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Our Mutual Friends: A Charlotte House Affair
“The young man, however, noticed my friend’s attention and turned to look at me, but I had already returned the flint striker to the interior of the muff. He looked at me with his childlike expression and offered me a smile, which I immediately returned. How could I help it? Even with the knowledge that Charlotte considered him an impostor, I was charmed by his warm brown eyes, his long black hair that fell upon his shoulders and his full lips that spoke the peculiar sing-song language that had so confounded the greatest minds in England. Were I completely honest, I would also admit that my eyes were drawn to his broad chest, naked but for a sort of soft-leather vest with no buttons, and a large, jet-black medallion that showed a many-armed figure.”
Thus begins The Affair of the Putative Prince wherein Charlotte House and her chronicler Jane Woodsen solve the riddle of Prince Nanaboo of Samokar, meddle in affairs of state, battle French agents and reunite lost lovers. In The Stimulating Affair, Jane literally finds herself in hot water when she unmasks the deadly presence at the mysterious Doctor Meissner’s electrically charged salon of pleasure. Inspired by the works of Jane Austen, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Charles Dickens.
Thus begins The Affair of the Putative Prince wherein Charlotte House and her chronicler Jane Woodsen solve the riddle of Prince Nanaboo of Samokar, meddle in affairs of state, battle French agents and reunite lost lovers. In The Stimulating Affair, Jane literally finds herself in hot water when she unmasks the deadly presence at the mysterious Doctor Meissner’s electrically charged salon of pleasure. Inspired by the works of Jane Austen, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Charles Dickens.
364 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 26, 2017
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12 people want to read
About the author
Jennifer Petkus
8 books22 followersJennifer Petkus divides her time creating websites for the dead, writing Jane Austen-themed mysteries, woodworking, aikido and building model starships. She has few credentials, having failed to graduate from the University of Texas with a journalism degree, but did manage to find employment at the Colorado Springs Sun newspaper as a police reporter, copy editor and night city editor before the paper died in 1986. She lives in fear of getting a phone call from her dead Japanese mother. Her husband is the night editor at The Denver Post. Her best friend is a cop. She watched Neil Armstrong walk on the Moon live.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
December 19, 2021
This very long novel has two affairs: The Affair of the Putative Prince and The Stimulating Affair. Charlotte and Jane are fascinated by the man calling himself Prince Nanaboo of Samakar, a country in the Indian Ocean no one has ever heard of or can find on a map. He claims he was being pursued by French agents on the docks and he is now living with Sir Lionel Humphey and his daughter in London. While Jane is charmed, Charlotte believes the man is an impostor. She has no interest in trying to expose him as long as he isn't hurting anyone but her brother Michael and the government mucky mucks believe something more sinister is going on. Michael goads Charlotte into unmasking the imposter and this time she's going at it alone. Charlotte keeps disappearing with her friend, Miss Pettigrew, making Jane jealous. With Charlotte gone for long periods of time, Jane worries. The bright spot in her stay in London is a visit from her little sister Elinor. Elinor even helps get into the subterfuge, along with their borrowed dog Pug. When secrets come to light, it puts everyone in danger. Meanwhile, Jane and Margaret are left alone to show Elinor the delights of London, bumping into Margaret's old flame Mr. Stanhope and his fiancé Mrs. Stephenson. Mr. Stanhope is concerned because Mrs. Stephenson seems to have fallen under the spell of some quack doctor, Dr. Meissner, who uses unorthodox electric treatments to stimulate his patients. Mr. Stanhope wants Charlotte to unmask the doctor as a fraud but no one knows where she is. It's up to Jane and Margaret to investigate and find out what Dr. Meissner is all about. When Margaret shows signs of falling for the charlatan's tricks, Jane knows she must act fast to save her friend. Then Mr. Wallace returns and she must think about what she wants for her future.
I liked this book so much more than the first. The two mysteries blend together and I couldn't put the book down. I stayed up really late to finish it. There are more Austen references and more history. The footnotes are now incorporated into the novel at the end of the chapters. I felt the ending dragged on way too long and I'm hooked in by the bombshell at the end. I noted a couple of historical errors and some typos/grammatical errors. This author needs to be careful not to copy directly from her source material when that source material doesn't work for 1805ish. Overall, she did a much better job with this novel than the first volume of stories.
