Lady Strange

Author at http://mmestrange.livejournal.com.

Proestigium (Harry Potter)

Reviewed by Kathryn A on 5th December 2011 (1)
Tags: Novel, AU, SSHG, Romance, Epistolary
Characters: Hermione Granger, Severus Snape
(326K, 51416 words)

Summary: An epistolary story based on the WIKTT 'Arsenius Jigger' challenge. There will be 42 letters in all. Correspondences trace the changing lives and times of the various characters in the HP universe as well as some new characters.

If academic papers make your eyes glaze over and Chemistry brings you out in hives, this is not the story for you. It was, however, the story for me.

I was already pre-disposed to like it, because I love epistolary romances. The addition of academic debates, Alchemical formulae, Latin and obscure quotes delighted me. (Fear not, the Latin is translated in the Author's Notes). This was very much a meeting of the minds for Hermione and Severus, at a level which illustrates their brilliance. The author uses her own academic knowledge and experience for this, and it shows.

My only disappointment is that we didn't see the climax of the story; just the before and the after. Perhaps the author felt that the event couldn't be told in a letter, and thus didn't tell us.