Description
Price: $19.00 - $13.14
(as of Mar 28, 2025 16:41:18 UTC – Details)
The New York Times bestselling author of the Lady Julia Grey mysteries returns once more to Victorian England and introduces intrepid adventuress Veronica Speedwell….
London, 1887. After burying her spinster aunt, orphaned Veronica Speedwell is free to resume her world travels in pursuit of scientific inquiry—and the occasional romantic dalliance. As familiar with hunting butterflies as with fending off admirers, Veronica intends to embark upon the journey of a lifetime.
But fate has other plans when Veronica thwarts her own attempted abduction with the help of an enigmatic German baron, who offers her sanctuary in the care of his friend Stoker, a reclusive and bad-tempered natural historian. But before the baron can reveal what he knows of the plot against her, he is found murdered—leaving Veronica and Stoker on the run from an elusive assailant as wary partners in search of the villainous truth.
Publisher : Berkley; Reprint edition (July 12, 2016)
Language : English
Paperback : 368 pages
ISBN-10 : 0451476026
ISBN-13 : 978-0451476029
Item Weight : 2.31 pounds
Dimensions : 5.43 x 0.78 x 8.19 inches
Customers say
Customers enjoyed the book’s fun and lively storyline. They found the characters interesting and simpatico, with vulnerabilities that rounded them out nicely. The book was described as delightful and well-written. Readers appreciated the subtle romance and frisson of attraction between the protagonists. They also appreciated the writing style, narration, and quick-witted dialogue. Overall, customers found the book enjoyable and thought-provoking.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews
Melody –
Veronica is the heroine Victorian Lit needs
I wound up getting into this series a little backwards. After winning an ARC off NetGalley, I was excited to begin my foray into mystery, led by a lady detective.
Until I realized that the ARC was actually book 3, and you canât just jump in anywhere and be all caught up. This is a character-led mystery series more than a circumstance-led one. I read the first lines of book 3, featuring Veronica Speedwell and her companion Stoker, when I realized that these two characters have a world of history behind them, and I wanted to know every little detail.
So here I am, frantically attempting to get through all three books and post reviews before A Treacherous Curse comes out on January 16th. Whoops! Wish me luck.
Fortunately, reading A Curious Beginning was not at all a chore, proving instead to be a quick, fun read. I instantly fell in love with Veronica, a young woman who explores the world as a lepidopterist, or a butterfly collector. Shrewd and intrepid, Veronica recognizes that this profession is one of the few that allows women to âact outâ and roam the countryside unaccompanied, and she does so with particular zeal.
I loved that she spoke her mind and admired other women who do the same or hold ambitions of their own. Sheâs not even shy about the trysts with foreign men sheâs had overseas, viewing sexual fulfillment as being equally important for women as it is for men. She even has a self-imposed rule that she will not dally with her own countrymen (Englishmen), both because it would ruin her local reputation and sheâs not looking to settle down.
The novel opens upon a funeral. Veronica has just buried the last of her two adoptive aunts and readies herself to leave England behind for a moment and go on a much-needed expedition overseas. Before she can, she stumbles upon a man ransacking her auntsâ home and, in true Veronica fashion, runs him off with a concealed blade. When the man tries to abduct her, a German baron appears, helping her ruin the attempt.
The baron claims to have known Veronicaâs mother, a woman she has never known or seen, but he is forced to be extremely secretive about the knowledge, promising her he will tell her everything when the time is rightâbut right now she is in grave danger, and he must get her to safety.
Veronica doesnât believe him, despite the previous abduction attempt, and I have to agree with her reasoning. She claims that she is no one special and, aside from the lepidopterist profession, has led an unremarkable life without making any significant enemies of anyone. Plus, she doesnât know the baron from any other stranger, so why would she believe his judgement?
Regardless, seeking a new adventure and a free fare, she accompanies him to London, where he leaves her in the care of one of his friends who owes him a debt, a natural historian named Stoker who is as bad-tempered as he is mysteriously solitary. The baron tells Stoker to stay with Veronica and protect her with his life until he returns to retrieve her.
That night, the baron is murdered.
Veronica and Stoker do not learn this until a few days later. They manage to bond over natural history, but they butt heads about everything. Stoker is surly, and Veronica is neither scared of him nor hesitant to goad him. Both characters are fascinating separately, but together they add so much entertainment to the page. I could read about them doing literally anything.
