The Ballad of Smallhope and Pennyroyal, by Jodi Taylor - Colin
Jodi Taylor’s The Ballad of Smallhope and Pennyroyal is the story of two characters from her Chronicles of St Mary’s series. It is excellent. Taylor captures the voice of Lady Amelia Smallhope beautifully. Her father was an Earl and he brought Amelia up to ride, shoot, drink, and curse. Unfortunately, her brother George will be the next Earl, not Amelia – and he doesn’t do any of those things at all well. However, he knows his duty and so he gets married to Caroline Dyer and produces a son.
If I may make the understatement of the millennium, Amelia and Caroline don’t get on, in the same way that a lighted match and a barrel of gunpowder don’t enjoy each other’s company. The novel is about how Amelia seeks revenge upon Caroline – not in a hot-blooded, unthinking, emotional way that may end in tears for both parties, but in a cold, calculated, planned way. There is no doubt: Caroline is evil and deserves all that Amelia wishes upon her.
We see Lady Amelia and Pennyroyal (we never learn his first name) meet; we see them forming a partnership; and we see their loyalty to each other. Max, Evans, and a few other St Mary’s staff appear but on a highly peripheral basis – they are really very minor characters in Smallhope and Pennyroyal’s story.
There is a lot of emotion: when you entrust your business partner with your life, it’s understandable that you might get peeved if they abandon you at the hour of greatest need – and that’s what we saw happen when Max worked for Insight. And let’s mention emotion again: this book takes us on some highly emotional ups and downs. Yes, I shed a tear at times – and I’m a 65-year old bloke, so I am not easily moved to tears. And yes, of course, this is a Jodi Taylor book: I almost wet myself laughing. Sometimes it was the dialogue; sometimes it was the plot; but, quite often, it was the peacocks.
If you know and enjoy Jodi Taylor’s St Mary’s Chronicles, it’s a no-brainer: I guarantee you will enjoy this book just as much. Just get it, for God’s sake!
Colin
