#the memoirs of lady trent

[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

[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

[haveyoureadthisfantasybook]

vote yes if you have finished the entire book.

vote no if you have not finished the entire book.

(faq · submit a book)

#fantasy #books #A Natural History of Dragons #The Memoirs of Lady Trent #Marie Brennan #poll #result: no #l: English

[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

[derangedpracticality]

One of the most romantic moments of all time: Isabella and Suhail in the diving bell, observing tropical sea serpents for the first time ... and when Isabella looks at him she sees that he's been taking notes all this time while she was expressing her observations

#voyage of the basilisk #the memoirs of lady trent

[bookwyrminspiration]

I don't know where my post going "i have got to stop reading books with no/dead/inactive fandoms" is, but I need it again. Lady Trent memoir readers I am politely inquiring after your whereabouts

#lady trent memoirs #the memoirs of lady trent #memoirs of lady trent #god if only there was a consistent tag for it #there are people in the tag just seldomly #and I abstained from the tag for several months until I finished all 6 books (i'm including turning darkness into light) #and now I can go through it but everyone's so infrequent #i say as if I'll be anything but the same #but hey. if anyone wants to discuss lady trent topics I would love to listen or be present or be a part

[best-childhood-book]

Can I submit A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan for the fantasy tournament?

Of course! It's been added under The Memoirs of Lady Trent

#ask #submission #the memoirs of lady trent

[shsenhaji]

📚 April and May Reading Round-Up 📚

I wasn’t able to post my April round-up, so have both April and May together! I am glad that I was able to read more books for both of these months than in March.

I started a few new series (Tiffany Aching, Maisie Dobbs, the Craft Sequence), and continued a few other series (the Memoirs of Lady Trent, October Daye).

In April, I read:

- The Tropic of Serpents by Marie Brennan (very good, enjoyable and compelling, liked it even better than the second book, great relationships and character growth, liked the way motherhood and grief were tackled, touched on themes such as colonialism and research ethics)

- How Not to Marry a Prince by Megan Derr (cute, fun, somewhat heart-wrenching but with a lovely ending, liked the themes surrounding class and privilege)

- Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear (good, interesting, liked how it tackled healing and war and trauma, definitely cried at the end)

- Derring-Do for Beginners by Victoria Goddard (read it in one sitting, very relatable protagonists, loved the worldbuilding and the themes, happy to see younger versions of favourite characters, much growth and introspection, some of the emotional fulfillment will have to wait for the next book)

- I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy (listened to the audiobook read by the author, compelling, kind of horrifying and depressing, very funny, great prose, banger chapter endings)

In May, I read:

- Half a King by Joe Abercrombie (read it in one sitting, bittersweet, good, interesting worldbuilding and politics, great character relationships and interesting character growth)

- Birds of a Feather by Jacqueline Winspear (good, enjoyed it more than the first book, engaging, bittersweet ending, liked the themes)

- A Local Habitation by Seanan McGuire (very good, read it in one sitting, a bit less depressing than the first one, sad but with a hopeful ending, good character growth)

- Clary Sage by Victoria Goddard (amazing!!! delightful read, loved all of the characters, so very heartwarming, Hal my beloved)

- Three Parts Dead by Max Gladstone (read it in one sitting, loved the MC’s motivations and character growth, interesting magic system, loved the themes at the heart of the book, commentary on justice and policing and belief, taking on the patriarchy)

- Le Comte de Monte-Cristo, Vol. 1 by Alexandre Dumas (good, very political, very grounded in the societal issues and references of the time, thoughts on morality and justice and the prison system, poor Dantes, liked the different perspectives)

- The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett (amazing, read it in one sitting, loved the themes and Tiffany’s entire character and character growth, felt very much like the books I used to read as a child in the best sort of way, the frying pan!)

