From Publishers Weekly
In this sequel to Stevermer's charming fantasy of manners, A College of Magics (1994), set in an alternate Edwardian age, Jane Brailsford, the indomitable and fashionable sorceress from France's Greenlaw College, hooks up in England with handsome American sharpshooter Samuel Lambert. The sorcerous Fellows at Glasscastle University have recruited Lambert to perform field tests for a magical weapon. Jane has been charged with compelling Lambert's roommate, professor Nicholas Fell, to assume the mystical duties of the warden of the west. Fell, though, detects a disturbance in the music of the spheres that he believes he must rectify before accepting the wardenship. Unknown others, however, also have designs on both Fell and the wardenship. While the plot is mostly inconsequential, the descriptions of life at Glasscastle University, together with the sheer zest of the characters for magic, truth and fashion, make this a sweet, if slow, magical romance. This is the perfect read for those who enjoy taking ambling walks in orderly alternate worlds where calling cards and starched collars still help make a man. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.


From Booklist
The sequel to A College of Magics (2002) takes place in the same magical, Victorian-Edwardian Britain, and shows yet again that Stevermer is a worthy follower of Jane Austen for wit, of Dorothy Sayers for suspense and erudition. Samuel Lambert, sharpshooter, formerly of Kiowa Bob's Wild West Show, has been invited to Glasscastle University to contribute his shooting skills to the secret Agincourt Project. At first, things are somewhat dull, especially since he isn't supposed to drink even beer. But then the provost's modish sister, a magician, comes to town, and Samuel becomes hip-deep in spies, auto chases, mysterious assailants in bowler hats, and you-name-it. This emerging series will likely draw readers from across a very wide spectrum of the fantasy and alternate history audiences, including--indeed, never forgetting--the adult readership for the adventures of the boy named Harry. And Stevermer is fast rising to a place in fantasy comparable to that of prolific fantasist for children and adults Diana Wynne-Jones. Frieda Murray
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved


Book Description
Glasscastle. University of dreaming towers and distant bells, pompous dons and disputatious undergraduates, exquisite architecture and grass that can choke you to death if you walk on it without the proper escort. On the surface, it is one of the most beautiful and peaceful places in England. But underneath, its magic is ancient and dangerous.

Samuel Lambert, sharpshooter, adventurer, late of the Wyoming plains and Kiowa Bob's Wild West Show, has been invited to Glasscastle to contribute his phemomenally accurate shooting eye to the top secret Agincourt Project. The only dangers he expects to face are British snobbery, heavy dinners, and tea with the Provost's pretty wife. But when the Provost's stylish sister Jane comes to town, things get much more exciting.

This sparkling sequel to A College of Magics is a whirlwind of secret weapons, motor cars, mysterious assaults and abductions, thugs in bowler hats, and a mild-mannered don who is heir to a magical power greater than all Glasscastle. The resulting tale is as funny as a Gilbert and Sullivan Victorian romp, with the wit and suspense of a Dorothy Sayers mystery and a dash of John Wayne thrown in for good measure.



From the Inside Flap
Praise for A College of Magics:
*"An intriguing, not-so-different early 20th-century alternate world where magic works unobtrusively. . . . Strikingly set, pleasingly peopled, and cleverly plotted."--Kirkus Reviews starred review

"The setting is delightful: a never-never 1908 very like our own, where little countries with names like Galazon, Aravis and Haydock coexist with the France, England and Spain we know, and magic is taught (along with posture and geography) at Greenlaw College off the coast of Normandy. Stevermer blends these elements deftly."--The Washington Post

"Stevermer proves to have a gifted touch . . . To call a book an instant classic is a large hat for a novel to be forced to wear in its publishing infancy, but I don't doubt, all the same, that A College of Magics will endure as a favorite of discerning readers for a very long time indeed."--Charles de Lint, The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction



About the Author
Caroline Stevermer grew up on a dairy farm in southeastern Minnesota. She graduated from Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania with a B.A. degree in the History of Art. Almost twenty years later, she learned to drive a car. Her interests include Mark Twain, baseball, the portrait miniatures of Nicholas Hilliard, and learning how to parallel park. She lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

"Glasscastle. University of dreaming towers and distant bells, pompous dons and disputatious undergraduates, exquisite architecture and grass that can choke you to death if you walk on it without the proper escort. On the surface, it is one of the most beautiful and peaceful places in England. But underneath, its magic is ancient and dangerous." Samuel Lambert, sharpshooter, adventurer, late of the Wyoming plains and Kiowa Bob's Wild West Show, has been invited to Glasscastle to contribute his phenomenally accurate shooting eye to the top-secret Agincourt Project. The only dangers he expects to face are British snobbery, heavy dinners, and tea with the provost's pretty wife. But when the provost's stylish sister, Jane, comes to town, things get much more exciting.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

In this sequel to Stevermer's charming fantasy of manners, A College of Magics (1994), set in an alternate Edwardian age, Jane Brailsford, the indomitable and fashionable sorceress from France's Greenlaw College, hooks up in England with handsome American sharpshooter Samuel Lambert. The sorcerous Fellows at Glasscastle University have recruited Lambert to perform field tests for a magical weapon. Jane has been charged with compelling Lambert's roommate, professor Nicholas Fell, to assume the mystical duties of the warden of the west. Fell, though, detects a disturbance in the music of the spheres that he believes he must rectify before accepting the wardenship. Unknown others, however, also have designs on both Fell and the wardenship. While the plot is mostly inconsequential, the descriptions of life at Glasscastle University, together with the sheer zest of the characters for magic, truth and fashion, make this a sweet, if slow, magical romance. This is the perfect read for those who enjoy taking ambling walks in orderly alternate worlds where calling cards and starched collars still help make a man. Agent, Frances Collin. (Apr. 15) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews