The Prince and the Dressmaker

In 19th century Paris, a Belgian prince and a talented dressmaker strike up a deep friendship over a shared secret and a passion for fashion. I'll try not to spoil it, though, okay, it's not a HUGE secret.

So I think the critical reviews of this comix (of which there are not many) do make a good point: this places modern, 21st century sensibilities and sensitivities in a 19th century context, and stretches that anachronism to the point that it's basically a fluffy, feel-good fantasy. Why, not long ago in the 20th century - even in the late 1990s - the prince's “secret” was still being portrayed as a sinister, scary sign of taboo depravity (I'm thinking specifically, e.g., of The Talented Mr. Ripley).

That said, I think anachronistic historical fantasy like this is just as important as utopian futurism like Star Trek The Next Generation (TNG): we need to have a vision of how things COULD be, and indeed, there's often no really good reason they're not this way. I regularly use TNG as a benchmark for how I want to conduct myself, how I imagine the “ideal” of some behavior is: “well, what would they do in a post-scarcity, enlightened 24th century?” I'm not even joking. Utopias are hard to write convincingly, but they are SO important and so powerful when they are convincing. Similarly, I think a middle grade historical fantasy of how gender norms CAN be fluid, and people CAN be accepting, is also so important. Imagine being a 12 year old reading this? Kids are so good at that: at pointing out the illogical inconsistencies of our ape-hierarchy, average-dumb society. They haven't spent years and years and years marinating in a social stew that put pressures on them to think in a certain way. I'm an old Millennial/young gen Xer, and much has already happened (socially/politically) in my lifetime that I just never would have imagined possible. This book is one of those books that helps you imagine! And so, I say, LET THE KIDS IMAGINE A BETTER WORLD!

Okay, so all that aside. I always adore Jen Wang's art - she has a beautiful, fluid, charming style that is just really lovely to read. Bravissima!