#lady trent

[maddiesbookshelves]

A Natural History of Dragons, by Marie Brennan

The memoirs of Lady Trent narrate the life and research of Isabella Trent, world-renowned naturalist now an old woman, whose wit and humor are merciless towards imbeciles. In the first tome, Isabella, first as a young girl and then a young woman, challenges class and period conventions to satisfy her scientific curiosity and accompany her husband on an expedition in search for dragons in Vystrana...

I was scared that the memoirs format was going to be boring to read, but it was actually the best way to tell the life story of a woman who has lived so many adventures, I really liked it. The good thing about memoirs is that it allowed Isabella's personality to shine, especially her humor, and to have some hindsight on what happened. The teases about future events that she reveals later in the series really make you want to read what's next

Volume 1 introduces themes and ideas that I thought were fleshed out better later in the series, and what I considered as small flaws (a lot of things were repeated so many times I started thinking "yeah, okay, I get it") are way less prominent

As for Brennan's worldbuilding, it's deceptively simple at first glance (Victorian era but make it fantasy), but actually had so many details that make it extremely rich. Everything is inspired by countries/cultures from the real world, but Brennan mixed a lot of them and I thought it was really well executed. And the further along you get in the series, the more details sprinkled in the first 3 books come together to form the final picture. When I got to the end of book 4, I wanted to scream because of how delightful and well put together the reveals were

French version under the cut

Les mémoires de lady Trent racontent la vie et les recherches d'Isabelle Trent, naturaliste mondialement connue et désormais vieille dame, dont l'esprit et le style empreints d'humour s'avèrent sans pitié pour les imbéciles. Dans le premier volume, Isabelle, petite fille puis jeune femme, brave les conventions de sa classe et de son temps pour satisfaire sa curiosité scientifique et accompagner son mari lors d'une expédition à la recherche des dragons de Vystranie...

J'avais peur que le format des mémoires soit un peu ennuyant à lire, mais en fait c'était la meilleure façon de raconter la vie d’une femme qui a vécu autant d’aventures, j’ai beaucoup apprécié. L'avantage des mémoires c'est que ça permettait au personnage d'Isabelle de nous dévoiler sa personnalité, notamment son humour, et d'avoir du recul sur certains évènements. Les références à des évènements qu'elle nous dévoile plus tard dans la série donnait vraiment envie de lire la suite

Le tome 1 introduit des thèmes et des idées que j’ai trouvées mieux développées dans les tomes suivants, et ce que je considérais comme de petits défauts (pas mal de choses sont répétées de nombreuses fois donc au bout d’un moment je me disais "oui, c’est bon, j’ai compris") sont beaucoup moins présents

En ce qui concerne le monde créé par Brennan, il paraît relativement simple au premier abord (époque victorienne mais version fantasy), mais en réalité, énormément de détails le rendent extrêmement riche. Tout est inspiré de pays/cultures du monde réel, mais mélange pas mal de trucs et j’ai trouvé que c’était très bien fait. Et au plus on avance dans la série, au plus les détails disséminés dans les ~3 premiers tomes s'emboîtent et le tableau final se précise. Quand je suis arrivée à la fin du tome 4 j'avais envie de hurler tellement les révélations étaient croustillantes et bien amenées

#the memoirs of lady trent #lady trent #a natural history of dragons #memoirs of lady trent #marie brennan #books #book series #book reviews #booklr #booklr community #book recs #book recommendations

[bookishfae]

i understand isabella camherst bc i too would marry a man who had a library and shared my hyperfixation

#lady trent #isabella camherst #a natural history of dragons #marie brennan #jacob camherst #a memoir by lady trent

[logictoinsanity]

Isabella Camherst is the most autistic, aro ace bitch I've ever heard of, and while I will not be accepting questions at this time, I am only on the second book, so im open to growth and fluidity. she's 100% autistic and queer though, I'll fight u on that

#lady trent #a natural history of dragons #memoirs of lady trent #tropic of serpents #marie brennan

[two-hands-toward-the-sun]

“did you just ask for my hand in marriage?” MOMENT OF ALL TIME. ROMANCE BEGAN HERE.