- Pardonable Lies by Jacqueline Winspear (highly enjoyable, compelling from the very beginning, better than the two previous books, much character growth and nuance)

#mine #books #reading round-up #half a king #joe abercrombie #maisie dobbs #jacqueline winspear #a local habitation #Seanan McGuire #victoria goddard #the tropic of serpents #the memoirs of lady trent #how not to marry a prince #megan derr #i'm glad my mom died #jennette mccurdy #three parts dead #the craft sequence #max gladstone #the wee free men #tiffany aching #terry pratchett #le comte de monte cristo #alexandre dumas

[birdylion]

I noticed you’re a Black Sails and Memoirs of Lady Trent fan which is a fairly niche overlap I share and implies to me you’re a person of immaculate taste. I just have to say that as much as I love James’ dragon speech, I’m forever cursed to hear “in the darkness, there be dragons,” and imagine Isabella popping through some wormhole yelling something like “actually dragons are mostly crepuscular!” And then they go burn down England together with their combined deranged practicality.

Thank you! Both are very dear to me for their own reasons. Glad to meet another fan! *waves*

Lol I love the idea that Isabella, in full adventurer's gear, bursts into this very intense moment with "well ACTUALLY …" (it's all very good that they're having this moment, but PLEASE could they have it in another place than where she wants to make some observations? she has listened to this for long enough but now, this inaccuracy, this is too much) *cue long monologue about dragons* *mystified glances between Silver and Flint*

Thank you for sharing your thoughts with me, the mental image is very amusing!

On a more serious note, now that I'm thinking about it: I don't think Isabella would burn down England/Scirland, though. Black Sails and The Memoirs of Lady Trent have a very different view on society, and the two characters deal with the rules of their society very differently. Isabella doesn't always act within the boundaries of her society - she pushes them, she circumvents them, and this is how she finds her way. But she always accepts them. Flint just refuses to accept the boundaries of his society. I think Isabella has neither need nor incentive to burn down her society. She can't do science if there's no society making that possible.

But let's try making a crossover! What I can imagine is Isabella working together with Flint as long as their goals align, similar to what Eleanor Guthrie does. So you'd have Flint in the same position he has in Black Sails' England: an outcast from Scirland's society who is trying to build his own thing by any means necessary. While the world of the Memoirs doesn't have an explicit equivalent to the Caribbean, the map of the world isn't complete, so we can imagine one. (I wouldn't place him on Keonga etc. for cultural reasons, let's not take this place from the people there.) He could absolutely live there and do his thing.

Now imagine he wasn't after the gold on board the Urca de Lima, but after a legendary dragon hoard (doesn't matter whether dragons do hoard in that world or not) that sits on top of the central mountain--a volcano of course--of one of the islands.

Isabella hears about it and has to team up with him to devise a plan that 1. lets her study the dragon and the possibility of dragon hoards and 2. prevents Flint from slaying the dragon.

A possible climax of the story could include yet another spectacular discovery for Isabella (I'm thinking along the lines of what they discover in Akhia, or maybe even the mountains; perhaps the hoard is (heh) Flintstone). I don't know about Flint's place in this story yet, my idea is very Isabella-centric and sidelines him a bit.

I'd have to move individual story arcs around so that Isabella's POV is still a more or less fun adventures, tonally, and Flint's POV is a rage-filled tragedy - I wouldn't want to lose these parts of the original stories.

But yeah, I can imagine them working together as long as they have aligning goals … but also, imagine the clash once it's clear they don't align anymore. In any case, they'd be a force of nature.

#the memoirs of lady trent #black sails #birdypersonal #ask

[skygemspeaks]

not to be dramatic but no proposal scene in fiction will ever be better than isabella's proposal to suhail in the memoirs of lady trent

#the memoirs of lady trent #in the labyrinth of drakes #spoilers #lady trent spoilers

[smalltownfae]

Title: Voyage of the Basilisk

Series: The Memoirs of Lady Trent

Author: Marie Brennan

Pages: 370

Rating: 3.5/5

In this third book in the series Isabella takes her son on the journey and is romantically interested in one character, which made for a more refreshing adventure in comparison to the former books.

I really liked the dynamic between the main character and her son, the new love interest and I also liked the captain of the Ship Basilisk. I am also starting to think that I really like to read about adventures at sea. The sea serpents and everything related to water were the most exciting parts to me.

