• Etiquette & Espionage

  • Finishing School, Book 1
  • By: Gail Carriger
  • Narrated by: Moira Quirk
  • Length: 8 hrs and 55 mins
  • 4.3 out of 5 stars (3,855 ratings)

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Etiquette & Espionage  By  cover art

Etiquette & Espionage

By: Gail Carriger
Narrated by: Moira Quirk
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Publisher's summary

This young adult steampunk series debut set in the same world as the New York Times best-selling Parasol Protectorate is filled with all the saucy adventure and droll humor Gail Carriger's legions of fans have come to adore.

Fourteen-year-old Sophronia is a great trial to her poor mother. Sophronia is more interested in dismantling clocks and climbing trees than proper manners - and the family can only hope that company never sees her atrocious curtsy. Mrs. Temminnick is desperate for her daughter to become a proper lady. So she enrolls Sophronia in Mademoiselle Geraldine's Finishing Academy for Young Ladies of Quality.

But Sophronia soon realizes the school is not quite what her mother might have hoped. At Mademoiselle Geraldine's, young ladies learn to finish...everything. Certainly, they learn the fine arts of dance, dress, and etiquette, but they also learn to deal out death, diversion, and espionage - in the politest possible ways, of course. Sophronia and her friends are in for a rousing first year's education.

©2013 Gail Carriger (P)2013 Hachette Audio

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What listeners say about Etiquette & Espionage

Average customer ratings
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What a waste of time

Dumbest book ever. I ended up using it on sleep time to put me to sleep

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Sassy!

A fun, clean adventure that the whole family can enjoy. I loved it and will continue reading this series.

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    4 out of 5 stars
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Cute Young Adult Story

I enjoyed listening to this, but it is a little juvenile for me. It is along the lines of Harry Potter, but not as imaginative. Still a cute story with a strong little girl as protagonist. Her mother enrolls her in an Etiquette school which turns out to be a school training the young lady into a magical masterpiece.

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Above Average YA Book

This book is suprisingly engaging. I found myself really enjoying it immediately. It is witty and fun, and does not take itself seriously at all. It is a nice change from all of the dystopian fantasies and melodramatic love stories that seem to be prevalent in the genre right now.

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Nancy Drew for the modern age

Some youth fiction is great for all ages. This is a good book, but it really is for young girls. I would say middle school age. The story features young girls who are typical in the sense of being competitive and cliquish, but whose supposed "finishing school" is teaching them to be spies and assassins. Several characters are charming and issues of race, class and gender are all addressed.

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A YA with CLASS!

After the first few chapters of Etiquette and Espionage, I bought the next 2 books in the series.(Both are great, and I've pre-ordered book 4) It's simply a brilliant portrayal of a fantastical steampunk universe, set in Victorian England.

You are completely immersed in a world with robots, hot air balloon ships, schools for evil geniuses and finishing schools for young ladies of (deadly) quality. Oh... AND Werewolves and Vampires.

Being set in the Victorian era, etiquette and decorum reign, which is hilarious along side the espionage part. The names are perfect, as some are completely ridiculous. (Lord Dingleproops? Mrs. Barnacle-Goose?) But you completely believe everything. The writing makes you love the characters, but also moves enough in the plot to make it thrilling! Sophoronia is one of my favorite literary characters now, but there are so many in the books to love! Soap, Dimity, Vieve! It's such a colorful and exciting world that I can't believe it's not more mainstream! It's excellently written, and surprisingly relevant. Very "Harry Potter-esque" I would say. The whole idea of the characters going to a secret school and taking strange classes in eye-lash fluttering, deception training, dancing and poisons.

Also addressed are the issues of race and class in an era where the divide for both was enormous. Done tastefully, historically accurate, yet very open to multiple things.

If you are tired of the Dystopian YA, switch it up from being a kick butt rebel heroine, to a young lady of quality! (Who honestly, is a kick butt rebel heroine.) :)

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    5 out of 5 stars
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So perfect!

I love to describe this series, as if Jasper Fforde & Meg Cabot wrote a steam-punk Harry Potter series that is different than everything else. It's lovely and fun and hard to put down.

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    2 out of 5 stars
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Meant for a younger audience

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

I think this book was great if you are from the ages of 10-12. I think it is a good story line for younger children, but doesn't have the depth that is necessary for a more mature reader.

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Different!

When I purchased this book, I had no idea it was a "steampunk" novel, including werewolves and vampires. I don't like stories including those, and normally would've stopped listening, but this book grabbed me from the first, and kept me laughing! It helped that the werewolves and vampires were a minor part of the story. No mysteries, but plenty of action. The description of the courses at this school really tickled my funny bone - Advanced Eye Fluttering; Handkerchief Dropping Techniques! Bahahahaha! I enjoyed reading about Sophronia's adventures, and I will probably read more in the series.

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    4 out of 5 stars
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Cute

Cute, but overall a bit silly. I have to hand it to the author, quite creative.

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