'The Stockholm Octavo' by Karen Engelmann

The Stockholm Octavo, Karen Engelmann (3.5)

This book is an interesting historical fiction about a people and time of which I was not familiar:  the Swedish monarchy and political environment of the late 1700’s, during the French revolution.  Sweden’s king was more aligned to France’s King, as were many of the Royalists of Sweden (some were Paris transplants).  The story is cleverly told as a young man in Stockholm beginning his career must find a wife to keep his job. He plays cards for leisure and ends up delving into the Tarot card-like reading called ‘Octavo’.  He must find the 8 players in his game (the Prisoner, the Prize, the Trickster, etc.) in order to fulfill his destiny – which he believes is to find a wife. As this happens, he becomes embroiled in the politics of the Patriots vs. Royalists. Intertwined in this story is another interesting cultural phenomenon of the times: the making and use of the decorative fan. Engelmann has described a high-society woman’s fan as a combination of the ultimate seduction tool, an extremely valuable work of art and possibly a weapon! Overall I found this a fun and interesting read.