Charlotte is still very much an Emma character but she's improved her mind since she was Emma's age. She shows how Emma could be and will be under the influence of Mr. Knightley. Charlotte is warm, compassionate, daring, brave and very secretive. I understand why she does what she does but she was thoughtless at first, not realizing how Jane would worry. I do not understand why she let Jane become anxious over her future and didn't tell Jane about her plans for Jane's future. Charlotte loves the dramatic. I understand her rivalry with her brother. Michael is a bit smug and pompous. He goads Charlotte and she can't back down from a challenge. Jane is really coming into her own. She has a lot of insecurities and anxieties because of her family background and also Charlotte creates a lot of that with secrecy and drama. Charlotte doesn't give a thought for her reputation and how it effects others. Jane suspects something not quite right about Charlotte's behavior and if your own best friend thinks that, what must Society think? It surely looks bad that she hasn't been paying her calls and her friends say she's ill. Even I would think I put 2+2=4 if I were a nosy, nasty London gossip. It's sad because there IS some truth to the gossip about her in her past somewhere. What happened 2 years ago? We need to be filled in more.
I relate to Jane, overthinking everything and worrying about things she can't easily control. Jane, like Charlotte, is brave, daring and compassionate. She's a little more kind than Charlotte. Mrs. Fitzhugh is the kindly, motherly one of the trio. She looks after her girls and provides wisdom, sometimes corrects Charlotte's behavior and is a true friend to them both. I really like her, at least until Mr. Stanhope reenters her life. Mr. Wallace is a true gentleman in manner if not in breeding. He may not be rich but he's kind, caring, honorable and always tries to do the right thing. He's also a bit dull. I don't get any chemistry between him and Jane. I think Jane loves him but maybe not enough for marriage.
The servants are great. Mary is devoted to Charlotte, a good secret keeper and very calm. James is a bit cheeky and Robert is nosy and unintentionally funny. Mrs. Hutton, the housekeeper/cook is strict and protective of her girls but she's kind and considerate when she needs to be.
We meet tons of new people in London. Prince Nanaboo is an original. He's surely a fake, or is he? He seems kind and just having a joke at other people's expense. The more fool them. I think Sir Lionel knows this and is having trouble maintaining the fiction. I don't like or trust him much. His manservant, the one they refer to as the Lascar, seems to be the only one in on the Prince's secret. Mr. Ghosh seems controlling and sneaky. Miss Elizabeth, Sir Lionel's daughter, has suddenly retreated from public life and is now under the care of her governess, Miss La Creevy. When we finally meet them, I'm unsure Miss La Creevy is trustworthy, governesses almost never are, but Elizabeth seems sweet and kind. I don't think anyone in that household is who they say they are though and some of them are hiding big secrets. Miss Kitty Crewe from Abergavenny, Wales, is missing and someone in Sir Lionel's household is involved.
Many of the character names and situations must come from Dickens. Mrs. Fitzhugh has a couple of friends living in a boarding house for impoverished widows. Mrs. Jenkins and her identical twin sister Mrs. Jenkins are a hoot. Mrs. Cassandra Lattimer is more caustic and less friendly. Margaret and Cassandra have a long history and their relationship is complicated. These women are the Mrs. Bates of London and it breaks my heart. I was happy they had a safe, cheap place to live. Lady Helen, an eccentric old woman, enjoys shocking people. She has travelled widely and is more knowledgeable about the "Orient" than anyone, including the Prince of Wales who loves to decorate in the Oriental style. I really like the bold Lady Helen. She doesn't care about what people think.
Charlotte's network includes Mr. Nicholas Foster, an old tar who is rough around the edges but fiercely protective of Charlotte and her friends. I'm not sure I trust him or like him but he seems to be a good bodyguard. He's there when people need him and that's what counts. I do NOT think what Jane is assuming. WHY Jane? It makes no sense.
My favorite character is Pug, a little dog owned by Mr. Mercury, a taxidermist. Pug is trained to do lots of tricks. He may be named after the Pug in Mansfield Park but unlike Lady Bertram's Pug, this one is charming and energetic. I love his tricks, as does everyone else. He's so adorable! I am under the impression Pugs don't "do" tricks and are more lazy but he sure is cute. I want to meet him!
