Book Review: My Imaginary Mary

My Imaginary Mary by Cynthia Hand
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

As a fan of irreverent historical fiction, I enjoyed the television series My Lady Jane immensely. Recently, I needed to be told by a friend that a book series existed, called the “Lady Janies” and I was told that I would look into it. Not advised, mind you, told. I also discovered the “Mary” series, of which My Imaginary Mary is a part of. And then that same friend had the audacity to recommend it to our book club as our next read.

I finished My Imaginary Mary last night and I am no longer annoyed at the friend that made me read it. 🙂 I loved it! Rather than try to summarize the book (I hate doing that, especially for those who haven’t read a book yet! Half the fun is in the journey of plot-discovery!) I will just say that it now makes perfect sense why this particular Mary would eventually write Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus and why her best friend (at least in this story) Ada Lovelace would become the world’s first computer programmer.

If you enjoy lighthearted storytelling, strong female characters, lush historic settings, sneaky cultural references, and huge books that somehow can magically be read in an evening or two, imagine yourself reading My Imaginary Mary. I rate this one at Five Silver Spoons.