Fiction

Further Reading for Sorcerer to the Crown

Read up on the non-fiction and fiction influences for Sorcerer to the Crown. You know, just to tide you over until the sequel.

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Jessica Yang

Staff Writer

Jessica grew up in Silicon Valley, yet somehow ended up rather inept at technology. She dreams of reading luxurious novels all day in a greenhouse, and is guilty of writing puns for money. Majoring in Japanese and English literature made her both wary and weary of the Western canon. She can be bribed with milk tea. Follow her on Twitter @jamteayang.

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You’ve read Sorcerer to the Crown. Wait, you haven’t? Go away, and come back when you have. Curl up in a cushy armchair with some hot milk tea and get on it.

Sorcerer to the Crown by Zen ChoNeed convincing? Sorcerer to the Crown is what happens when Jane Austen meets post-colonial fantasy. It begins when Zacharias Wythe inherits his father’s staff and becomes England’s first black Sorcerer Royal. During this trying time, he encounters the fiercely practical and magical Prunella Gentleman, who plays a crucial role in the fate of English magic.

Sold? Sold.

Annnd now that you’ve read Sorcerer to the Crown, you might as well keep that streak going and continue reading. Author Zen Cho has been delightfully transparent about her influences, as seen in this Book Smuggler post and various interviews. (This is where I admit that I’ve been following her blog on and off, ever since I first read The House of Aunts. Eep.)

So if you’re looking for further reading after Sorcerer to the Crown, I’ve got your back:

jonathan strange and mr norrellJonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke – Much like Sorcerer to the Crown, this is a fantasy set in 1800s England with the kind of keenly observant humor that Jane Austen was so good at. Be warned that it is a thousand (!!) pages long.

A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett – Prunella’s situation in Sorcerer to the Crown as an orphan at a school for girls mirrors that of Sara Crewe in A Little Princess. But of course, the headstrong and capable Prunella takes a very different approach to her situation.

Cotillion by Georgette Heyer – Read anything online about Sorcerer to the Crown, and Heyer’s Regency romances will pop up for comparison. Despite being a Huge Nerd (TM) , I’d never heard of Georgette Heyer’s books until after I’d read Sorcerer to the Crown, embarrassingly enough. I am a much happier creature now that this has been remedied.

As for non-fiction reading, there’s The Letters of the Late Ignatius Sancho, An African and Britons: Forging the Nation 1707-1837.

cover of Spirits Abroad by Zen ChoAnd if you want more by Zen Cho, definitely check out Spirits Abroad, which features short stories about vampiric aunties, ghosts with atittude, and more. But if you’re looking for something in longer form, there’s also The Perilous Life of Jade Yeo, a romance novella set in the 1920s.

So there. You’ve got plenty of reading to keep you occupied until the sequel to the Sorcerer to the Crown comes out (*casts longing glance at the future*). You’re welcome.