The Countess Conspiracy by Courtney Milan

Narrated by Rosalyn Landor

Courtney Milan is one of those authors who gives me a serious case of Brain-Envy. Everything she dreams up is so creative and her heroines are refreshingly intelligent. Recently on her blog in the FAQ, she answers the question, “Did you always want to be a writer?” Her answer kind of startled me, because, well, these are things I can relate to. Except, here is a woman who has the courage to change her career path – not once but several times. When you listen to The Countess Conspiracy, a novel where the heroine is driven to use her gifted intelligence to discover new scientific breakthroughs, you realize exactly how much of Milan goes into this character. Her answer to that question is very relevant to The Countess Conspiracy.

“Between the ages of 5 and 18 I wanted to be an author. I wrote my first book when I was ten. It was called TO BRING BACK THE BUFFALO, and the plot was, the buffalo (a) were inexplicably missing, and (b), even more inexplicably, could be brought back by a ten-year-old girl entering a cave and solving magical puzzles akin to alchemical hopscotch.

After I graduated from high school, I tried to be an author for about six awful months of college. I failed, and decided I just wasn’t creative enough to be a writer. So I gave up and did science instead. I programmed computers. I took courses (plural) in quantum mechanics. And when I got bored of quantum mechanics I went and did more analytical stuff. After all, I knew I wasn’t creative, and so I might as well become a hard-bitten analytical type.

I wasn’t bad at being a hard-bitten analytical type, but after about… oh, you know, several decades of it, I thought I should give this writing stuff a try again. So I did.”

The Countess Conspiracy has some unique plotlines from the very beginning.  Violet Waterfield, the Countess of Cambury is attending a scientific presentation given by Sebastien Malheur. It is provocative. Scandalous. That the man would have the unmitigated gall to talk about plant reproduction in public! At the end of the controversial lecture, Violet is ecstatically praising him on his brilliance when she abruptly finds herself cold and panicked, as he responds with unbridled rage.

The next morning, Sebastian approaches his best friend Violet, the woman he has always loved, with the news that he cannot keep up the pretense any longer. He is done being the “front-man” and presenting her work, her discoveries as his own. He is losing his sense of honor, his own purpose in life, by pursuing Violet’s. Sebastian has his own challenge to convince his dying brother that he is a worthy guardian for his nephew, and must do that by finding accomplishments that are worthy of respect (as opposed to the slightly disreputable field of scientific discovery in plant heredity). Violet, who survived a loveless marriage and the painful reality of being childless, has clung to her scientific work as her only lifeline – and this was only possible to do if a man (Sebastian) – presented the work; society would never accept the research from a woman. They had spent years in this tangled relationship and she watched all sense of self erode when he called an end.

What I love about Courtney Milan’s work is that her characters are so unexpected, non-traditional, and yet so real. In each of her books, she applauds intelligence in women and her men are never single-faceted alpha males. Somehow, in Sebastian, she has created a supportive caring man that is not ever weak and is often reassuringly confident and capable. He manages, quite well, to take care of the woman he loves from…well…the bottom. Whew. What a sexy concept. He not only finds Violet physically attractive, he (more importantly to me) cherishes her brain.

“Ah, the rule that says that women aren’t allowed to be intelligent.” He brushed a kiss against her forehead. “Burn that one to ground, Violet, and dance on the ashes. And damn anyone who tells you it’s selfish to do so.”

Rosalyn Landor is absolutely perfect for portraying Violet; the controlled, measured, quiet tones are intrinsic to this character. Passion is forbidden and to be tamped down, and Landor begins the characterization with exactly that impression. When she began her narration of Sebastian, I wrinkled my nose. He didn’t strike me at all as a stuffy aristocrat, yet as she delivered his initial lecture, this was exactly how he spoke. And yet here is the beauty of Landor’s work. That is exactly how Sebastian would present in a public setting. A few minutes later, when he was struck with rage at Violet’s praise, a much different Sebastian spoke, and I was impressed.

Landor’s depiction of other women – Violet’s sister and her mother – are distinct and different, as are the other men and children. In one particular scene, Sebastian’s brother, Benedict, indicates yet again that he is disappointed in him (and in the process makes both his own son Harry and Sebastian feel like disobedient children). Landor does a great job articulating the different voices. Because of Landor’s smooth delivery and the evolution of emotion in her characters, you are thankfully immersed into the story and pulled into the romance.

I have listened to The Countess Conspiracy twice since receiving it. Nothing is more inspiring to me than a smart woman and a sexy man who celebrates it.

Victoria

Narration:  A-

Book Content:  A

Steam Factor:  Glad I had my earbuds in (although minimal)

Violence:  Minimal

Genre:  Historical Romance

Publisher:  Courtney Milan

The Countess Conspiracy was provided to AudioGals for review by the author.