For a proper upper-class spinster and author of endearing novels about women, Jane Austen surely does encounter a vile assortment of ruffians, footpads and killers. In “Jane and the Waterloo Map,” Austen is faced with her most dastardly adversary yet.
In London to care for her sick brother (whose health fails to improve much, thanks to his physician’s insistence on bleeding), Jane is invited to Carlton House to see the Regent’s Library. The reason for the visit, Austen discovers, is to inform her that she is being invited (read: instructed) to dedicate her next book to the Regent. As she thinks little of the man, Jane is not at all happy about the honor.
Nonetheless, she is pleased she will be allowed to use the Regent’s library, and with that thought, she inspects the room only to stumble on Col. MacFarland, a Scots Greys cavalry officer, in the throes of death. His dying words: “Waterloo Map.” What could it mean?
Jane quickly determines the man was poisoned by yew. She and Dr. Baillie, a medical doctor who happens to be nearby when MacFarland breathes his last, discover a book that is awry on the shelves. It contains the very map the dead man mentions. But what an odd map. It is really a watercolor with a love note written on it. Still, there are several numbers at the bottom — a cipher, Jane realizes!
As a lady, under the protection of her brother, Jane can hardly solve the murder on her own. But wait! Who does she run into but Raphael West, son of the famous painter and a secret agent of the British government, a man Jane encountered in her last mystery. Readers will recall that Jane’s true love and fellow sleuth, Sir Harold Trowbridge, was killed a few books back. Will Raphael take his place? There’s a good possibility. “Not since Lord Harold had I known a man of such canniness — or private principle. I did not hesitate to trust his judgment,” Jane confesses in her diary.
The two join forces, along with Jane’s brother, Henry, and niece, Fanny — the Colonel’s servant, Spence and even the Duke of Wellington — to find the meaning of the map, which they believe will lead them to the killer. There are suspects aplenty, including the doctor, MacFarland’s sister and her fiancé, even the unknown artist who created the map.
“Jane and the Waterloo Map,” the 13th mystery in the Jane Austen series, is the work of Denver author Stephanie Barron. You might think that after a dozen other works about Jane in her reticule, the author might get stale. Instead, Barron just gets better. The research is meticulous. The book is a glimpse into styles and manners, not to mention the place of women, in the early 19th century. “Jane and the Waterloo Map” is as enjoyable as an Austen novel itself.
Contact: Sandradallas@msn.com