#the memoirs of lady trent #lady trent #memoirs of lady trent #subella #suhail ibn ramiz #isabella trent #in the labyrinth of drakes

[checkoutmybookshelf]

I can't decide if Lady Isabella Trent showing up in the Temeraire universe would be amazing or SUUUUUUUUUUUPER bad. I am convinced that Isabella and Perscitia would get along like gangbusters. What do we think?

#lady isabella trent #lady trent #isabella camehurst #temeraire #captain william laurence #perscitia

[bookwyrminspiration]

oh to be diagnosed as monster dragon gender by the island you shipwrecked on’s genderqueer outcast and prescribed gay marriage. what a delight

#voyage of the basilisk #lady trent memoirs #lady trent #mutuals you don’t understand I’m not exaggerating at all #like it sounds like a shitpost it’s just the plot #she was literally told to marry a woman to control her dragon gender #by the genderqueer outcast who also got gay married to control her dragon gender #I’m not making this up #none of this is exaggerated!! this is canon!! #oh books are delightful

[elexuscal]

AU where Lady Trent exists in the Temeraire universe. you just fucking know she'd have a blast forwarding dragon science, sociology, and rights forward like 50 years.

#temeraire #lady trent

[somebogwitch]

Natural History of Dragons Audiobook Review

Tiktok is all about fantasy with dragons in it right now and I love a band wagon (so long as that wagon contain a dragon)

#audiobook #natural history of dragons #Dragons #booktok #booklr #marie brennan #lady trent #fantasy

[derangedpracticality]

I love the way Marie Brennan writes romantic relationships in these books. I'm re-reading book 1 right now and thus thinking specifically about Isabella and Jacob.

There's this quote about friendship/relationships, originally by Albert Camus, which says (paraphrased and translated) "Don't walk in front of me, perhaps I won't follow you. Don't walk behind me, perhaps I won't guide you. Walk beside me and be my friend." It's been my favourite quote about love for years, and it's such a delight to see these characters inhabit the sentiment expressed by these words.

Yes, they walk side by side, and share a vision, and they are friends and partners in the best sense of the word! I enjoy this way of writing relationships so much.

At one point, after the cleansing ritual, when Isabella and Jacob are in Drustanev without Hilford and Tom, she thinks about how unlike her and Jacob's relationship is from everything she was taught to expect from love and marriage, but how real and present it feels. I love that part. This is not only my favourite kind of fictional relationship dynamic, it's also what feels the most real and emotionally raw to me, personally. I relate to it a lot, and it's unexpectedly refreshing and relaxing, even soothing, to see it depicted in a story.

#a natural history of dragons #lady trent #jacob camherst

[theladysiona]

I redid my bookshelves today. I got the black one to celebrate a promotion at work and had to put it together myself lol my hrt has definitely affected my muscle mass because I was struggling but I think it looks amazing!!

#books #bookshelves #shelfie #trans #trans girls who read #science fiction #fantasy #sff books #booklr #stormlight archive #lady trent #dune #star wars #doom patrol #naruto #cosmere #mistborn #Elantris #warbreaker #brandon sanderson #frank herbert #grant morrison #saga #hellboy #incal #n k jemisin

[readinthedarkpod]

KRISTEN: Speaking of Jamie Westenberg... This man! I love him so much. He is like... *B giggles* KRISTEN: He is very like, prim in the street, freak in the sheets. Okay? Like, he has— LAETY: oooooo!! KRISTEN: He has like, a dirty mouth! LAETY: YES!!!!

Click here to find out where you can listen to the full episode (spoiler alert: anywhere podcasts are!)

#Two wrongs make a right #chloe liese #much ado about nothing #a natural history of dragons #marie brennan #lady trent #books #bookblr #book podcast #book club #podcast #book club podcast

[birdylion]

I kind of want to make a new side blog, one for the Lady Trent series. I feel for small fandoms like this one, a side blog is well suited to keeping together what little fandom there is. Only, a side blog may be suited, but I’m not good at maintaining them. My other one is basically dead (but that’s also because of my growing distance to the books and might well be different in this case).

I have a perfect name for the blog. I spent today making a header image. Now I only need the time to actually say all the things I want to say about this series.

#birdypersonal #lady trent

[braindos]

Total drama adventure time au !

