That Inevitable Victorian Thing

Johnson, E.K. That Inevitable Victorian Thing. 2017. ISBN 978-0-525-49352-5. Available as an audiobook from Overdrive.

At 18, Victoria-Margaret is poised to make her entrance in the world of adults. As the Crown Princess of the British Empire, and a descendant of Queen Victoria I, Victoria-Margaret has a heavy heritage to uphold, The Empire has long since adopted arranged marriages based on genetics for its royal family, so Victoria-Margaret will soon be matched with someone who will bring political advantages to the Empire.

Before her debut, she is allowed to go spend time with Elizabeth Highcastle, the daugther of a Canadian Admiral who is friends with her father, the Queen's Consort. Her father and royal mother hope that this last summer in semi anonymity will provide her with great friendships and good experiences. Arriving in Toronto with only Elizabeth and her family knowing her true identity, Victoria-Margaret transforms into Margaret Savage and joins Toronto's circuit of social events. Margaret has received her genetic profile from the Archbishop of Canterbury, and this profile is all of her information, except for her name so she can explore the Empire's genetic computer network for fun if she wants. Margaret sets up a profile for a girl called Lizzy.  At Elizabeth's debut, Margaret meets Helena Marcus, a shy and quiet girl.

Helena has always known that she would marry August Callaghan, heir to a lumber and shipping empire on the Great Lakes. From a tender age, they have spent all of their summers together, and now that Helena is preparing her own debut, she looks forward to August proposing. But then she discovers that her genetic heritage marks her as male. She is intersex, which means she has male characteristics including testes, and she will never bear children. Crushed, she doesn't know how to reveal this information to August, but she uses her male profile, which she named Henri, on the Empire's genetic computer network and soon attracts the attention of Lizzy, who is a perfect genetic match to Helena's Henry. Lizzy is funny and soon her and Helena's fake persona start to feel more than just a passing interest.

Meanwhile, August has been busy illegally bribing American pirates from attacking the Callaghan ships in the Great Lake, and now finds himself caught in a wheel of deceit that he wants to escape. Unwilling to drag Helena with him, he postpones his desire to propose, and instead casts about for solutions to his problem.

Soon the three of them find themselves spending the summer at Helena's cottage. Together, they have a chance to change the Empire for the better, if only they can get past their secrets.

Fans of Victorian England will enjoy this story of love and romance set in a near future where the British Empire survived and thrived. The characters are authentic, and their struggles to find their own identity is real.