REVIEW: Valerie by Joan Smith
Because Valerie Ford is tall with lion-like eyes and hair, her aunt chooses her to come to Troy Fenners to act as model for Aunt Loo’s latest heroine, Gloria. Valerie is expected to accomplish amazing feats—and to attend séances with a distant French cousin and a handsome, though poor, scholar. Why does her rich aunt seem so poor? Valerie finds the mysteries piling up…
Dear Ms. Smith,
I have loved many of your books, liked others, and then there are a few that we won’t speak about. Even after finishing this one, I’m still deciding which category it should go in. I liked a lot of it, tolerated some of it, and disliked some aspects.
Country raised Valerie is unapologetically tall, forthright, and fearless. The hero eventually begins calling her “Valkyrie” and it fits. She’s also the eldest of four daughters, though there are two brothers older than her. When wealthy and eccentric Aunt Louise (called Loo) invites Valerie to spend a month with her at the country estate her deceased husband willed the use of to her, Valerie jumps at it. During the trip there, Valerie learns the real reason for the invitation. Aunt Loo is an author of popular gothic novels and wants tall, full figured Valerie to act out various escapades that Auntie wants to write into her next book. Aunt Loo is a stickler for authenticity.
They arrive and Valerie, to her delight, is assigned a servant to act as her lady’s maid. I kind of admire someone who can just admit to loving not having to pick up after herself. Valerie also doesn’t feel bad about this as Pinny is thrilled to move up in position in the household and takes great delight in taking care of Valerie’s clothes and hair. Valerie is less thrilled at the tasks Aunt Loo wants her to do.
There are several other characters, including some distant French aristo cousin living with Aunt Loo who (hilariously) butchers the English language as well as another cousin of the Lord to whom the estate is entailed. Aunt Loo’s doctor is a frequent visitor and there are several seances held. Something is obviously going on as Aunt Loo is short of cash despite a huge (£10,000) yearly allowance and Valerie is determined to figure out the various mysteries.
It is immediately obvious that there are fishy goings-on. Valerie has a vivid imagination and is not afraid to let it rip. I think that the book is a send up of gothic novels of the time. Valerie is supposed to be so smart and the opposite of a dainty, helpless heroine yet the obvious eludes her. She is game to help her Aunt with her research which includes scaling up the outside of the gatehouse where the Lord’s cousin is staying and jumping a horse over a tollbooth.
Soon Valerie is digging into the oddities around her though also prone to inventing wild theories to try and match what she’s seen, heard, and found. A great deal of time is spent on this. I had figured out most of the truth way before Valerie did and watching her go down another rabbit hole of wrong got tiresome. The gatehouse cousin is (also obviously) not quite what he seems. Welland and Valerie spark, spar, and banter and I enjoyed this part of the book immensely.
The ultimate truth is a bit convoluted and Aunt Loo, though a sweet lady, definitely needs a keeper and to be reigned in and looked after. A few things annoyed me. Valerie gets clued into Aunt Loo’s money issues when several servants mention to her that their pay is a quarter in arrears and that Loo owes money to tradesmen. Aunt Loo is trying to pay for something by borrowing money but doesn’t also borrow enough to pay her loyal staff? She also wants Valerie to attempt a dangerous stunt which could injure Valerie as well as a horse. The animal lover in me got pissy though in the end everyone is fine.
Reading other reviews of this book shows that people seem to love it or hate it. I like a lot of it but other parts — not so much. It is definitely not to be taken seriously as the tone is very farcical. C+
~Jayne
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