#I love themmmm #total drama #adventure time #tdi #at #td #td fanart #total drama fanart #adventure time fanart #Harold total drama #Cody total drama #leshawna total drama #lady rainicorn #finn the human #jake the dog #Trent total drama #prismo #total drama au

[ourladyofomega]

#NIN #Nine Inch Nails #Trent Reznor #industrial #get fucked #Valentine's Day #omega #our lady omega

[gothsugarbunnidisco]

fuck it, government hooker lady gaga trent reznor fancam

#kittyposting #mine #fancams #trent reznor #nin #cute reznor #nine inch nails #flashing tw #??? maybe #lady gaga #government hooker

[terapsina]

#2 for the book worm ask game!

(ask game)

2. Favorite fantasy book(s).

(Eeeeexcellent, I do love fantasy books. Though how I'm gonna narrow it to only a few I've got no idea. Okay. I'm going to remove the very obvious choices like Lord of the Rings (though it is one of my faves)).

---

Monstrous Regiment. I love the entire Discworld series (especially The Witches) but I've also got a huge soft spot in my heart for Terry Pratchett's take on 'a girl dresses like a boy to go to war' (and thinks of everything except some spare socks in- erm... the right place). Along with Polly, the squad consists of a vampire, a troll, an Igor, a religious fanatic and two very, very close "friends" (and yes, the official summary put the friends in quotes too). And everyone has their own secret.

I love basically everything about this book and I can't tell you guys any of it because it would spoil all the fun.

The Goblin Emperor. This one's a story filled with light. Maia the half goblin son of the elven Emperor was never supposed to take the throne (or to ever even be at court. because racism). And then everyone ahead of him dies in a single "accident" and suddenly he's the new Emperor. Maia is a good person, and a kind one, and despite everything that gets thrown at him he keeps hold of that understanding of right and wrong and refuses to bend.

(I have to mention that the language of the writing is kinda hard to get into in the beginning, and the characters's have very complicated and long names, but once you get into it it really did enhance the story for me).

Good Omens. An Angel and a Demon try to stop the apocalypse and instead lose the Antichrist. I've loved that book for like a decade now and if I don't put it on a list of my faves that list would be a lie.

The King of Attolia. Third in The Queen's Thief series and my favorite one out of all of them. I've always enjoyed Outsider POV in fics. And here is a book that just... proves why. We've got Eugenides and Irene, the Thief and the Queen, and we know them from the two previous books. And adore them. But the story isn't from their POV, it's from the POV of Costis, a Queen's guard who's suddenly gotten assigned to the King. The useless, weak, undeserving king that as far as Costis is concerned doesn't deserve to even kiss the Queen's boots. And it's hilarious to read the story from the eyes of someone who knows so much less than us. And so satisfying, as he begins to understand.

(I recommend the whole series and am personally glad to have read them in the published order but Megan Whalen Turner has stated that she wrote them in a way that allows you to jump in at any point you want).

The Raven Tower. The story is from the viewpoint of a sentient, omniscient rock whose name is Strength and Patience of the Hill and it is the GREATEST THING EVER. The gods are real and must be very careful with their words, because if they speak a lie the reality will alter to make that lie the truth but if the lie is bigger than the power of the god... well. Inspired by Hamlet.

(the book also has a trans man as the main character; the other main character? The sentient rock is the narrator but the largest part of the story focuses on Eolo).

A Natural History of Dragons. The first book from The Memoirs of Lady Trent (and honestly it would probably be more honest to say that every single book from this series fits the category of fave but I'm putting up the first here because this isn't a series where you should skip ahead). The book focuses on the life of Isabella as narrated by her older self. This is the story how a Scirland lady bucked all tradition and became a world renowned expert on the Natural History of Dragons.

(this series has a piece of my heart and always will).

---

(and finally, here's some more of my favorite fantasy books that I also adore and would totally ramble about but I got tired of typing).

#monstrous regiment #the goblin emperor #good omens #the king of attolia #the raven tower #a natural history of dragons #discworld #terry pratchett #katherine addison #neil gaiman #the queen's thief #megan whalen turner #ann leckie #the memoirs of lady trent #marie brennan #fantasy books #book rec #book recs #book asks #ask game #ask meme #answers #tinynavajo #terapsina rambles #terapsina's book rambles