Keep Calm & Read On: Bingeable Books
In this special series, our librarians are introducing you to more series that keep us reading long into the night. Our second feature is the The Pink Carnation series by Lauren Willig.
This series is one of my go-to recommendations for patrons who are looking for a historical fiction novel that has it all--a combination of romance, mystery, adventure and characters that grab the reader and pull them into the story. The first book in the series, The Secret History of the Pink Carnation, sets the stage for the next 11 books in the series. The reader meets Eloise Kelly, an American researcher headed to England to finish her doctoral dissertation on the Scarlet Pimpernel and the Purple Gentian, famous English spies who helped win the Napoleonic Wars. Eloise is invited to study the family papers of Richard Selwick, aka, the Purple Gentian, when she discovers a letter from 1803 that hints at another spy, a spy that no one has heard of--the Pink Carnation. What follows is a light-hearted romp as Eloise uncovers the romantic story of the Pink Carnation and the events that nearly changed history. Eloise also meets Colin Selwick, modern-day descendent of Richard and someone who may become more than Eloise's reluctant host at Selwick Hall,.
Each book in the series is a book within a book. Chapters alternate between the story of the Napoleonic spy ring and the story of Eloise and Colin. I found it easy to keep track of the storylines and characters. There were many a late night where I stayed up longer than I should have because I had to know what happened next with the Pink Carnation or with Eloise and Colin.
Willig has gone on to write standalone historical novels unconnected to the Pink Carnation series and I have enjoyed those as well. I always find myself going back to Eloise, Colin and the Pink Carnation, revisiting their adventures over and over again. I would recommend reading the series in order, especially later in the series, as more secondary characters are introduced.
All books in this series can be found in Poplar Creek Library's fiction
collection and in Overdrive/Libby. Check them out today!
Series recommended by
Jill B.
Popular Materials Manager