title: Shades of Milk and Honey
author:  Mary Robinette Kowal 
description: In Kowal's quasi-Regency fantasy debut, plain Miss Jane Ellsworth envies her sister's looks, while flighty Melody envies Jane's talent with magical glamour. Rude, mysterious Mr. Vincent, a brilliant glamour artist hired to create living murals in a nearby mansion, shows little interest in the niceties of society, and none (it seems) in Jane. As Jane shyly seeks Mr. Vincent's tutelage and approval, Melody pursues a disastrous romance. A sprinkling of Jane Austen's idiosyncratic spellings (shew, teaze, etc.) doesn't hide the lack of her trenchant wit or distinctive characters, and period errors abound. Despite the tremendous potential in the magical manipulation of light and temperature, glamour is used solely for decoration and entertainment, with implausibly little effect on history or culture. The story plods at a wooden pace until the climax, which achieves a sprightly comedy-of-errors froth. <br />Copyright  Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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  Shades of Milk  
  
  
  and Honey
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
    
  
  
    
  
  
    
  
  
    
  
  
    
  
  
    
  
  
  
  
  
  TOR BOOKS BY MARY ROBINETTE KOWAL
  
  
  
  
  
  Shades of Milk and Honey
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
    
  
  
  
  
  
  ![](../Images/00003.jpg)
  
  
  
  
  
  Shades of Milk  
  
  
  and Honey
  
  
  
  
  
  ![](../Images/00003.jpg)
  
  
  
  
  
  Mary Robinette Kowal
  
  
  
  
  
  ![](../Images/00005.jpg)
  
  
  
  
  
  A Tom Doherty Associates Book  
  
  
  New York
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Table of Contents
  
  
  
  
  
  [Title](../Text/Shades_of_Milk_and_Honey_split_002.html#filepos644)
  
  
  
  
  
  [Copyright](../Text/Shades_of_Milk_and_Honey_split_004.html#filepos4500)
  
  
  
  
  
  [Dedication](../Text/Shades_of_Milk_and_Honey_split_005.html#filepos6048)
  
  
  
  
  
  [One: Jasmine and
  Honeysuckle](../Text/Shades_of_Milk_and_Honey_split_006.html#filepos6284)
  
  
  
  
  
  [Two: Doves and
  Roses](../Text/Shades_of_Milk_and_Honey_split_007.html#filepos33976)
  
  
  
  
  
  [Three: Nymphs at the
  Ball](../Text/Shades_of_Milk_and_Honey_split_008.html#filepos53750)
  
  
  
  
  
  [Four: Neighbours and
  Salts](../Text