SciFi/Fantasy Novella Review: Miranda in Milan by Katharine Duckett

Miranda in Milan by Katharine Duckett

If there is a work of Shakespeare that genre writers love to weave into their works - either by reference or by adaptation - it's The Tempest.  Miranda in Milan is obviously more than either of those things - it's a straight sequel to The Tempest, taking place after Prospero and Miranda get back from the island.  As you might expect, it's a story reacting to some of the biases present in the original text,* with the story dealing with race and gender in a way Shakespeare never would, as it tells the story of a young woman (Miranda) discovering her own agency and sexuality in her first full experiences with the real world.  And it's pretty good at doing this.

*Fair Warning: I haven't read The Tempest since High School, which was a long time ago.



Quick Plot Summary:  After the events of The Tempest, Miranda expected to join Ferdinand in Naples as his wife, but instead, her father Prospero takes her back with him to his castle in Milan.  There, Miranda finds herself forced to wear a veil at all times and surrounded by servants who seem scared to look at her, and whisper things behind her back.  And to make it worse, Prospero not only ignores her, but seems to once again be practicing magic for some unknown purpose.  Lonely and confused, Miranda finds comfort in a new companion, a woman named Dorothea, and together the two attempt to discover why Miranda is so ostracized and what Prospero seems to be up to.  And as Miranda grows closer to Dorothea, she finds herself having feelings toward the other woman, which make her question what she knows about love and what she wants from her own life.

Thoughts: Miranda in Milan is a really well done novella, even for someone such as me who only remembers the broadest strokes of The Tempest (and was helped by Wikipedia).  The plot kept me guessing more than a few times (i expected the reveal to be something wholly different than it was) but definitely works, and Miranda as a character is really good, as she adapts to a society that is the opposite of welcoming and begins to learn her own true feelings.  And the conclusion is very satisfying, resolving both the love story and the overall plot in nice fashion.  The story isn't quite perfect - despite a solid backstory, I didn't really feel like love interest Dorothea existed for any purpose than to be a character for Miranda to resolve around and wish she had more to do outside of Miranda (part of this is a result of the POV always being Miranda's), but otherwise it's very good and well worth your time.