Sedition: A Novel
Late eighteenth-century London is the well-detailed setting for this fun, lascivious gambol through the lives of women and men with decidedly carnal appetites in children’s author Grant’s first, quite intriguing novel for adults. It is 1794, and four nouveau riche men realize they must marry off their daughters, and soon. They seize upon what seems an excellent plan. Hire a French piano master to teach the girls how to play the newly popular instrument, the pianoforte, and, therefore, be able to attract the right spouses with their decorous musical talent. Unfortunately for the fathers, the piano teacher is an irredeemable goat who instead sets out to seduce the young ladies and thus render them unmarriageable. As the shenanigans ensue, it remains to be seen whether the the piano teacher, the fathers, or the sexually awakening daughters have the upper hand and even what the actual end-prize might be for each person involved. Although the dark theme of incest winds through the story, overall the plot and characters are handled with grace and precision. Suggest to fans of Sarah Dunant and Sarah Waters. --Julie Trevelyan