The Modern Fairies by Clare Pollard

The Modern Fairies by Clare Pollard is the first book in a row with low rating. While usually I write a long review for all low ratings, this time I decided to just share a very short quote from the book.

At page 220 she wrote this gem:
“Last night he had a wet dream about Angelique – in which he took her from behind as she bent over the executioner’s block – that has made him feel obscurely sorry.”

I think the quote is enough to make it clear why I gave the book 1 star – it is unnecessarily crude, it doesn’t add anything to the story, and it is a rather strange inclusion in a book with the name fairies in it. I am puzzled by all the positive reviews this got.

I picked the book for a very good reason. It was a fictional biography of Madame Marie d’Aulnoy, a real lady who lived in France in the 17th century and who wrote fairytales, including my favourite one, White Cat. I bought her fairytales, but decided to read this before the tales. I was hoping for what was mentioned in the description, a funny romantic story with some bawdy comments. But no, it was a boring book with lots of people, with the author talking directly to the reader, and with crude sexual content like the one in the quote.

I do not recommend the book and I am annoyed that I read it. It was not long, but it was a wasted time. I read in the reviews on goodreads that the ending was good even if the whole book was not, so I skim-read some parts to get to the end. No, it was a truly awful book. I should have DNF it after the first “bawdy” comment or the first time she talked directly to the reader.