#39: Mary Robinette Kowal, Glamour in Glass (Glamourist Histories #2)

[kareila]

This book quickly dispenses with the niceties of English society - instead, Jane and her new husband are honeymooning in Belgium and get caught up in Napoleonic politics, which is a welcome change of pace. Jane struggles constantly with the expectations forced on her by gender and status, even as she proves herself to be inventive and resourceful on several occasions. She wants to share in her husband's fame as a glamourist, since she is equally skilled and they work together. She is also forced to confront the possibility of having a child, and the restrictions on her ability to practice her art that would result. The novel has a rushed ending that holds out the possibility of a hopeful resolution to these problems, but no easy promises.