Invitation to a Funeral: A Tale of Restoration Intrigue

If you are a fan of BBC America or PBS you will enjoy this mystery set in 1700 England. It gives you a look into court intrigue through the unconventional female leads. I found the characters charming and the plot, although a bit predicatable, enjoyable. If you like a good mystery and you read carefully the end is no surprise, well not completely!

While the Restoration London of 1676 is full of paranoia about French, Dutch and Catholic spies infiltrating Whitehall, the heroine of Molly Brown's "Invitation to a Funeral" seems far away from all that. When first we meet Aphra Behn, she is waking with her head aching and mouth dry from a night's revelry. The playwright is broke after her last play flopped, and her new play must run at least three days for her to make any money on it. To make matters worse, the Earl of Rochester managed to cast his mistress in the lead, despite her obvious lack of talent, as part of a bet that Aphra can turn her into London's best actress. When a man who befriended her many years ago is found dead, she arranges for his funeral to repay an old debt. But her innocent act has drawn the attention of some mysterious figures, including the head of the king's secret service. "Invitation to a Funeral" is full of Restoration figures, noble and common: King Charles II, his competing mistresses such as the actress Nell Gwyn and the Duchess of Portsmouth (nicknamed "Squintabella" by Nell), and the carousing Earl of Rochester. Those who know the era will recognize some of the incidents Brown uses for her own devices. Aphra Behn stands out among the general run of amateur detectives for her refusal to act like one. She is not Jessica Fletcher teleported to the 17th century, just a single working girl trying to keep body and soul together while working in a profession which most people of the time considered one step removed from prostitution. What with shepherding her play to the stage, dealing with Rochester's mistress, running deeper into debt and avoiding her debtors (as well as an ex-lover attempting to win her back), she doesn't have time to play detective. How she manages to get into serious trouble anyway makes "Invitation to a Funeral" a pleasurable jaunt back to another historical era.

Invitation To A Funeral is one of the most enjoyable books I've read in a long time. It's fast-moving and funny, with as lively and witty a group of characters as any reader could wish for. But fun as it is, there is a much harder edge to this book than you find in the traditional historical cozy. The book is not as light as it appears at first glance; there is an element of gritty realism here, that to my mind, makes the book as a whole a much more satisfying experience. All in all, I recommend Invitation To A Funeral to anyone who is interested in a rollicking read with wonderful characterization and a great sense of fun. I'm looking forward to the sequel!

What makes this Historical Mystery story such a great read is the careful deliniation of characters as well as the absolutely accurate feel to the setting in time and place, in all it's splendor and squalor. It reminds me of the Brother Cadfael series in that respect. Aphra Behn, real life former spy turned playwright, is a pefect choice for a heroine. Also, 17th centruy England was full of enough intrigue to funish the plots to several books, which is a fervent hope of this reader and not a criticism. My only quibble with the book, and it is a minor one, is that it seemed a little thin in some places and that the ending was a little abrupt, (except that it is a perfect set up for a sequel). This is not to say that the book is dissappointing, just that the world Molly Brown brought to life was so compelling, that I wanted to spend more time in it.

Molly Brown writes well in whatever genre she turns her hand to. Here she brilliantly captures the sparkle and coarseness of Restoration England in an engaging page-turner of a book. Nell and Aphra are delightful heroines, & the cameos by various historic characters are much fun.