Valour and Vanity by Mary Robinette Kowal

The only resources they had were the clothes upon their backs, and even those they owed money for.” Unable to find employment, Vincent becomes dispirited, especially when he must depend on the meager salary Jane manages to secure from a nearby convent. Realizing their “friend” is a con man who has disappeared with all their notes and finished work, Jane and Vincent are left broke, in debt and under suspicion: “They had no funds and no friends at all. Once they make progress on their revolutionary glamour process, however, they're detained by the local police and accused of fraud. Without papers or money and with Vincent suffering a concussion from the attack, they're grateful for the gentleman’s help. On the way, they're waylaid by pirates, then rescued by a fellow passenger who takes them under his wing in the city. They have a letter of introduction from the prince regent and hope to work with an artisan to experiment on infusing glamour-magical illusions of sight, sound and light-into glass. Renowned glamourists Lord and Lady Vincent become the victims of an elaborate scam that leaves them in dire straits until they conceive of a daring strategy to strike back.Īfter an extended voyage with her family, Jane and Vincent are anxious to find some time to themselves, traveling to Murano.

Valour and Vanity by Mary Robinette Kowal