Far From Monstrous!

A Monstrous Regiment of Women by Laurie King

Courage is the word I am most fond of imputing to Laurie King's work. It's a quality she has in abundance and displays in her writing.

It takes courage to co-opt a major literary figure such as Sherlock Holmes and then to resist making him the main protagonist.

It takes courage to write with a high degree of intelligence and clarity instead of writing to either the lowest common denominator or to PhDs only.

It takes courage to examine a stereotype sensitively without either adopting or exploding it.

And, it takes courage to open a book with the following quote:

For who can deny that it is repugnant to nature that the blind shall be appointed to lead and conduct such as do see, that the weak, the sick, and the impotent shall nourish and keep the whole and the strong, and, finally, that the foolish, moody, and frenetic shall govern the discrete and shall counsel to such as be sober of mind? And such be all women compared to man in bearing of authority. --John Knox (1505-1572, The First Blast of the Trumpet Against the Monstrous Regiment of Women 1558, against Mary Tudor and Mary Stuart. Regiment is used as synonymous with regime.

Such a quote from one of my favorite feminist authors!

The Mystery

Monstrous Regiment of Women is the second book in Laurie King's Mary Russell series. The first was Beekeeper's Apprentice.

Mary Russell, an American Jewish woman who has befriended and partnered with Sherlock Holmes, is coming of age. She will soon inherit her parents' money and be free of the influence of her aunt. It is the day after Christmas in 1920 and she seeks out Holmes, 59, in London. They argue and Russell ends up with her friend Lady Veronica (Ronnie) Beaconsfield instead.

Ronnie in turn introduces Russell to the New Temple of God and its charismatic, feminist, mystic leader, Margery Childe. Childe grabs Russell's attention immediately for while Russell finds Childe's theology to be very unlearned, she also finds in unerringly accurate. She is disturbed though when members of the group start meeting fatal and near-fatal accidents-after changing their will to benefit the Temple. Childe is the obvious suspect, but King has no intention of making this ride simple or obvious.

The novel constantly challenges and Mary Russell herself must go through enormous personal growth to survive to the end of the story. So private and intense are the journeys Russell must take, that we readers almost feel as though we are intruding. In the end, the story is immensely satisfying and it is impossible to naysay King's talent at crafting the story.

The Religion

One of the strongest features of King's books is the way she interweaves theology throughout her book. King doesn't treat the topic lightly or simply adopt the stereotypes we have of religious community leaders. King pulls back layers and then ends up telling us that there are some things we simply cannot understand or categorize.

It is fascinating to watch two highly rational minds (Russell and Holmes) explore the teachings of a mystic and the odd events that surround her. King illustrates ways in which even the most rational mind sometimes slips in its grip on logic.

The Feminism

Monstrous Regiment of Women is set in the early 1920s, a time when suffragists in both England and America still had a long battle ahead of them. Russell is sympathetic with feminist causes but is generally too immersed in her own studies and her work with Holmes to be an active reformer.

Childe, on the other hand, has devoted much of the Temple's work to literacy, health, safety, and political reform for women. She gives sermons on love and on power and the congregation is never silent.

King begins each chapter with a quote like the one that started the book, or like this one:

Womankind is imprudent and soft or flexible. Imprudent because she cannot consider with wisdom and reason the things she hears and sees, and soft she is because she is easily bored. -John Chrysostrom, 347-407 AD

She makes no apologies for the quotes. They're not explained, put into context, or refused. They're just there. Then she wraps up the book with a too-perfect quote from Shakespeare. I can almost see King smiling as she typed it in. And no, I'm not going to tell you which quote it is, 'cause it would spoil some of the plot.

Relationship Between Russell and Holmes

Naw, this is too important to the book to discuss in a review. You need to read it for yourself and witness the interactions as they unfold. It is this aspect of the book that is most controversial and most delightful. It is easy to see why there are those fans who want King's work added as official extra-canonical Holmes books. Her patisches far outstrip any others I've ever read.

The last couple chapters of Regiment have some of the most delightful dialog and tightest writing of the whole series.

If Holmes resides in your literary palace, you simply must find time to meet Mary Russell. Your Holmes will never be the same again and your appreciation for him is bound to skyrocket.