Something Dangerous (Spoils of Time Trilogy) (Hardcover)

Something Dangerous (like No Angel) introduces a sharply observed element of social commentary into its epic-saga format, along with a vivid panoply of international history from the frantic 20s to the two World Wars. Adele and Venetia Lytton are twins enjoying all the social prestige and wealth that their position as daughters of the founder of a highly successful publishing empire can give them. At the age of 18, they make up for a lack of formal education with a confidence and cheek that isn't too far from arrogance. As the 30s begin, the twins put the horrors of the 1914 conflict behind them--but their adulthood coincides with the sinister rise of Nazi Germany. Soon, their privileged position comes to seem hollow indeed: Venetia finds that being trapped in a grim marriage is only the beginning of her misery, while Adele struggles to bring up two young children in a Paris that is being engulfed by the war. Then there is Bart Miller, taken from the slums by the twins' mother and more able to cope with life than Adele or Venetia. And crucial to the narrative is Laurence Elliott, scion of the family's New York members, single-mindedly pursuing an almost obsessive love. The interaction of Vincenzi's fascinatingly rendered cast is choreographed with her usual aplomb, and the epic backdrop never dwarfs the agonies and ecstasies of her characters.--Barry Forshaw

Review
In a highly competitive field - the blockbuster women's novel - Penny Vincenzi stands alone. Her plots and characters may be as outrageous as many of her less talented rivals, but the craftsmanship and energy of her work may be the reason her sales put other practitioners to shame. In Something Dangerous, her heroine Celia has broken the rules by demanding a job in her husband's young publishing company. This is, after all, the belle poque and Edwardian England, when women were expected to be hausfraus and nothing more. With the help of her sister-in-law, Celia soon demonstrates her business skills, and her legacy is followed by Vincenzi into the war-shadowed years of the Thirties. The trick here is making all the challenges set for the doughty heroine (from struggles in a man's world to the grim rigours of war) equally interesting, and all the indications are that Vincenzi's highly successful No Angel has a worthy follow-up.

Dangerous? Only if you drop this endless sequel (No Angel, 2003) on your foot. Meandering tale of privileged twins, penned in typically effulgent style, spanning several decades and a continent or two. Venetia and Adele Lytton, spoiled darlings of the Lytton family of publishing fame, prove to be among the most popular, charming, witty, and irresistible debutantes of the year 1928: not only are they pretty, they are unarguably pretty (a much overused word in Vincenzi's lexicon, along with extremely, hugely, desperately, terribly, extraordinarily, hideously, dreadfully, and their poor little relation, very.) The twins pooh-pooh the ineffectual scolding of their concerned mummy, Celia, who pretends to disapprove of their modern manners-she's scandalized when Venetia powders her perfect nose at the table! Though her daughters seem to be wasting their excellent education, Celia is pleased by their social success, perhaps because they are no match for her. "The beautiful, brilliant Lady Celia Lytton moved among the great literary figures of her day . . . ." But doesn't she have a dark secret or something? Well, yes-but Vincenzi doesn't get around to it until hundreds of pages later. The twins must grow up in an uncertain world, fall in and out of love with toffee-nosed prigs, learn that life isn't always fair, explore New York when Lytton opens a branch there, etc. In the meantime, that silly Hitler-such a common man-is making stiff-armed salutes and rabble-rousing in Europe. And if someone doesn't put a stop to his fascist manias, what will happen to all the dear little cuckoo clocks? Will the twins have to give up waltzing because of its Viennese connection? But they have other worries: Barty, a redoubtable bluestocking with a certain horsy charm, is jockeying for control of Lytton. Oh, and Celia's dark secret? Kit, her fair-haired boy, doesn't look so very much like her long-suffering husband, does he? Trees of the world and dauntless readers, take note: The author gives warning on the last page that "this story is far from over." (Kirkus Reviews)

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• Books > Fiction > Authors, A-Z > V > Vincenzi, Penny
• Books > Fiction > Genre > Family Sagas
• Books > Romance > Genres > Sagas

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