You start reading, skipping over the publisher's information and the dedication. Those are never interesting. You open to the table of contents instead, hoping for some more hints about what the book will contain.
Unfortunately, the chapters are not titled at all. So you decide to take the plunge.
The first chapter begins with a British-sounding general speaking to his soldiers, marching back and forth. It reminds you of things Uncle Andrew talked about when he spoke of the Weltkrieg. Then the general brings in a young woman and her daughter, and a great many others, and orders them all executed.
The narrative lingers over the guns being raised, the barrels wavering as the conscience of the soldiers fights with their desire to obey orders, the pleading and the terror of the hapless innocents.
You skip over what comes next, flipping several pages ahead. Your stomach is twinging, and you aren't certain if you want to read what comes next.
The next chapter opens with the titular Vanessa waking from a nightmare. It's described only vaguely, but you think that it's about the events of the chapter before. She is sleeping next to a man, and her thoughts on him are thick with contempt.
She leaves his bed, dressing before a mirror, her form described thoroughly in a way that makes you blush, and then she begins sneaking through his house, searching for something, something she intends to steal.
Even for such a trashy dime novel, you find it a bit much how wicked everyone is. She steals some documents, kills the man, makes a witty remark at his corpse, and begins to leave when some soldiers try to apprehend her.
She fends them off and begins her hunt for the general who tried to kill her years before.
She seduces men and kills them, fights off attackers, sneaks into buildings. She's morally bankrupt, cruel, and vicious, but you find yourself admiring her relentlessness and strength. Even when captured, and threatened obliquely with horrible fates, she is as brave as a soldier.
You find yourself wanting to be like Vanessa, but for a good cause.
Because while her desire for revenge might be understandable, the people she associates with are not. They want to burn churches, to kill men and women running charities and take them over for themselves, to seize property from its rightful owners. Vanessa works with them gladly when their paths cross, even helping blow up a building that you think is supposed to be like Parliament.
And at every turn, their victims are made to seem like they deserve it.
You begin to think about what your version of the story would be like, one where Vanessa is a good person of class and morals, and decide you are going to write it.
But first, you are going to finish the book, so you can write a better version of it. As you get to the end, you find something even more shocking than the story: a list of stories the authors of books by "The People's Stories Publishing Cooperative" have written and tours they are going on.
There's going to be a stop in your town in a day or so...and now you are wondering if you should go, to give the fool who wrote this or a book like it a piece of your mind, or perhaps simply see what kind of person would write it. It might be dangerous, but you are a White. If they know who you are, they won't dare lay a finger on you.
Sylvia has been saying it would be fun to see a radical's rally, albeit from a safe distance...you won't get the chance to share your opinions with anyone, except for your dearest friend anyway, but it would be good to see her and she would be so impressed if you could take her to a rally, she would think it's so daring!
Or maybe you should take the mature path and go tell Mother. She will be scandalized by you reading such a book, but she'll recognize that dealing with whoever is sneaking books like this into the mansion is more important. And perhaps she'll convince Father that something needs to be done about the stop by this publishing cooperative...
[] Go to your mother. She won't be happy that you read the book, but she should know about it. Someone in the household is bringing such trash in.
[] Call Sylvia, sneak out to meet her, and watch the rally to see what it's like.
[] Sneak out and go by yourself. You have some things to say.