Dr. Meissner is based directly on Dr. Mesmer, who by this time was based in Switzerland. Dr. Meissner is a weird mix of scientific and bizarre magic. I don't approve of the way he takes advantage of older women and the whole thing with the baquet is decidedly phallic and inappropriate for a public setting. There also seems to be some personal therapy involved here but Mesmer is the originator of hypnotism and this Meissner is possibly using his mesmerism techniques to get widows to hand over their money. I don't think he's an honest man. There's indication that he drugs the patients (herbs that make them mellow/sleepy then give them the munchies?) Something is very wrong here. However, he is on to something with the electricity. I kept waiting for someone to be electrocuted but apparently he knew enough to cover the copper pipes in wood and have the patients touch the wood. This is similar to a TENS machine or the ultra sound machine my physical therapist used on my back. 200 years later there's still a debate over whether it works! (I think it does). DO NOT try these techniques at home. I am inclined to think this doctor is a charlatan but not necessarily a quack. I draw the line at the communal baquet.
Miss Craye seems to be his most devoted disciple. She runs the therapy sessions, getting people to confess their secrets, even Jane. There seems to be group therapy and private sessions. I think Miss Craye is practicing mesmerism on these women. She seems to know how to use her voice to be controlling. Like Jane, I don't trust her.
The habiutees of the baquet include Mrs. Ralston, a sharp woman with a biting tongue who has some weird ideas about friendship. Mrs. Stephenson isn't young and she seems to have money. Does she really want to marry Mr. Stanhope? He seems so kind and caring and she seems to be coerced by the quack doctor and his disciples. Another woman, Mrs. Sennet, is a vulgar speaker. She confesses she doesn't love her 5 daughters equally. She loves the youngest, who most resembles her in temperament the best and fears her husband's favorite is too judgmental to find a husband. LOL! I love it! I predict all will turn out quite happily for the husband's favorite, it may take awhile, but she'll be so happy with her daughter's husband. LOL! A Mrs. Smith is suspicious of newcomers like Jane. She believes in first come, first serve. I would agree with her. If the doctor is too busy with his patients, he shouldn't take on more, but now they're there, they should all have a turn. Mrs. Smith doesn't seem very nice. Mrs. Havelock, a young, shy widow, is in trouble. She seems the most under the spell of this doctor chap and I suspect what Jane suspects.
The villains are nasty but rather two-dimensional. The confrontation was very intense and had me on the edge of my seat!
I am interested in another "affair" to shed light on that bombshell ending, if the new affair is a full-length novel or novella.
I liked this book so much more than the first. The two mysteries blend together and I couldn't put the book down. I stayed up really late to finish it. There are more Austen references and more history. The footnotes are now incorporated into the novel at the end of the chapters. I felt the ending dragged on way too long and I'm hooked in by the bombshell at the end. I noted a couple of historical errors and some typos/grammatical errors. This author needs to be careful not to copy directly from her source material when that source material doesn't work for 1805ish. Overall, she did a much better job with this novel than the first volume of stories.
Charlotte is still very much an Emma character but she's improved her mind since she was Emma's age. She shows how Emma could be and will be under the influence of Mr. Knightley. Charlotte is warm, compassionate, daring, brave and very secretive. I understand why she does what she does but she was thoughtless at first, not realizing how Jane would worry. I do not understand why she let Jane become anxious over her future and didn't tell Jane about her plans for Jane's future. Charlotte loves the dramatic. I understand her rivalry with her brother. Michael is a bit smug and pompous. He goads Charlotte and she can't back down from a challenge. Jane is really coming into her own. She has a lot of insecurities and anxieties because of her family background and also Charlotte creates a lot of that with secrecy and drama. Charlotte doesn't give a thought for her reputation and how it effects others. Jane suspects something not quite right about Charlotte's behavior and if your own best friend thinks that, what must Society think? It surely looks bad that she hasn't been paying her calls and her friends say she's ill. Even I would think I put 2+2=4 if I were a nosy, nasty London gossip. It's sad because there IS some truth to the gossip about her in her past somewhere. What happened 2 years ago? We need to be filled in more.
I relate to Jane, overthinking everything and worrying about things she can't easily control. Jane, like Charlotte, is brave, daring and compassionate. She's a little more kind than Charlotte. Mrs. Fitzhugh is the kindly, motherly one of the trio. She looks after her girls and provides wisdom, sometimes corrects Charlotte's behavior and is a true friend to them both. I really like her, at least until Mr. Stanhope reenters her life. Mr. Wallace is a true gentleman in manner if not in breeding. He may not be rich but he's kind, caring, honorable and always tries to do the right thing. He's also a bit dull. I don't get any chemistry between him and Jane. I think Jane loves him but maybe not enough for marriage.
