This Edwardian fantasy romance novel is a finalist for the 2020 Nebula Awards. It’s was published by Erewhon in October 2020 and then by Orbit in April 2021, running 379 pages. Polk is Canadian, is well established as a novelist, and has been nominated for the Nebula, Locus, Aurora, and Lambda Literary Awards for their first novel Witchmark. This review contains spoilers.

It’s bargaining season, and Beatrice Clayborn’s father has mortgaged the family farm and moved his family to the city in order to make a good match for his oldest daughter who carries a strong talent for magic. He’s made some poor investments and his business is in dire trouble, so he’s bought expensive gowns for both his daughters, and expects to show them to society at teas, balls and summer parties. This means there’s a lot of pressure on Beatrice to find rich suitors, but she’s actually determined to avoid marriage entirely because she will be collared to kill her magic, and she wants to be a mage like a man more than anything. That means she needs to achieve that state pretty quickly. She rummages through an old bookstore and finds the grimoire she needs, but she’s challenged for it by the fabulously wealthy Ysbeta Lavan, also determined to avoid marriage and become a mage. Beatrice is attracted to her brother Ianthe, and he seems willing to help the women. Is there any way they can make this work?

This is a slow burner, but it eventually arrives at a pretty tense climax. The theme is freedom for the women, and as the novel progresses, we get a look at the stakes. The reason for collaring the talented girls at marriage, and basically enslaving them for breeding purposes, is that the magic in this setting is based on possession by a spirit. When women get pregnant, the spirit can pass to the fetus and create a demon child, and when this is discovered, both the woman and child are put to death by burning to release the spirit. The collar not only kills magical powers, but also removes sensual enjoyment, making the world a really dull place. Beatrice and Ysbeta are playing with fire, conjuring spirits on the basis of secret knowledge decoded from the grimoires, and without any mentors or teachers to make sure they learn the correct techniques and safety measures. With this horrific underpinning, we’re treated to the whirling social scene, the gowns, the flirting, and Beatrice’s dilemma when she starts to fall in love with Ianthe.

On the less positive side, I don’t think there’s enough motivation to support Ianthe’s engagement is this crazy plot. He’s a member of the local guild, and already on his way through the process of becoming a mature mage, so he should be pretty well indoctrinated in the “right way” to do things. There’s nothing to make him a subversive, but he takes huge risks for Beatrice and his sister with minimal objection. I think the plot would have been stronger and the action line steeper if he’d dug in his heels and refused to help as soon as he found out what they were doing. Also, the ending is a little too pat. There could be a lot more drama there if Beatrice is worrying about a demon child. But maybe “happily ever after” is the requirement of Edwardian romances.

Four stars.