Saturday, September 8, 2012

Wrapped, Jennifer Bradbury

"Put the book down, darling," my mother said from her chair beside the mirror.

Wrapped is an engaging story set in Regency England in 1815, about a young woman named Agnes Wilkins, a debutante. But she's very intelligent, knows multiple languages, and wishes that she could take control of her own fate. "Agnes Wilkins is standing in front of an Egyptian mummy, about to make the first cut into the wrappings, about to unlock ancient (and not-so-ancient) history. Maybe you think this girl is wearing a pith helmet with antique dust swirling around her. Maybe you think she is a young Egyptologist who has arrived in Cairo on camelback. Maybe she would like to think that too. Agnes Wilkins dreams of adventures that reach beyond the garden walls, but reality for a seventeen-year-old debutante in 1815 London does not allow for camels—or dust, even. No, Agnes can only see a mummy when she is wearing a new silk gown and standing on the verdant lawns of Lord Showalter’s estate, with chaperones fussing about and strolling sitar players straining to create an exotic “atmosphere” for the first party of the season. An unwrapping. This is the start of it all, Agnes’s debut season, the pretty girl parade that offers only ever-shrinking options: home, husband, and high society. It’s also the start of something else, because the mummy Agnes unwraps isn’t just a mummy. It’s a host for a secret that could unravel a new destiny—unleashing mystery, an international intrigue, and possibly a curse in the bargain. Get wrapped up in the adventure . . . but keep your wits about you, dear Agnes." 

I enjoyed Wrapped, partly because Agnes reads a lot of Jane Austen, though she knows her only as 'A Lady'. Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, and Mansfield Park are mentioned in the book. I liked the cover of the hardcover edition too. Wrapped is a mystery-romance, and I loved Agnes, a young woman taking her own fate into her own hands- and possibly saving the whole kingdom too! You can read Becky's short but sweet review here

Read Wrapped:
  • if you like mystery
  • if you like light romance
  • if you like books set in Regency England (think Jane Austen's time)
309 pages.
 
Very Good! I would recommend this book!

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