“The Brass Queen” by Elizabeth Chatsworth – Raising an Invisible Army
Elizabeth Chatsworth Arrives on the Stage
Among the many weapons our civilization has dreamed up for its soldiers, many have thankfully remained in the realm of fiction, at least for the time being. Authors, however, have the power to imagine realities where things are a little different, as does Elizabeth Chatsworth in her steampunk debut novel, The Brass Queen.
The story opens by introducing us to Miss Constance Haltwhistle, a baroness and the last in her line of blue-blooded rogues. She keeps her coffers nice and full by selling arms under a cover, and for the most part doesn't want much more out of life.
Enter J. F. Trusdale, a United States spy who one day proves his worth to her by saving Miss Constance from certain assassination. From there on out, a love blossoms between the two, and they find themselves embarked on a rather unusual adventure, in search of something capable of shifting the balance of the world in unforeseen directions.
There are reasons to believe a certain scientist has managed to create a truly functional invisibility serum, and the whole world is after it, including Miss Constance and Trusdale, who simply can't afford to see it fall into the wrong hands. However, they'll have to overcome a host of obstacles between the two of them first, if they can ever hope to truly trust each other.
Meanwhile, the global powers that be are dead-set on getting the serum before any of their competitors can, cradling the dream of raising an army of invisible soldiers. However, such destructive ambitions always carry a price to pay, and in this case, it could result in the disappearance of the entire world as they've come to know it.
A Light Approach to a Heavy Topic in The Brass Queen
Looking at this story from the outside, it seems like it deals with relatively heavy themes centred on humanity's self-destructive tendencies and despicable penchant for turning scientific discoveries into weapons to turn on their enemies. While many authors would approach this sort of topic with furrowed eyebrows, Elizabeth Chatsworth prefers to take the lighter road.
The text is heavily-infused with humorous touches from start to finish, paced quite reasonably from one to the other. It's just spread out enough to stop the book from turning into an outright comedy, but it nevertheless colours virtually all the characters and events we're exposed to.
In my opinion, humour is a difficult thing to write on purpose if it doesn't come naturally to the author; it's always palpable when comedy is forced and doesn't feel genuine. Chatsworth is certainly a natural when it comes to spreading joy and laughter, and more importantly, she knows how to give it true meaning rather than just telling us a series of empty jokes.
There are quite a few interesting observations made on real-life subjects through the scope of humour, and credit to the author, their importance is never undermined by their delivery. The best type of laughter is the one capable of making us think and see something previously hidden, and this is exactly how I'd categorize the humour in this story.
Overall, this gives the novel an atmosphere of warmth and certainty, the one we generally find when reading old books from bygone eras whose conventions we've become familiar with. There is none of the gratuitous terror and violence permeating much of modern literature.
The Mismatched Pair
As far as the actual plot of the book goes, it is quite intelligent and witty in its own regard, starting with the constant interplay between the two main characters. While I'm generally not exactly keen on authors spending too much time developing relationships, I quite enjoyed it in this novel since we're largely shown it rather than told.
They're the main characters, and we can see their personal developments as well as the growth of their relationship happening through the many dangers and challenges they end up facing together. The chemistry between them slowly becomes more and more potent, its development actually feeling very realistic.
The dialogue between them is unquestionably one of the main highlights of the book for me, often mixing humour with interesting observations and themes of acceptance, personal strength and justice, just to mention a few.
The world they're living in is also crafted with quite a bit of careful forethought, having its own structure and sense of morality which we get to see in action time and time again. It has no shortage of strange sights and curious technological gizmos to have a look at, and together they give rise to a world unique and distinguished enough from other steampunk novels.
The events unfold at a very rapid pace, to the point where there's nary a moment to catch your breath, with some new developments always pushing the previous ones into the background. As a matter of fact, there are times when the action ramps up even more and the book starts to feel like a thriller for how excitingly things are going.
The Final Verdict
The Brass Queen by Elizabeth Chatsworth is a sensational debut novel taking us into a memorable steampunk world of rogues, spies, curious gadgets, and invisibility serums, anchored around a pair of unique protagonists who give rise to quite a bit of intelligent humour.
If you've been looking for an enjoyable gaslamp fantasy novel with relentless action, an imaginative setting and coloured by comedy, then I highly recommend you check the novel out.
 | Elizabeth ChatsworthPersonal site Elizabeth Chatsworth is a British author and actress living in Connecticut who recently released her widely-acclaimed debut steampunk novel, The Brass Queen. She has also published short stories in anthology collections, her tales having appeared in When To Now and Imagining Monsters. |
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