Glamourist Histories: Of Noble Family, Mary Robinette Kowal

Glamourist Histories, Book 5 (final of the series)
Of Noble Family
Mary Robinette Kowal
ISBN: 9780765378361
The couple get dragged to Antigua, to Vincent's estranged family lands, and find corruption and simmering hatreds.

This book is the last in the series, and Kowal doesn't hold back.  By now we expect that things will go as poorly as they possibly could for Jane and Vincent, so I suppose the failure was mine, in not imagining quite how bad that could really be.

Vincent's older sibling contacts him - his father has died, and there are administrative duties at the plantation that must be handled by a male heir - would Vincent please go?  A grudging acceptance is quickly regretted as Jane is revealed to be pregnant again on the journey, and even more unwelcome surprises await the couple once they arrive.

The conditions and realities of life on a slave-holding sugar plantation are not avoided nor are they glossed over.  They actually become one of the key points of the plot, as the very modern and kindhearted sensibilities of Jane and Vincent are confronted with the sad and horrible conditions that faced slaves of all sorts.

This was a much darker book than any of the others, and there is a lot of emotional and even physical trauma dealt out with a liberal hand to everyone.  Still, the setting and characters hold true (even new ones) and there are flashes of humor and even whimsy - our regularly-scheduled Doctor Who cameo is joined by a Princess Bride reference!  These lighten up the whole without trivializing the serious nature of the problems to be surmounted, and once more, I feared for the characters.

I'm sad to see the series ending, as I'm quite in love with Jane and Vincent, but I am impatiently waiting the next project coming down the line!