[LISTENED TO: November 2021] A Natural History of Dragons
This book sounded interesting. I knew nothing about it (aside from the title) and had no idea it would unfold the way it did.
Turns out that Kate Reading, whom I didn’t know, was an outstanding reader. She did male voices so compellingly that I forgot it was just one reader.
The book is a memoir. The book feels like a Victorian novel (where a woman is not allowed to have the kind of adventures she ultimately does). Reading reads Lady Trent in a kind of slow, deliberate, older, upper class lady voice. It felt a wee bit slow at first, although I couldn’t imagine her doing it any other way.
Lady Isabella Tent is the leading scholar on dragons. Indeed, the book starts:
All the world, from Scirland to the farthest reaches of Eriga, know Isabella, Lady Trent, to be the world’s preeminent dragon naturalist. She is the remarkable woman who brought the study of dragons out of the misty shadows of myth into the clear light of modern science.
Each chapter even has an olde-fashioned style in which the chapter heading summarizes what’s to be found within. Lady Trent is an old woman now, finished with the excitement of her life and all that she has accomplished and she has decided that rather than answering all of the letters she gets all the time, that she would set the record straight and write her memoirs.
She starts from her early childhood and her tone is at one approving and occasionally disbelieving in the kind of person she was.
When Lady Trent was young Isabella, she had a unladylike desire to be scientific. When she first captured a “sparkling” (this book is written as if we would know what she’s talking about since it is a memoir of a famous person’s exploits. If you don’t know what a sparkling is, well, where have you been?).
Her mother was horrified by her behavior. I mean what kind of girl dissects a bird to see how it can fly? A scientific genius, that’s what kind.
Her father was secretly tickled at his daughter’s interests. He knew that she would sneak out his scientific books and as long as she treated them gently, he was fine with it. When he finally managed to bring home Sir Richard Edgeworth’s renowned reference A Natural History of Dragons, she was beside herself waiting to be able to read it–it would be like her Bible.
When she was a little older, and she learned that the men were going to hunt a wolf-drake, she bribed a stable boy, dressed like a young man and went along on the hunt–just for the opportunity to see a dragon in the flesh. It was rather dull for much of the expedition (men talking about hunting and blah blah blah), until the creature didn’t fall into the trap the men set for it and it dashed away–right where Isabella was waiting. She couldn’t hide her identity any longer and she was effective grounded for several years.
During this time when she was more “ladylike” she took up drawing. And while she hated this time in her life, it was these drawing skills that allowed her to ultimately go on her first big adventure–she promised to be the scientific illustrator of whatever they found.
Incidentally the book is full of illustrations like the one on the cover Since I had the audio book, I did not know that.
Obviously a young lady of sixteen would be getting married shortly. This was Scirland after all. Her mother set about finding a suitable an for her. Her father, knowing that she had no given up her scientific ways, winnowed the list down to the gentlemen with the largest libraries.
Her brother had a lot more freedoms than she did and he took her on several expeditions, including to the King’s menagerie which included three live dragons. She was overwhelmed and had many questions. She realized about half way through that a young lady shouldn’t know so much about dragons, but she couldn’t help herself and asked anyway.
There was a young man there, Mr. Camherst, who was quite taken with a woman of such intelligence. The two begin courting in a delightfully embarrassing manner. He is quite delighted that she doesn’t seem to care at all about his money–only his library. She kind of blurts this out and is mortified with herself. But he is charmed by this. They are a perfect match, with her interest in dragons nearly matched by his.
They were married and were happy–although Isabella was not happy with her station in life. She did not want to be a Lady who did proper Lady-like things. She began studying sparklings again. Eventually she encountered Lord Hilford, who has traveled all over the world studying and even capturing dragons. She plies him with questions and he seems to be old enough to not be put off by her. In fact, he seems delighted with her intelligence.
Lord Hilford tells her that he is taking an expedition to study rock-wyrms in Vystrana. Isabella is struck with the idea and does everything she can to convince her husband that he must go along with Lord Hilford. She imagined she could enjoy the vicarious thrills that they would have. But days later she realizes that vicarious isn’t good enough. She begs and pleads with her husband to take her too. He doesn’t know what the people in society will think of her. Obviously she doesn’t care about that. And when Lord Hilford hears about her interest he is delighted to have her along.
The trip is long and arduous–not Ladylike at all. And she loves it.
Isabella determined to convince Jacob to go on this trip. She persuaded him to do so, but she soon discovered that living vicariously through his adventures is not enough for her, nor is studying the little sparklings at home. Isabella decided that she herself must accompany this expedition.
When they arrive in Vystrana, they are attacked by a rock-wyrm–a very uncharacteristic behavior for the creature. But they soon learn that the dragons have been attacking a lot lately. And the locals are out to kill them.
This is but a small fraction of the book, with bulk of it being taken up with the many adventures they have in Vystrana. They are looked down upon by the locals immediately (Isabella’s woman in waiting is so hilariously disdainful of her that it provides much comic relief).
Isabella finds herself mixed up with smugglers. She finds herself trapped in a cave. And she finds herself embroiled in local politics. All of this because everyone seems to have an idea about the rock-wyrms.
Their scientific discoveries are remarkable and change the course of history’s understanding of dragons. And even though we know that she survives, there are moments when it seems like not all of them will.
I really enjoyed this book a lot. It felt so formal and real. But it was also full of danger and excitement.
When I read it I had no idea that there were four more. I will have to look out for them (with Kate Reading’s narration of course). But I’m going to have to track down a print copy to see more of these illustrations (by Todd Lockwood with maps by Rhys Davies).
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