A Victorian urban fantasy featuring duelists, demons, and the dark arts, inspired by The Picture of Dorian Gray.
Victorian London is a place of fluid social roles, vibrant arts culture, fin-de-siecle wonders . . . and dangerous underground diabolic cults. Fencer Evadne Gray cares for none of the former and knows nothing of the latter when she’s sent to London to chaperone her younger sister, aspiring art critic Dorina. Unfortunately for Evadne, she soon learns too much about all of it when Dorina meets their uncle’s friend, Lady Henrietta "Henry" Wotton. A semi-respectable aristocrat in public, in private she is secretly in the thrall of a demon obsessed with beauty and pleasure.
When Lady Henry and Dorina immediately hit it off, Evadne abandons her chaperone duties and enrolls in a fencing school. There, she meets the fencing master she’s always dreamed of. But soon, George reveals he is more than just a teacher. He has dedicated himself to eradicating demons and their servants, and he needs Evadne’s help.
As Evadne gets pulled further into this hidden world, she begins to suspect that Lady Henry might actually be a diabolist. Even worse, she believes Dorina may have joined her. Combining swordplay, demons, and high society, Creatures of Will and Temper shows a timeless world and adventure readers won't soon forget.
About the Author
Molly Tanzer is the Sydney J. Bounds and Wonderland Book Award-nominated author of Vermilion (an NPR and io9 Best Book of 2015), A Pretty Mouth, the historical crime novel The Pleasure Merchant, and other works. She lives in Boulder, Colorado.
Industry Reviews
"There are stories out there that have done wonders with their skewed versions of our shared past . . . And when someone pulls it off as well as Molly Tanzer in her new novel, Creatures of Will and Temper, it's worth checking out just to see the restraint and careful worldbuilding gymnastics required."
NPR.com
"Intriguing . . . The novel's fast-moving conclusion should satisfy anyone who misses the recent TV series "Penny Dreadful," but Tanzer's detailed evocation of Victorian London, of Wilde's original tone and of the complex relationships . . . lends the novel its real resonance."
Chicago Tribune
"With a satisfying mix of strong characters, lush descriptions, steady pacing, and plenty of exciting action sequences, this is a great choice for fans of supernatural fantasy set in the Victorian era."
Booklist
"Subtle, beautiful...gorgeously portrayed three-dimensional characters and sensual prose propel this smoothly entertaining story to an emotionally affecting end."
Publishers Weekly starred review
