Jane Austen meets James Bond in The Leopard in Exile, the second book in the Carolus Rex alternate-history fantasy series. The authors blend political intrigue, espionage, Regency romance, and magic, both black and white, to create what Harry Turtledove calls "a captivating adventure."

If you haven't read The Shadow of Albion, an authors' foreword provides background: "The point of divergence here is the affair of the Duke of Monmouth." Historically, James, Duke of Monmouth and the eldest known illegitimate child of Charles II, led an unsuccessful uprising against his uncle, the Catholic James II, in 1685. He was beheaded and his followers and supporters executed. In Norton and Edgehill's universe, Charles II married Monmouth's mother secretly before becoming king and making a childless state marriage. Upon Charles's death, Monmouth was crowned Charles III, continuing a Protestant Stuart line on England's throne.

It is now 1807. The demon-worshipping Duc d'Charenton, who's known as Marquis de Sade in our world, is conjuring black magic. Though he serves Emperor Napoleon through French spymaster Talleyrand, de Sade plots to find the Holy Grail, exult Satan, and destroy the only remaining member of France's royal family, the dauphin Louis Capet. Louis escaped France aided by the Duke of Wessex, Rupert St. Ives Dyer, an agent for England's intelligence service. He got to Baltimore, New Albion (England's North American Colonies, since no American Revolution occurred) with his wife, Meriel, and then disappeared.

Meriel writes to Sarah, Duchess of Wessex, to beg for help. Sarah, originally from Baltimore in our universe, decides to go to Meriel's aid and see New Albion. Wessex, returning from an urgent mission, follows his wife. Unfortunately, de Sade has been named governor of French Louisianne (no Louisiana Purchase occurred here) and is on his way. All will meet in Nouvelle Orl eèans.

Readers who admired J. Gregory Keyes's Newton's Cannon, Lois McMaster Bujold's A Civil Campaign, and Sharon Lee and Steve Miller's Partners in Necessity will find this series very much their cup of tea. --Nona Vero


From Publishers Weekly
Veterans Norton and Edghill's sequel to The Shadow of Albion (1999) fails to do full justice to its rich setting and promising premise an early 19th-century alternative world where the American Revolution never happened and where magical spells are as real as rapiers. Since there's been no Louisiana Purchase, Napoleon is free to put the Marquis de Sade in charge of New Orleans. Swarms of characters work to thwart de Sade's diabolical schemes as well as to reunite lovers. Thomas Jefferson is just a loyal colonial official, so if anyone is to act fast enough to save North America from de Sade, it'll have to be an uneasy alliance of secret agents. Meanwhile the tribal deities of the unsubjugated Indians are as powerful as the Christian saints in trying to influence the future. Despite all the action, the story never comes to life. Maybe there are too many characters to keep track of, let alone care about, in short scenes that jump all over the landscape. Maybe this being the second book in a series reduces concern that the hero and heroine won't come through successfully. Maybe the routine prose and the frequent self-congratulatory footnotes slow the story down. Fans of Regency romances and contra-historical fantasies should enjoy it anyway; other readers probably will appreciate the authors' ingenuity but feel disappointed that all the swashbuckling spies and magical intrigue add up to so little. (Apr. 30)Forecast: Fans of SF and Fantasy Grand Master Norton may suspect that coauthor Edghill (the pseudonym of Eluki Bes Shahar) wrote the bulk of the book which could undercut sales. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.


Review
"WOW! and well done and WOW! again." --Anne McCaffrey

"Far too short, and not easily put down, once you take it up."-- Thomas Harlan, author of The Gate of Fire, Shadow of Ararat



Review
"WOW! and well done and WOW! again." --Anne McCaffrey

"Far too short, and not easily put down, once you take it up."-- Thomas Harlan, author of The Gate of Fire, Shadow of Ararat



Book Description
Under King Charles II, England's New World colonies are flourishing, as is France's colony Louisianne. Napolean is the dreaded Master of the European continent . . . And Sarah Cunningham, a woman from our own world, knows all too well what a difference this makes, for not long ago she was ripped from her life as a United States citizen in our history.

