The Lady's Guide to Petticoats and Piracy
Mackenzi Lee
The Lady’s Guide to Petticoats and Piracy
Mackenzi Lee
In this highly anticipated sequel to the New York Times bestselling The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue, Felicity Montague must use all her womanly wits and wiles to achieve her dreams of becoming a doctor-even if she has to scheme her way across Europe to do it. A must-have for fans of Mackenzi Lee’s extraordinary and Stonewall Honor-winning novel.
A year after an accidentally whirlwind grand tour with her brother Monty, Felicity Montague has returned to England with two goals in mind-avoid the marriage proposal of a lovestruck suitor from Edinburgh and enroll in medical school. However, her intellect and passion will never be enough in the eyes of the administrators, who see men as the sole guardians of science.
But then a window of opportunity opens-a doctor she idolizes is marrying an old friend of hers in Germany. Felicity believes if she could meet this man he could change her future, but she has no money of her own to make the trip. Luckily, a mysterious young woman is willing to pay Felicity’s way, so long as she’s allowed to travel with Felicity disguised as her maid.
In spite of her suspicions, Felicity agrees, but once the girl’s true motives are revealed, Felicity becomes part of a perilous quest that leads them from the German countryside to the promenades of Zurich to secrets lurking beneath the Atlantic.
Review
Bronte Coates
Felicity Montague is determined to study medicine. Unfortunately, eighteenth-century society has other ideas about what a woman is supposed to do with her life (i.e. marry the kind baker and bear children), and despite her obvious talent, Felicity faces constant rejection in her efforts to achieve her ambition. When she learns that her estranged childhood friend, Johanna, is engaged to a renowned and eccentric physician, she sees it as a unique opportunity and accepts the aid of a mysterious female pirate, Sim, in travelling uninvited to the wedding. Soon, all three young women are ensnared in a far riskier, and more thrilling, quest than any could have predicted.
Felicity, Sim and Johanna form the heart of this book and I loved how distinctive all three were from one another. Through them and their relationships, Mackenzi Lee demonstrates that there is no ‘right’ way to be a woman, and challenges popular notions that romantic love is the only truly fulfilling form of love. Felicity is recognisably asexual and aromantic, while both Sim and Johanna have strong passions and attachments outside of the romantic sphere that give their lives meaning.
The Lady’s Guide to Petticoats and Piracy is a companion novel to Lee’s award-winning The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue and fans of the former will be delighted to learn that Felicity’s brother Monty and the lovely Percy play a part in her story too. However, newcomers will not miss anything by diving straight into this novel. Just as practical, pithy Felicity is a different creature to the roguish, reckless Monty, so is a story with her at the centre. Felicity’s story is one of resilience, feminism, friendship, claiming your identity, and yes, sea monsters too.
A tribute to bold women in history, The Lady’s Guide to Petticoats and Piracy is a funny, swashbuckling historical adventure for ages 12+.
Bronte Coates is the digital content coordinator and the Readings Prizes manager.
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