Review: Embarkations by Liz Duffy Adams & Delia Sherman

Title: Embarkations
Author: Liz Duffy Adams & Delia Sherman
Series: Whitehall #1
Publication: May 18th 2016 by Serial Box Publishing
Genre: Historical Fiction
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Google Play | iBooks | Kobo
Rating: 4/5

Review copy received in exchange for an honest review.

England gets a new queen in the first episode of Whitehall, an episodic royal tale full of true history and sensual intrigue, new from Serial Box Publishing.

Winds of change carry a young Portuguese princess towards her destiny as the sun rises on Whitehall. Sheltered but curious, Catherine of Braganza arrives in her new English home full of eager excitement, but what this pious foreigner’s arrival will mean for the Merry Monarch she is to wed – and the mistress who holds his heart – is what everyone is talking about.

This episode is brought to you by Liz Duffy Adams and Delia Sherman, who know every embarkation is an adventure about to happen.

"Embarkations" begins the 13-part serial, Whitehall, presented by Serial Box. Intrigue, romance, and scandal fill the palace halls in this historical tale, collaboratively written by Liz Duffy Adams, Delia Sherman, Barbara Samuel, Madeleine Robins, Sarah Smith, and Mary Robinette Kowal.

I'm so very excited about this new serial written by various authors! It's the first serial I've come across that is historical fiction and I'm, as some people might know, a bit of a history nerd... okay, a HUGE history nerd... so I couldn't help but like this first part of Whitehall so, so much.

Whitehall, season 1, episode 1: Embarkations is set in 1662 and is about Catherine of Braganza and her marriage to King Charles II of England and is written by Liz Duffy Adams and Delia Sherman. Both are new-to-me authors but I really liked their writing because it really felt like it took me to the era in which this story takes place. 

As this story takes place in 17th century England there is of course a lot of political intrigue, scandal and there is never a boring moment. The character all are intriguing in their own way from Catherine herself to King Charles II to his mistress Barbara Palmer to the ambitious Jenny. 

I, for one, am very excited to read all the other parts in this 13-part serial. If they're all as good as Embarkations was, then I'm sure I've found my new favorite story.

About Liz Duffy Adams

Website | Twitter

Liz Duffy Adams is a playwright whose play neo-Restoration comedy Or, premiered Off Broadway at Women's Project Theater and has been produced 40 times since, including at Magic Theater and Seattle Rep. She's a New Dramatists alumna and has received a Women of Achievement Award, Lillian Hellman Award, New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship, Weston Playhouse Music Theater Award, and Will Glickman Award. Her plays include Dog Act; A Discourse on the Wonders of the Invisible World; Buccaneers; Wet or, Isabella the Pirate Queen Enters the Horse Latitude; The Listener, The Reckless RUthless Brutal Charge of It or, The Train Play; and One Big Lie.

About Delia Sherman

Website | Twitter

Delia Sherman is the author of numerous short stories, as well as the novels Through a Brazen Mirror and The Porcelain Dove. She has judged the Crawford Award for Best First Fantasy Novel, The Jame Tiptree, Jr. Award, and the World Fantasy Award. She has taught SF and Fantasy writing at Odyssey: the Fantasy Writing Workshop, the Clarion Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers' Workshop, The Hollins University Graduate Program in Children's Literature, the Alpha Workshop for Young Writers, and workshops at colleges and science fiction conventions all over America.