If you like your women as cruel as they are beautiful, you may fall hard for Philippa Stockley's darkly witty novel, A Factory of Cunning, which follows an exiled French aristocrat as she pimps and swindles her way through London in the summer of 1784. Having been routed from Paris by a mob (for her involvement in a scandal), our resourceful heroine set herself up as a brothel keeper in Amsterdam, hiding behind her faithful but almost equally heartless servant Victoire. When the marquise's past misdeeds pursue her in the form of an assassin, she and Victoire flee for the English capital, where she assumes the name "Mrs. Fox" for reasons too ribald to reveal here. In journal entries and letters--especially to her Dutch admirer and protector Hubert van Essel, who enlists her in a long-simmering revenge against a former friend--"Mrs. Fox" describes the havoc she wreaks before stepping daintily out of danger, lifting her skirts to show her pretty ankles. In the spirit of Les Liaisons Dangeureuses, though composed in a higher key, A Factory of Cunning is the very definition of a guilty pleasure. --Regina Marler

In the "Factory of Cunning" Philippa Stockley manages to achieve success in a tough project. She takes Madame de Merteuil in her hand and gives her a voice that is both new and true to her Laclos roots.Although we do not have an equally amusing and equally heartless Valmont here, we have a more dangerous sociopath to curdle our blood: Earl Much. Stockley weaves a clever, cruel story which is more English than French this time and Merteuil fits in London almost as perfectly as in Paris.

Most of the time sequels to popular classics are big fat failures and I confess I did not have my hopes high on this book. I have to say that I was very happily surprised and I recommend it to all Laclos fans.

Ms. Stockley has mastered the art of writing letters & journal entries like a saucy tart or a dandified fop in the 1780s, and has produced a book sure to please those readers who find themselves thinking that Jane Austen would be a wee bit more interesting if she'd rebelled just a tad against her role as a clergyman's daughter...

This is a witty (and in truth, a rather nasty) little book, told via letters between the story's stars and completely in character. Careful reading will leave you laughing at the dripping sarcasm, innuendo and political jibes peppered through the correspondence which tell this story. The reader is lured into the sticky middle of a web spun from intrigue, lies, corruption, pimping, pandering, love, vengeance, incest, spoiled innocence, and a smattering of other distasteful topics. Attention to the author's footnotes (which are written as if the novel were an edited collection of letters) and end notes will provide additional entertaining detail and sarcasm for your reading enjoyment.

Mrs. Fox, our main villainess, has escaped murder by mob in France after ruining the lives of several innocent people for sport, feining small pox, duping the masses and escaping to Amsterdam. There she sets up shop in a brothel - high end, as if it matters - and begins a friendship with a man which grows, reluctantly, into love. Fox flees to England in effort to escape the clutches of an enemy bent on revenge and lands in London. She soon finds herself bored and for pleasure begins to tinker with the lives of others, until her paramour in Amsterdam discovers her past, reveals his, and inadvertantly sets in motion a string of devastating and coincidental events. Realizing too late that Mrs. Fox is more than up for the deprived challenge he posed, he writes desperately to save her from herself only to realize that she has drawn in a number of other unsuspecting people to do her dirty work and provide her with amusement. As the post is slow and Mrs. Fox is stubborn, things get a bit out of hand...

If you are looking for a temporary escape into the seedier side of London during one of it's more colorful periods, open the pages & enjoy A Factory of Cunning.

The sharp, and sharp-tongued, Mrs. Fox is a charming anti-heroine. She lies, she steals, she cheats...but you can't help admire her wittiness and bravery as she picks her way through English society (most of whom are also lying, cheating, and stealing from each other with impunity). As each of the characters she encounters connects to others in turn, and the intricacies of their relationships become apparent, Mrs. Fox's final encounter with her pursuers draws closer and closer. Stockley's arch language is wonderful, and not to be missed if you enjoyed reading the original Liasons Dangereuses.

An epistolary novel that offers a "sequel" to Les liaisons dangereuses.

I found Factory clever, often devastatingly funny, wonderfully differentiated in its voices and considerable in its tension -- the latter two qualities being difficult to achieve in epistolary novels. Some of the plot elements -- Violet's experiences and the long-lost sister -- are well-worn, but the manner of telling is so fresh that it doesn't really matter. "Mrs. Fox", unrepentantly awful and cheerfully unsinkable, is a gem.

I think some readers will have trouble following the plotline, especially in the beginning, and the quick-spoken, intricate period diction, particularly in Mrs. Fox's voice, may lose some, but the book rewards close attention. It would appeal to readers who enjoyed books like SLAMMERKIN and THE DRESS LODGER, but its tone is far more arch.

Recommended.

First, one of the reviewers says that this novel is set during the era of Charles III. It's actually set during the Georgian era (1784 making it during the time of George III), one of the most interesting periods of history for historical writing, I think.

This epistolary novel is a continuation of Dangerous Liaisons. It's a good attempt, but I wasn't thrilled with it. Basically, it centers around the plot of what might have happened if the Marquise had escaped France and made it to England to wreak whatever havoc she might wreak there, while also helping a friend destroy a villainous earl.

The characters in the novel are very well-written: Mrs. Fox is very sharp-witted and clever, Lord Danceacre and his friends are funny and entertaining, and Violet is by turns hilarious and ridiculously stupid. Stockley also manages to give her writing that witty spark that is so necessary in novels centering around a clever, selfish woman. The plot itself is also tightly woven, bringing seemingly random occurrences and people together in the end, as all novels of this type should do.

Something, though, just never seemed to click for me. Maybe it was because there was not even one character with whom a reader could really sympathize. Or, more likely, perhaps it was that the supposed villain of the plot was hardly ever in the novel, except to be described by other people. Set up as someone who would finally match wits with the marquise, I was disappointed by the lack of interaction and repartee between the two. Considering all the dire warnings about the earl's vengeful and almost satanic nature, he was a bit of an anticlimax to me.

However, the book was an enjoyable read, and definitely conveyed the mood of the times. Stockley clearly has a sharp wit, and it comes out in her portrayal of several characters. For that, it's worth reading, though perhaps it's better to get it from the library or borrow from a friend than to purchase it yourself.