This book has a trans character, which I appreciate. However, the way this character said that she doesn’t sleep with her husband rubbed me the wrong way. It wouldn’t be an issue if there was more trans representation in these books or if it was phrased in a different way, but it come of as if the character was disgusted by the mere thought of sleeping with a man, even though Isabella acknowledges that different sexualities exist. It still felt very cis heteronormative in that way.

Some plot beats from the former books are still present, which makes this series a bit repetitive. I guess that since Isabella is the main character and she is writing about her life she will always be special in some way in all of her adventures. No matter where she is there is something different about her and some plot convenience that allows her to explore this world and it’s fantastical creatures. That is how the author chose to solve that problem and I doubt it will change in the next books. I am just glad that the main character wasn’t once again kidnapped in this one.

This book was better than the one that came before and I hope that there is something different enough in the next books to make up for the repetitive parts in the series.

#voyage of the basilisk #the memoirs of lady trent #book review #2023 reads

[terapsina]

This here shows a little bit of why I really like the use of Lady Trent's voice for the writing of A Natural History of Dragons.

Lord Hilford was, of course, correct; but his insight did not go far enough. I envied Mr. Wilker, for the simple fact that our society made it easier to transcend class than sex. Which was not only unfair of me, but in some respects inaccurate: there is sometimes a greater willingness to make an exception for a woman than a man, so long as her breeding is good enough. But at the tender age of nineteen, I had not yet seen enough of the world to understand that.

The book is full of such occasional asides and they make me remember how much I like Isabella even in scenes which otherwise show her being a bit of a snob. Because it immediately shows that this isn't who she's always going to be, that she will grow through the years ahead.

Nineteen year old Isabella still thinks herself 'better' than those below her station (not to say she didn't show any ability to sympathize with the people of the working classes even young, as there had already been moments where she had used her privileged background to protect the livelihood of someone who would have been sacked without her interference (of course she only gets partial credit for that one as it would have been her fault if said person had been fired)). But by the time she is older, when her memoirs are being written, a lot of that early day snobbery has been reexamined and abandoned.

Isabella is immediately a very likeable character. Her complete fascination with dragons, her seeming abandonment of all self preservation whenever the possibility to study them gets within reach. And I do like her.

But because we're hearing the story from the point of view of her when she's decades older and with a lifetime of adventures, losses, successes and discoveries behind her, all the things that could have been really frustrating about Isabella are smoothed over by Lady Trent's own view of her memories.

#a natural history of dragons #the memoirs of lady trent #terapsina rambles #book recs #terapsina's book rambles #terapsina's tmolt rambles

[maddiesbookshelves]

This might just be my favourite series of the year, I love it so much 🥺

#i'm starting a propaganda campaign for this series #I've already gotten one of my friends to add it to her TBR #hehe #marie brennan #the memoirs of lady trent #mémoires par lady trent #le sanctuaire ailé #within the sanctuary of wings #currently reading #books #booklr #booklr community #book recs #book recommendations #DRAGONS

[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

[shayberri789]

Underrated Book Series Recommendations

Here are some recommendations for series I think don't get half as much hype or attention as they deserve. The first page has book details, the second has a summary and my review/opinion of it!

I've created plain text versions - these with image descriptions in the ALT - of the reviews below the cut for legibility.

#shay posts #I have another series to add but I first need to reread it since its been a while #also gotta get my hands on the rest of the series #its so under-appreciated that trying to find it is difficult lol #book recommendation #book rec #super powereds #a natural history of dragons #memoirs by lady trent #cradle #cradle series #wei shi lindon arelius #wei shi lindon #my hero acedamia #boku no hero academia #bnha

[derangedpracticality]

One of the things The Memoirs of Lady Trent do spectacularly well, and which I value very much in stories, is making me feel like I'm IN the landscape she describes. The mountains, the jungle, the ocean, the desert ... the descriptions are so visceral that it truly feels like they come from someone who has experienced it, under the circumstances she describes, no less, which I think is an impressive feat.

#the memoirs of lady trent