I stumbled upon Marie Brennan’s A Natural history of Dragons by accident. I’m an amateur natural historian and I was looking for new books on this subject when I found this title. Seeing that I’m also rather fond of anything to do with fantastical creatures, it immediately drew my attention. Even more so thanks to the beautiful anatomical drawings of a dragon on its cover. My compliments to the artist: I’ve been dreaming my entire life of the skill to draw like that.

I was a bit disappointed when I realized that it was a fiction novel pretending to be a non-fiction autobiography instead of…a fictional scientific book, if you get my drift? Nevertheless, the book wound up in my shopping cart rather quickly.

Dreaming about dragons

A Natural History of Dragons is the fictional autobiography of Lady Trend, a famous dragon connoisseur. The narration reminded me strongly of the Victorian novels of manners. The story is told by a young lady of substantial means who is bound by the strict social rules and etiquette of society. If you’ve read Bridgerton by Julia Quinn (or seen it on Netflix of course) or anything by either Jane Austen or the Brontë sisters, you’ll know what I’m talking about. “Dear reader, it might not be proper for a young lady to admit to it, but I kissed him”. Things like that. It’s quite interesting to read this style in combination with a fantasy world, I’ve never come across such a book before.

Although the book’s setting is clearly inspired by Victorian England, the story takes place in a world of fictional countries, religions, cultures etc. Oh, and dragons, of course. Almost forgot to mention them. Lady Trent, or Isabella as she’s still called in this book, has always been different from the other young ladies. She’s less concerned with finding herself a rich husband than she is with finding a match with a large library who will give her the freedom to explore her interest in nature further. As of a young age, she has been fascinated by dragons but she can only really start to focus on them when she meets her future husband. Secretly, of course. Preserving baby dragons on alcohol is not exactly considered a proper pastime for a wife.

Austen, Newt Scamander & Agatha Christie

The writing is fluent and really draws the reader in. It’s fascinating to discover how easily Marie Brennan brings to live a fantasy world that mirrors our own. At the start of the story, it feels a lot like a new retelling of Pride and Prejudice in which you keep expecting to encounter Newt Scamander (if you do not know who that is, you urgently need to watch Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them…amazing fantastical beings and the actor is quite nice too 😉).

Thanks to her husband’s contacts, Isabella is able to join a scientific dragon expedition which is her first step towards her fame later in life as a renowned dragon naturalist. From there on, the story becomes more fast-paced and more adventurous. However, it also started to lose me a bit as of then. A lot more is happening, but it becomes increasingly a travel narrative at first and then also a whodunnit reminding you of Agatha Christie. Definitely entertaining, but mixing four genres becomes a bit much towards the end.

I would definitely recommend this book to readers who love both the English classics and a good dose of magic. I didn’t really feel the need to immediately buy the second book, though. But I have to admit that the covers of the next parts of the series still very much attempt to convince me otherwise, so I know I will not be able to resist them on the long term. Three out of five gemstones:

Age Category: Adults, but also suitable for young adults.

Trigger Warnings (click here, may contain spoilers)

Very mild. Warnings for misogyny and miscarriage.

Do you want to discover more?

If my review inspired you to pick up the book, don’t hesitate to check it out at Goodreads or at the below online stores. If you decide to buy it via one of the following links, I will receive a small percentage at no extra charge for you!

Amazon.nl: Paperback English Edition

Amazon.nl: Hardcover English Edition

Amazon.nl: The Complete Memoirs of Lady Trent (Kindle)

Similar to this

As I mentioned above, A Natural History of Dragons is only part one of the Memoirs of Lady Trent series by Marie Brennan. There are six parts in total and additional short stories can be found on her website. Aren’t those covers simply stunning:

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If you’re as obsessed with dragons as I am, definitely take a look at How to Raise and Keep a Dragon by John Topsell (pseudonym of Joseph Nigg). You never know when such knowledge will come in handy!

Who doesn’t know the quotation: “Reader, I married him”? If you like the style of A Natural History of Dragons, I would recommend you to consider some of the English Classics, like Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë or Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen.

Finally, I also would like to recommend the movie series Fantastic Beasts. But you’ve already seen it, right? RIGHT?