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Jan. 28th, 2009 11:48 amAlmost all of the books I read these days, I read because either because I already know and like the author, because someone I trust recommends them to me (and, in some cases, shoves them into my hands), or because I've seen a review or two that made them look compelling enough to push them onto my list. Everything I get out of the library is reserved in advance; my backlog is so high these days (and my relative library-time so low) that I cannot just browse and judge things by their covers as I used to! And sometimes I sort of miss that.
The book I read this weekend was the exception to that - I saw it on the shelf when I went to pick up my books on reserve, and thought, "you know what, that looks silly and cute, and if it's terrible it is not like it is going to be an EPIC WASTE of my time, so why not?" And you know what, K.M. Grant's How the Hangman Lost His Heart did indeed turn out to be epically silly and kind of adorable.
The facts are these: K.M. Grant's ancestor, Colonel Francis Townley, was the last man in England to be hung, drawn and quartered (for treason). His head was scheduled to be placed on a pike, but some relative decided that this was not dignified, stole it, and scampered home with it. In a hatbox.
So she did what anyone would do, being a writer possessed of this ancestry: fictionalized it. The book is story of how Feisty But Spoiled Alice steals her Uncle Frank's head off a pike, with the reluctant help of the hangman who killed him (very professionally!) and then proceeds to misplace it in various places all around London while trying to escape The Fuzz. Of course, there is also a love triangle between Feisty Alice, the Surprisingly Decent Hangman, and the Gallant Officer With Two Fs In His Name who helps her escape.
The best part is how Uncle Frank's severed head - a surprisingly active participant in the adventure - totally 'ships Alice/Hangman, but a close second is how half the cast is like "okay, I suppose we'll have to kill the hot girl, but for heaven's sake don't hurt the hangman! We are very short on good hangmen right now!" and how
( spoiler! )
The book I read this weekend was the exception to that - I saw it on the shelf when I went to pick up my books on reserve, and thought, "you know what, that looks silly and cute, and if it's terrible it is not like it is going to be an EPIC WASTE of my time, so why not?" And you know what, K.M. Grant's How the Hangman Lost His Heart did indeed turn out to be epically silly and kind of adorable.
The facts are these: K.M. Grant's ancestor, Colonel Francis Townley, was the last man in England to be hung, drawn and quartered (for treason). His head was scheduled to be placed on a pike, but some relative decided that this was not dignified, stole it, and scampered home with it. In a hatbox.
So she did what anyone would do, being a writer possessed of this ancestry: fictionalized it. The book is story of how Feisty But Spoiled Alice steals her Uncle Frank's head off a pike, with the reluctant help of the hangman who killed him (very professionally!) and then proceeds to misplace it in various places all around London while trying to escape The Fuzz. Of course, there is also a love triangle between Feisty Alice, the Surprisingly Decent Hangman, and the Gallant Officer With Two Fs In His Name who helps her escape.
The best part is how Uncle Frank's severed head - a surprisingly active participant in the adventure - totally 'ships Alice/Hangman, but a close second is how half the cast is like "okay, I suppose we'll have to kill the hot girl, but for heaven's sake don't hurt the hangman! We are very short on good hangmen right now!" and how
( spoiler! )
