Title: The Marquis’ Secret
Description: This
is the sequel to The Fisherman’s Lady. Both
books are Bethany House republications of George MacDonald words that have been
altered to tone down the Scottish dialect. In this book, Malcolm attempts to
dissuade his newly discovered sister from a disastrous marriage and he may be
falling in love himself.
Plot: I’m trying
to avoid spoilers for those who haven’t read the first book. The plot in this
book is more intricate and less gothic than the first book, and I enjoyed it
more.
Characters: Malcolm,
as in the first book, is a bit too good to be true. MacDonald uses him as an example
of a Christian man, but no Christian man is this perfect (I know, I live with
one who is pretty close). I don’t think in either of the two books that Malcolm
makes a single false move.
Writing style: A
lot of Scottish dialect still, but it’s not difficult to read. This kind of
overtly didactic (some would say preachy) tone is out of style now, but I did
enjoy the book.
Audience: MacDonald’s
fantasy novels were an inspiration for C.S. Lewis, which is why a lot of people
pick them up (Princess and the Goblin,
Princess and Curdie, etc.). Fans of historical Christian fiction would also
probably like it.
Wrap-up: I’d
definitely recommend reading the first one before reading this one, or you’ll
be confused about a lot of the plot and earlier character development. I
thought this book was the better of the two, and I enjoyed reading this version
(as opposed to the original, which I haven’t seen, but I’m not crazy about
trying to figure out dialect). 4/5*
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