The servants are great. Mary is devoted to Charlotte, a good secret keeper and very calm. James is a bit cheeky and Robert is nosy and unintentionally funny. Mrs. Hutton, the housekeeper/cook is strict and protective of her girls but she's kind and considerate when she needs to be.
We meet tons of new people in London. Prince Nanaboo is an original. He's surely a fake, or is he? He seems kind and just having a joke at other people's expense. The more fool them. I think Sir Lionel knows this and is having trouble maintaining the fiction. I don't like or trust him much. His manservant, the one they refer to as the Lascar, seems to be the only one in on the Prince's secret. Mr. Ghosh seems controlling and sneaky. Miss Elizabeth, Sir Lionel's daughter, has suddenly retreated from public life and is now under the care of her governess, Miss La Creevy. When we finally meet them, I'm unsure Miss La Creevy is trustworthy, governesses almost never are, but Elizabeth seems sweet and kind. I don't think anyone in that household is who they say they are though and some of them are hiding big secrets. Miss Kitty Crewe from Abergavenny, Wales, is missing and someone in Sir Lionel's household is involved.
Many of the character names and situations must come from Dickens. Mrs. Fitzhugh has a couple of friends living in a boarding house for impoverished widows. Mrs. Jenkins and her identical twin sister Mrs. Jenkins are a hoot. Mrs. Cassandra Lattimer is more caustic and less friendly. Margaret and Cassandra have a long history and their relationship is complicated. These women are the Mrs. Bates of London and it breaks my heart. I was happy they had a safe, cheap place to live. Lady Helen, an eccentric old woman, enjoys shocking people. She has travelled widely and is more knowledgeable about the "Orient" than anyone, including the Prince of Wales who loves to decorate in the Oriental style. I really like the bold Lady Helen. She doesn't care about what people think.
Charlotte's network includes Mr. Nicholas Foster, an old tar who is rough around the edges but fiercely protective of Charlotte and her friends. I'm not sure I trust him or like him but he seems to be a good bodyguard. He's there when people need him and that's what counts. I do NOT think what Jane is assuming. WHY Jane? It makes no sense.
My favorite character is Pug, a little dog owned by Mr. Mercury, a taxidermist. Pug is trained to do lots of tricks. He may be named after the Pug in Mansfield Park but unlike Lady Bertram's Pug, this one is charming and energetic. I love his tricks, as does everyone else. He's so adorable! I am under the impression Pugs don't "do" tricks and are more lazy but he sure is cute. I want to meet him!
Dr. Meissner is based directly on Dr. Mesmer, who by this time was based in Switzerland. Dr. Meissner is a weird mix of scientific and bizarre magic. I don't approve of the way he takes advantage of older women and the whole thing with the baquet is decidedly phallic and inappropriate for a public setting. There also seems to be some personal therapy involved here but Mesmer is the originator of hypnotism and this Meissner is possibly using his mesmerism techniques to get widows to hand over their money. I don't think he's an honest man. There's indication that he drugs the patients (herbs that make them mellow/sleepy then give them the munchies?) Something is very wrong here. However, he is on to something with the electricity. I kept waiting for someone to be electrocuted but apparently he knew enough to cover the copper pipes in wood and have the patients touch the wood. This is similar to a TENS machine or the ultra sound machine my physical therapist used on my back. 200 years later there's still a debate over whether it works! (I think it does). DO NOT try these techniques at home. I am inclined to think this doctor is a charlatan but not necessarily a quack. I draw the line at the communal baquet.
Miss Craye seems to be his most devoted disciple. She runs the therapy sessions, getting people to confess their secrets, even Jane. There seems to be group therapy and private sessions. I think Miss Craye is practicing mesmerism on these women. She seems to know how to use her voice to be controlling. Like Jane, I don't trust her.