Sarah, now the Duchess of Wessex, journeys to North America with her new husband, the Duke--but this is no pleasure trip. The fate of the world--New and Old--rests on her saving her friend Meriel, rescuing Louis, rightful King of France, from the clutches of the Marquis de Sade, and finding the Holy Grail. But she and her beloved Duke are beset by perils that will test their strength and spirit to the utmost.



About the Author
For well over a half century, Andre Norton has been one of the most popular science fiction and fantasy authors in the world. Since her first SF novels were published in the 1940s, her adventure SF has enthralled readers young and old. With series such as Time Traders, Solar Queen, Forerunner, Beast Master, Crosstime, and Janus, as well as many stand-alone novels, her tales of action and adventure throughout the galaxy have drawn countless readers to science fiction.

Her fantasy, including the best-selling Witch World series, her "Magic" series, and many other unrelated novels, has been popular with readers for decades. Lauded as a Grand Master by the Science Fiction Writers of America, she is the recipient of a Life Achievement Award from the World Fantasy Convention. Not only have her books been enormously popular; she also has inspired several generations of SF and fantasy writers, especially many talented women writers who have followed in her footsteps. In the past two decades she has worked with other writers on a number of novels. Most notable among these are collaborations with Mercedes Lackey, the Halfblood Chronicles, as well as collaborations with A.C. Crispin (in the Witch World series) and Sherwood Smith (in the Time Traders and Solar Queen series). An Ohio native, Ms. Norton lived for a number of years in Winter Park, Florida, and now makes her home in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, where she continues to write, and presides over High Hallack, a writers' resource and retreat.

Rosemary Edghill is a prolific writer in several genres, under her own name and various pseudonyms. Her Bast books, witty mysteries featuring a Wiccan amateur detective, were collected in Bell, Book, and Murder. She has also written Regency Romances and fantasy novels, including several collaborations with Mercedes Lackey (Spirits White as Lightning and Mad Maudlin) and Andre Norton (Shadow of Albion and Leopard in Exile).

Edghill lives in upstate New York with several cats and several Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, which she shows in obedience competitions.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

It was not long ago that the Duchess of Wessex was Sarah Cunningham, a young American mourning the loss of her father, until she was swept up by magic into a parallel universe with a history different from her own. Finally settling into her new life among the English nobility, even getting used to the elaborate gowns, Sarah is suddenly yanked back to her home in America, but it's not the America she knew.

Confronted with her old life, her old loves, familiar places, and the rough-and-ready frontier life, Sarah must also face a political and religious conspiracy that challenges her every belief. The spirits of the land seek her help in saving Native American ways; her friend Meriel begs her to help find her lost husband, the rightful King of France, and to aid in retrieving the Holy Grail, sought also by the Marquis de Sade for the most foul purposes.

And Sarah's love, the Duke of Wessex, is always close behind, balancing the desire to save his wife from unknown perils, his need to save the King of France from Napoleon's and de Sade's clutches, and his responsibility to save King Charles II's England from those who would destroy it.

If Sarah and Wessex can find one another and confront the powers that stand between them and a peaceful world, perhaps there is hope, for England, for France, for the Americas, and the natives trying to preserve their way of life in their wild lands.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Veterans Norton and Edghill's sequel to The Shadow of Albion fails to do full justice to its rich setting and promising premise an early 19th-century alternative world where the American Revolution never happened and where magical spells are as real as rapiers. Since there's been no Louisiana Purchase, Napoleon is free to put the Marquis de Sade in charge of New Orleans. Swarms of characters work to thwart de Sade's diabolical schemes as well as to reunite lovers. Thomas Jefferson is just a loyal colonial official, so if anyone is to act fast enough to save North America from de Sade, it'll have to be an uneasy alliance of secret agents. Meanwhile the tribal deities of the unsubjugated Indians are as powerful as the Christian saints in trying to influence the future. Despite all the action, the story never comes to life. Maybe there are too many characters to keep track of, let alone care about, in short scenes that jump all over the landscape. Maybe this being the second book in a series reduces concern that the hero and heroine won't come through successfully. Maybe the routine prose and the frequent self-congratulatory footnotes slow the story down. Fans of Regency romances and contra-historical fantasies should enjoy it anyway; other readers probably will appreciate the authors' ingenuity but feel disappointed that all the swashbuckling spies and magical intrigue add up to so little. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews