Marvelous is a novel that comes with a built-in audience. Who can resist the prospect of a Beauty and the Beast retelling based on the real life “beast” who inspired the fairytale. I grabbed the book before anyone in our team could claim dibs. If ever a story deserved a gorgeous retelling, it’s the stranger-then-fiction life of Pedro González, a man afflicted by hypertrichosis , who was ‘collected’ as a human oddity by Catherine de Medici, and who married a woman of her court.

I was only a few chapters in when I began to wonder if author Molly Greeley felt the weight of expectation so keenly she over-compensated, serving up four hundred pages of prose that was sometimes inspired, lush, and powerful, but in equal measure distant and  so over-worked, it sometimes felt like a writing school assignment.

I’ve never been a fan of third person present tense, even when handled masterfully by the likes of Hilary Mantel. It seemed an odd choice for Marvelous, but maybe that’s just a matter of personal taste. Likewise, contrived nods to present-day preoccupations are a distraction in historical novels. The gay kiss between Pedro and the Duke of Nevers, supposed childhood friends, was a cringeworthy example in Marvelous. As far as I know, authors don’t (yet) have to score ESG points, so Ms. Greeley could have done herself, and her readers, a favor by dumping that pointless scene.

It was not the only wrong-footed choice in her novel. The story was told in an episodic manner, spun together in a highlights reel of sorts, which was made even more disjointed by viewpoint switches that did not feel organic and certainly didn’t help deepen character. When a novel is character-driven, as this one was, it’s a problem if no one seems to be at the wheel.

Authors work hard to realize their vision. Experiencing their story through the lens they provide can be a delightful, unexpected experience. So, I stuck it out and finished Marvelous, hoping for a pay-off. In the end, the story drifted to a conclusion I’ll generously call bittersweet. If I’m honest, I felt let down.

When I started on this review I wanted to put my finger on what was missing in this potentially great story. Obviously, Ms. Greeley worked hard – no one can pull 400 pages out of thin air. In-depth research would have enriched her story and enabled her to flesh out her characters and period in greater depth. Pedro and his wife Catherine’s life story was inherently tragic and touching. Ultimately, it needed to be told with at least as much passion as Ms. Greeley spent on polishing her prose.

Marvelous was reviewed in ARC format through Netgalley. Cover image courtesy of William Morrow © 2023.  Review by Pat Baker © 2023 The Regency Chronicle.