Publishers Weekly
★ 08/08/2022
When 17-year-olds Ada Lovelace and Mary Shelley née Godwin meet at a party, they become thick as thieves in Ashton, Hand, and Meadows’s (My Contrary Mary) inventive historical fiction collaboration, set in London during the Industrial Revolution. Writer Mary lives a quiet life hopelessly pining after dashing poet Percy Shelley. Meanwhile, Ada spends her time desperately trying to get her robot Pan (aka Practical Automaton Number One) to work. When Mary’s purportedly fae godmother, Miss Stamp, suddenly appears from a previously unknown door inside Mary’s wardrobe, Miss Stamp informs her that she’s been endowed with magical abilities that “can make what we imagine real.” Science-minded Ada is skeptical, until Mary brings Pan to life. Chaos ensues when, following Pan’s animation, mysterious villains come knocking on the girls’ door. The teens’ bitingly clever alternating perspectives, interspersed via an omniscient narrator, occasionally convey historical tidbits in direct asides to the reader—as when setting the time period: “the year 18—mumble mumble (sorry, the exact date is a bit smudged)”—handily rendering a riotous romp through two prominent figures’ imagined—and winningly fantastical—lives. Ages 13–up. (Aug.)
From the Publisher
★ “Energetic, clever, and absorbing. The authors responsible for this entertaining smashup series get better with every book they write.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
★“Bitingly clever. A riotous romp through two prominent figures’ imagined—and winningly fantastical—lives.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)
Praise for My Contrary Mary: ★“Fast-paced, well-plotted, frequently hilarious—as delicious as the finest French pastry.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
Praise for My Calamity Jane: “Witty and winsome, this rollicking tall tale makes its own rules.” — Booklist (starred review)
“Full of twists, turns, and laugh-out-loud humor, this tongue-in-cheek feminist alternative history is impossible to put down. A thrilling alternative history that sparkles with wit and charm.” — Kirkus Reviews
Praise for My Plain Jane: “The authors’ affection for their source material is abundantly clear in this clever, romantic farce.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“A delightfully deadpan deconstruction of a Gothic novel, with a ghost almost no one can see providing the commentary. Marvelously self-aware and almost too clever for its own good.” — ALA Booklist (starred review)
“A madcap story of ghosts, possession, revenge, and murder. Humorously blends fact with fiction and offers a gentler, more hopeful outcome for Charlotte, her siblings, and her heroine.” — School Library Journal (starred review)
Praise for My Lady Jane: “Wacky, irreverent, and just plain fun. This fantasy-adventure politely tips its hat to history before joyfully punting it out of the way. An utter delight.” — Booklist (starred review)
“An uproarious historical fantasy that’s not to be missed." — Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Gleefully anachronistic comedy.” — Kirkus Reviews
Booklist (starred review)
Praise for My Calamity Jane: “Witty and winsome, this rollicking tall tale makes its own rules.”
ALA Booklist (starred review)
A delightfully deadpan deconstruction of a Gothic novel, with a ghost almost no one can see providing the commentary. Marvelously self-aware and almost too clever for its own good.
School Library Journal
08/01/2022
Gr 8–10—The Lady Janies are back with another irreverent take on a historic woman. This time, Mary Shelley and Ada Lovelace cross paths in the name of science, humanity, and adventure. Shelley and Lovelace are two teen girls fighting against society, family, and expectations for their own creativity. Shortly after being told they are fae, they accidentally bring a robotic man created by Ada to life, and have to abscond from England with him to save them all. Part Frankenstein precursor, part feminist wandering through early 19th-century Europe, this YA novel is about 150 pages too long and lacks the pizzazz of the authors' earlier titles together. Fans of Shelley and Lovelace will enjoy playing more in their psyche, as each woman and their creation gets a POV, but fans of the novel will be disappointed by how light this book feels, despite the chloroform. VERDICT Give this book to younger fans of historical fiction and tentative fantasy who aren't familiar with Shelley's work and want an easy entry into this time period.—Aryssa Damron
Kirkus Reviews
★ 2022-05-10
Ada Lovelace and Mary Godwin—better known today as Mary Shelley—combine forces to create a living automaton: a real boy.
It’s the year “18—mumble mumble,” the timeline smooshed together into an imagined year when both girls are in their late teens. Ada, the abandoned daughter of famous poet Lord Byron, is a mathematical genius who creates delicate clockwork automatons. Mary’s the daughter of the late, famed early feminist Mary Wollstonecraft. She’s half in love with poet Percy Shelley, her father’s mentee, and wonders if she’ll ever succeed at writing. The girls become friends when their fae godmother arrives through a hidden door in the back of Mary’s wardrobe to school them both on powers they may have inherited. Lo and behold, with Mary’s help, Ada’s automaton becomes a living—and lovely—boy named Pan. When villains want something from the girls, they take off, along with Pan and Mary’s two half sisters, on a romp through Europe. The trio of authors responsible for this entertaining smashup series get better with every book they write. Readers don’t have to know the characters’ real-life backstories to enjoy this story; for those who do, the parallels are intriguing. The novel effortlessly and entertainingly combines “Cinderella,” Frankenstein, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Pinocchio, and Hamilton, and the ending reminds readers not to underestimate quiet women.
Energetic, clever, and absorbing. (Historical fantasy. 12-18)
