the massive library and absorbing all the knowledge she can, roaming the forest, and enlarging her own personal library. Alas, an unholy trio: her eccentric Cousin Archibald, her intimidating Aunt Eugenia, and the peculiar occupants of St. Crispian’s quickly disrupted her plans.
But peculiar is not always bad. (Although in the case of Cousin Archibald and Aunt Eugenia, the descriptor fits.) And Emma doesn’t dwell long in despair. Her philosophy is, “What else is life but a string of outcomes beyond our control?”
One of my favorite characters (besides Emma M. Lion herself) is Young Hawkes, vicar, dueler, and member of the Reprobates—a mischievous group of ten who keep the village on its toes. Emma notes, “While one does not tell Young Hawkes of their needs, somehow the widows are heard, the sick cheered, the lonely remembered, and the drunkards are… Well, I honestly don’t know what he says to the drunkards, but I know he speaks to them a lot. He keeps rooms on Traitors Road, diagonally from the church and next to The Cleopatra, St. Crispian’s public house.”
Another character we meet after Emma “accidentally” reads his personal diary is the Duke of Islington. After their initial rough start, Emma and Islington became successful friends. The Duke, along with Emma, Young Hawks, and Pierce, forms an inseparable group called The Alchemy. (“Alchemy.” I shivered. That mythical pursuit that turns disparate elements to gold.”—volume 4)
The person who may or may not be Emma’s soulmate is her tenant, war photographer Niall Pierce. Niall carries a lot of ghosts, and we don’t find out the extent of his haunts until volume 8. Early on he tells Emma, “I carry more ghosts than you could imagine, Miss Lion. I know the weight. It is no way to live.”
Emma adds to her personal library collection, and at the end of each journal she has gained at least one more volume to put on her shelf (my favorite being “Latin Phrases for the Unrepentant”).
The characters are many, each with a wit and charm (or lack thereof) of their own. There is even an ever-present but rarely seen ghost called the Roman. The Roman remains a great mystery throughout the series. Who is he? What does he want?
If you’re looking for adventure of the quiet, witty, and intensely personal kind, check out The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion. As Emma says, “Life must be lived, and if we can enjoy some of it, so much the better.”