Both characters can be rash in their own ways, as evidenced by Stoker when he immediately takes Veronica and hides them both at a traveling show, taking the baronâs last request completely seriously. Veronica still believes that the murder has little to do with her and that she isnât the one in danger, but both she and Stoker become determined to discover who the guilty party is so they can move on and be rid of each other.
As more clues come to light, about the mystery and who they both are, they come to trust and respect each other, both as scientists and people, though still arguing and driving each other crazy all the while.
I came to love the idea that neither of them have any kind of background as detectives but that they combine their skills as scientists to figure things out. Veronica often leads the charge, making the boldest moves, but Stoker easily holds his own. (The knife-throwing scene and the fight scene are nice.)
Even though Iâve never read anything like Sherlock Holmes or Poroit (yet), I imagine this novel could be considered âmystery lightâ in that, while a mystery is the purpose of the plot of the novel, the characters are actually its driving force, the mystery itself coming somewhat second. Which is totally fine! I believe this could be a good start for anyone who wants to see if mystery is a genre theyâre into. For mystery veterans, it may be a bit basic but at least itâs fun. Plus, Deanna Raybourn has a true gift with vocabulary and Victorian-style writing. My dictionary app got a lot of use because she effortlessly offered words that many writers just donât use anymoreâand they werenât even particularly outlandish.
My hatâs off to Raybourn for another reason, too: she gave me another slowburn romance to be invested in.
Yes, there is a bit of intrigue between Veronica and Stoker, i.e. a lot of tension. Veronica is lovely and brilliant and not shy about flirting, and Stoker is handsome, also brilliant, and hilariously pent-up. Itâs funny to watch Stoker cursing up a storm but then blushing at a passing suggestion from Veronica, his regard for privacy being challenged at every turn. Meanwhile, Veronica is stubbornâremember her no Englishman policy? Thatâs being tested hereâand blithe about things that most Victorian women would never say in mixed company. They clash and mesh in so many interesting ways.
And okay, Iâll be honest, if you put both the âfake marriedâ trope and âsharing a bedâ trope unabashedly in your novel, I will instantly love it and you because I am, in fact, a sucker. (And she did it so masterfully! Nothing was rushed, nothing was forced! Bless, this is the kind of content I want!)
At least I admit it.
Overall, the outcome of the mystery was fulfilling while still promising longterm effects related to it down the road. Iâm eager for Veronica and Stoker to work together again, to hash out other mysteries, and get into trouble in the process.
Which is why Iâve already started the sequel, A Perilous Undertaking. Stay tuned!
Amy –
A Curious Beginning
A Curious Beginning starts a new series for Deanna Raybourn, but her long-time readers will see enough similarities between this one and her popular Julia Grey series to satisfy the void left when that one ended. New readers will find a lot to like about Veronica Speedwell.
After the death of her guardian, Veronica Speedwell is looking forward to being on her own and, quite literally, free. Counting herself a seasoned lepidopterist (basically the study of butterflies), Veronica cannot wait to head out to new adventures finding differing specimens. In the past these endeavors have also resulted in various clandestine meetings between herself and the opposite sex (something Veronica would never get caught up in with a man from London) so she always looks forward to her travels. The only thing left is for Veronica to grab her bag and she’s on her way, but upon returning to her guardians’ former homestead, Veronica discovers an intruder. She pursues said intruder when he flees (how dare they have the nerve to break into her former home), but the tables are turned and suddenly Veronica is in danger of becoming kidnapped. She’s saved, however, by the aid of a Baron who offers to take her into London directly hoping to avoid any more dangerous situations. Never having met this Baron before, Veronica is a bit wary, that is, until the Baron makes reference to the fact that he knows Veronica’s mother. That perks her interest right away, you since, Veronica is an orphan. What results is a wild adventure that will change Veronica’s life forever.
I make reference to the fact that this new series shares similarities with the Julia Grey series. I assure you these similarities are only in the best way and in no way feels as though it’s a story being recycled. Truly, Veronica Speedwell stands rather well on her own. She’ll even go so far as to tell you that herself. She is very capable to take care of herself. I liked this about her character. Her unflinchingly honest view of herself. She understands who she is and her situation. She makes no apologies for wanting different things outside of the “norm” and she doesn’t lament what many could consider a rather difficult and sometimes lonely bringing-up. Deanna Raybourn does a great job in still giving Veronica some vulnerabilities that round out her character nicely.