The habiutees of the baquet include Mrs. Ralston, a sharp woman with a biting tongue who has some weird ideas about friendship. Mrs. Stephenson isn't young and she seems to have money. Does she really want to marry Mr. Stanhope? He seems so kind and caring and she seems to be coerced by the quack doctor and his disciples. Another woman, Mrs. Sennet, is a vulgar speaker. She confesses she doesn't love her 5 daughters equally. She loves the youngest, who most resembles her in temperament the best and fears her husband's favorite is too judgmental to find a husband. LOL! I love it! I predict all will turn out quite happily for the husband's favorite, it may take awhile, but she'll be so happy with her daughter's husband. LOL! A Mrs. Smith is suspicious of newcomers like Jane. She believes in first come, first serve. I would agree with her. If the doctor is too busy with his patients, he shouldn't take on more, but now they're there, they should all have a turn. Mrs. Smith doesn't seem very nice. Mrs. Havelock, a young, shy widow, is in trouble. She seems the most under the spell of this doctor chap and I suspect what Jane suspects.
The villains are nasty but rather two-dimensional. The confrontation was very intense and had me on the edge of my seat!
I am interested in another "affair" to shed light on that bombshell ending, if the new affair is a full-length novel or novella.
March 15, 2017
In this much-anticipated sequel to the author's My Particular Friend, the companiable sleuths have removed themselves from Bath to London during the time of the Napoleonic wars and the town is rife with rumors of French espionage. Not wasting any time, Miss Charlotte House, the beautiful, brilliant, and charismatic leader of this fearless group of ladies investigates the veracity of a certain-celebrated Prince Nanaboo of the distant island kingdom of Samokar. Narrated by Miss House's particular friend, Jane Woodsen and also accompanied by Charlotte's former governess, Mrs. Margaret Fitzhugh, it doesn't take long for the three of them to become embroiled in all sorts of investigative mischief. They are joined by Charlotte's brother Mr. House who works for His Majesty's government and is instrumental in helping his intrepid sister solve the mystery of Prince Nanaboo.
Unlike the author's first offering which features adventurous vignettes in a simpler more linear format, Our Mutual Friends intertwines their various escapades, scrapes and moments of terror all throughout. This format then demands strict attention to detail of the reader in order to keep all the goings-on from becoming confusing and muddled. As in the style of Jane Austen, Jennifer Petkus sets a lengthy and complicated table of characters and situations. However, the reader's patience and attentiveness are rewarded along the way with the author's delightful, witty and charming dialogues. Our three heroines' lovable and complex personalities are well-flushed out. And....who should show up to the delight and dismay, especially of Miss Jane Woodsen, but field surgeon Mr. Wallace from her Bath adventures!
The author's historical footnotes on the locales and significant happenings on the London of that time period were much appreciated by this reader and definitely enhanced my understanding. Finally, it would be to my great delight that the author might leave the sequel door slightly ajar so as to resolve a few tantalizing issues in a future installment. I certainly hope so because having read the author's previous works there is nothing more entertaining than to get lost in the author's unique story-telling style once again.
Unlike the author's first offering which features adventurous vignettes in a simpler more linear format, Our Mutual Friends intertwines their various escapades, scrapes and moments of terror all throughout. This format then demands strict attention to detail of the reader in order to keep all the goings-on from becoming confusing and muddled. As in the style of Jane Austen, Jennifer Petkus sets a lengthy and complicated table of characters and situations. However, the reader's patience and attentiveness are rewarded along the way with the author's delightful, witty and charming dialogues. Our three heroines' lovable and complex personalities are well-flushed out. And....who should show up to the delight and dismay, especially of Miss Jane Woodsen, but field surgeon Mr. Wallace from her Bath adventures!
The author's historical footnotes on the locales and significant happenings on the London of that time period were much appreciated by this reader and definitely enhanced my understanding. Finally, it would be to my great delight that the author might leave the sequel door slightly ajar so as to resolve a few tantalizing issues in a future installment. I certainly hope so because having read the author's previous works there is nothing more entertaining than to get lost in the author's unique story-telling style once again.
December 30, 2021
Charlote House investigates the alleged Prince Nanaboo of Samokar. Is he an imposter. If so who is he really and why the disguise.
Meanwhile Jane Woodsen and Mrs Fitzhigh are askedby old friend Mr Stanhope for help. He is concerned about the hold a Dr Meissner may have over his future wife, a Mrs Stephenson.
An entertaining mystery
Meanwhile Jane Woodsen and Mrs Fitzhigh are askedby old friend Mr Stanhope for help. He is concerned about the hold a Dr Meissner may have over his future wife, a Mrs Stephenson.
An entertaining mystery
September 1, 2024
The story doesn't end in a real cliffhanger, but there are a lot of things left unsettled. Frustrating!
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews