The Agency: A Spy in the House

The Agency:  A Spy in the House, by Y.S. Lee
ISBN:  9780763652890

London:  Walker Books, 2009

Plot -Stronghearted and brave Mary Lang has developed her skills of thievery, driven by poverty and being an orphan, to the degree that at 12 years old she finds herself on the gallows, not quite listening to the judge but waiting for her eventual death.  She eventually loses consciousness, and instead of having died she finds herself in the compassionate and caring hands of Anne Treleaven, head teacher at Miss Scrimshaw's Academy for Girls.  Mary is 17 when the story at hand takes shape, and she has accomplished all the learning she can at Miss Scrimshaw's including becoming a teacher herself, and so she is offered the choice to participate in what the school is really about--providing Scotland Yard with highly intelligent, well trained female investigators.  These investigators are part of The Agency.  Mary becomes Mary Quinn for her first assignment and is to go live in the Thorold household as the lady attendant and chaperone for the bossy daughter, Angelica.  The father, Henry, is suspected of smuggling and fraud.  Mary dives into her work right away only to meet James Easton, a young man present in the house for much the same purpose as Mary.  James, however, is protecting his own family from the possible shame of his brother's marrying Angelica if her father is indeed a criminal.  James and Mary are drawn deeper into mysteries and even a murder than they ever suspected, and Mary learns that when nothing is as it seems trust even in ones own self is not always wise.

Critical Evaluation - The story here is fantastic, driven by a simple but nonetheless engrossing plot and a wonderful heroine.  Lee is able to include in Mary's personality and courage a modern sense of self in the midst of her Victorian manners, and the outcome is delightful and utterly believable.  Mary takes life on without hesitation, but also shows herself to be a real older teenager as well, complete with insecurities and hesitation born of going through so much for the first time.  In her person, the reader sees the place that was expected for Victorian young women to take questioned and in many ways defied.  She is funny, headstrong, and yet fully of her own time.  The atmosphere that Lee paints is also vivid and fully developed.  She includes details of place and milieu that allow the reader to relax and be swept up in this historical fiction story.

Reader's annotation - Mary is not quiet, well-mannered, dependent, nor honest when she stands on the gallows to receive her death sentence, but then again, neither were any of the girls chosen to live and be schooled at Miss Scrimshaw's Academy for Girl.  Why was she chosen, and will she succeed at her assigned destiny?

Information about the author - Y.S. Lee was born in Singapore, but grew up in Vancouver and Toronto, Canada, according to her website.  She has a doctorate in Victorian Literature and Culture and is the author, also, of Masculinity and the Working Class, a nonfiction piece based on her research.  Obviously, her careful study of Victorian times had a huge and positive influence on her ability to portray Mary's world so clearly and in such detail.  In an interview with the author of the blog, So Many Books, So Little Time, Lee reveals that although the cultural and literary background of Victorian London was already in her awareness from her graduate studies, she thoroughly enjoyed trekking around London and studying old maps and museums to prepare for writing The Agency. 
Genre - YA mystery
Curriculum Ties - None to speak of
Booktalk ideas - 

1. Read from the section where Mary first hears about The Agency.  Begin with pg. 26 with "Felicity turned her marevellous eye on Mar;..." and end on the same page with, "Have you any questions thus far?"
2. Read from the section where Mary jumps into the wardrobe only to find James already there.  Begin on pg. 55 with, "She returned to the filing cabinet," and end on pg. 56 with "And it was...behind her?"

Reading level - Booklist asserts grades 8-12.  I agree, both for reading level, content, and interest.

Challenge issues - None evident.

Why I included this book - The Agency  is recommended by Greg Leitich Smith on his wife, Cynthia's, blog.  I find her and his recommendations to be solid ones.  Further, this book falls into the YA mystery genre, but it could easily be Chick Lit as well, and because of that, I especially appreciate and recommend its heroine, Mary.  She defies not only the mores of her time, the seemingly easy way that most girls chose to survive, marrying "well," but also our time.  There is certainly a love interest in James, but Mary stays on her own track true to her broad, independence-oriented education.