Like, Julia Grey, a Curious Beginning is a mystery. This first book deals with figuring out why someone seems to be targeting Veronica. I would probably say that, for me, this was mystery-light. I didn’t think it was difficult to figure the “big reveal” out early on, but I liked seeing how everything fit into place. I think the mystery portion could have been solved rather quickly, but the page time would have been cut down by a lot, so Deanna Raybourn takes this opportunity to really give readers a great introduction to this new cast of characters and their personalities and quirks.
For me, the best thing about A Curious Beginning was the budding relationship between Veronica and Stoker. Stoker is a friend of the Baron. The Baron asks Stoker to look after Veronica until the Baron decides the next best move in figuring out who is after her. Stoker (some might say like Brisbane) is a man of mystery. A taxidermist covered with scars and tattoos who certainly has some stories in his past, but they are stories he doesn’t necessarily want to share. Of course he doesn’t really know what to do with Veronica once he meets her and the banter between these two characters is hilarious. There’s definitely a connection between them, but, at this point, neither of them are willing to give up their views on relationships quite yet (plus Veronica’s rule about London men of course). There’s also a trust that has to be built up between them. It’s nice to see both parties acknowledging the chemistry even without acting on it. I love this kind of slow-burn relationship. It makes the (hopeful) payoff at the end all the more satisfying.
I think A Curious Beginning was a great first book. Now that we’re familiar with the names and places, I look forward to seeing where Deanna Raybourn takes the characters next.
A CB –
The entire Veronica Speedwell series is fantastic. The writing is wonderful, the plot is engaging. I have reread this series a few times because I truly enjoy the two main characters. Their interactions are so organic and flow well. I’m a big fan of Raybourn’s style. Her description (of settings and characters) are transportive.
jeanne adamek –
In some ways this story wasn’t as I expected it to be. Deanna Raybournn is a master of words. She puts together dialogs that are witty, full of confidence, exasperating but never boring. The author’s main characters (Lady Julia Grey in her first series, and Veronica in this one) are seemingly strong and eloquent, sometimes dramatically frustrating so. They (the main characters) meet men that are also dominant but accept the woman the way they are (at least after a while), making the conversations between them so satisfying.
What I didn’t expect was that the story was even faster paced. The author had me moving through places and situations that kept changing so quickly that I couldn’t bare to put the book down, but still had to read very carefully less I miss something. Some of the places visited were strange–but still fitting. The story was well told. I admittedly enjoyed every moment of reading.
And for me, a bonus was that even though Veronica was very much her own self, I still felt the presence of Amelia Peabody lurking!
Maria Valente –
Fãs de Bones e Castle que gostam da estética vitoriana precisam ler esse livro!
à 2023 e eu tenho muito mais séries literárias iniciadas hoje do que jamais terei séries concluidas provavelmente na minha vida. Felizmente esse não é o caso de Veronica Speedwell. Comprei esse livro em junho de 2021, em um mês li os 7 livros que até então tinham sido lançados, dia 07/03 desse ano saiu o oitavo livro da série, e após reler meus dois volumes favoritos da série (o 1 e o 4), li o oitavo no mês do lançamento.
Sem dúvida não são uma obra prima da literatura, não serão um clássico em alguns anos, mas os livros são muito divertidos, os personagens são cativantes, o humor me encantou, e os mistérios são instigantes. A série é principalmente de mistério/aventura, e o romance está em segundo plano, é um slow burn beeem slow, é bom não esperar um romance histórico tradicional com sexo explicito porque demora uns bons livros para o casal ficar junto, e quando ficam o romance é fade to black.
Recomendo muito para quem é fã de Castle e Bones porque a vibe é a mesma, você vai torcer por anos pelo par romântico, comemorar cada flerte como se fosse uma grande vitória, mas ao mesmo tempo se divertir muito com o elemento central que é cada mistério que a Veronica e o seu companheiro vão ser levados a resolver (cada livro tem um caso diferente, então até a natureza procedural/procedimental está aqui).
Esse livro especificamente é uma ótima introdução da dinâmica dos personagens, as habilidades e falhas de cada um (sim, a veronica é teimosa como uma mula, se irritar com ela faz MUITO parte, a admirar também), boa parte da história se passa em um circo ambulante, e o cenário circense logo de cara evidencia o tom lúdico que permeia todos os livros da série.
Recomendo muito darem uma chance para A Curious Begining!
Gauri –
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It has all entertainmening elements suspense, humour, romance. I had already read part 3 and 4 of this series and was well aware of the main suspense. But it was a terrific read. Not to mention the huge crush which I have developed for Stoker.
Lou Lou G –
Absolutely loved reading this book. An easy read that transports you back in time to London in the 1800s .