A Review: Of Noble Family by Mary Robinette Kowal

At long last, I’ve reached the end of the Glamourist Histories series by Mary Robinette Kowal with Of Noble Family. Wrapping up a series in a satisfactory way is a challenge, and it may be one of the most telling signs of an author’s skill. How did MRK hold up on this benchmark?

Following the tragic and heroic events of the fourth novel, Jane and Vincent are surprised by a message that Vincent’s father—a terrible man who he has distanced himself from—has passed away, and Vincent must travel to Antigua to settle his estate. While there, Jane discovers that she is pregnant and that Vincent’s father’s death is a deception, contrived to control Vincent once more. Trapped at the plantation, Jane and Vincent discover the horrors of slave management and attempt to rectify the wrongs of an unjust system.

Historical fiction is hard to nail because a writer must balance the romantic reasons that a reader enjoys the setting, while also bringing a certain sense of authenticity and historical accuracy—even within alternate historical fantasy. This challenge is made even more difficult when you introduce a potentially sensitive topic like slavery and European colonialism.

This is a tall order for a final novel. It can be a mic drop, but can so easily be a fumble that may never be recovered from.

MRK managed to handle the subject of British rule and slavery with care and with as little cringe as possible. Naturally, for many contemporary readers, we have the benefit of hindsight. We know many places where our ancestors errored in judgment. It would be uncomfortable to have the heroes that we’ve grown to love have a view of slavery that we find distasteful, but at the same time, two people with little political power have little ability to affect real change.

This was handled very well with the plot and character development. We spent time with the slaves, and they were revealed to be interesting and complex people with wants, desires, and their own devices to assert some sense of control in what could be viewed as a hopeless situation.

While the main storyline was captivating, the author also set out to deepen the magic system once again. Every time she dove into this aspect, I leaned forward, excited by the elements introduced only to be pulled away again by the main plot. Ultimately, I wished we learned more about the new ideas presented and I found it to be a bit disappointing that it wasn’t explored as much as it could have been, especially since it would have helped deepen the culture of the slaves in the West Indies.

Despite that disappointment, the novel excelled at its maneuvering with societal and family drama. Vincent’s father is a clever and calculating man, and he presented a formidable challenge to the couple, It revealed parts of Vincent’s character that had previously only been suggested in the story thus far.

While a small touch, I also really enjoyed the nested callbacks in the story. It reminded me why I loved the story and the characters, especially since MRK has a clever way of aligning her stories and prose with Jane Austen.

As a novel, Of Noble Family is a worthy sequel and finale to the Glamourist Histories, and wraps the story wonderfully. I’ll certainly miss the characters, and I look forward to re-reading this series in the future.