The Heiress Effect

 

The first sentence of Courtney Milan's novel, The Heiress Effect, is: "Most of the numbers that Miss Jane Victoria Fairfield had encountered in her life had proven harmless." 

This sentence introduces us to one character, the precisely named "Miss Jane Victoria Fairfield." Her name already speaks of a particular time and situation. "Miss" means unmarried, and probably from a past time and a social group where people address each other formally. "Jane" is a common name, simple. As a first name, it suggests a woman without pretension – unlike "Victoria" which is long, flowery, and invokes Queen Victoria. The middle name suggests a much more powerful and high status person than the first name – as if the plain first name is a cover for a more assertive center. "Fairfield" sounds simple, again – the combination of two common, pleasant words, easily pronounced and both starting with "f." 

If you imagine a woman named "Jane Fairfield" and another named "Miss Jane Victoria Fairfield," how do they differ? The two extra words show Courtney Milan's attention to detail, and they change my view of the woman described significantly. 

There are other signs of attention to detail in this sentence. The two uses of "had" show careful ordering of events. "In her life" is almost too precise – where else, after all, might Miss Fairfield have encountered anything? "In her life" could be omitted – but leaving it in, if we read this as a close reflection of how Miss Fairfield thinks, shows her as fussy and particular. If we read it as what to expect from the narrative to come, it tells us to count on clarity and fine focus. "Numbers" and "had proven" are words from science or mathematics – they also suggest careful, rigorous, detailed work. 

When it comes to creating tension, the first and last words here do a lot of the work. "Most" implies "but not all" – put "most" together with "harmless" and we hear that while most are harmless, some are harmful. What harm has come to Miss Jane Victoria Fairfield? 

And what is that harm due to? "Numbers." Here is an intriguing mismatch of expectations. It's not numbers that we expect to do harm. How can such abstract concepts hurt someone? Nor are "numbers" the problem we expect a "Miss Jane Victoria Fairfield" to grapple with. "Suitors," perhaps, would have been the term that fit with that name. 

The melding of two unexpected fields – an upper class woman of a previous time and mathematics – adds some mystery to the sentence. If all the words had come from only one of these fields, the story would have tighter bounds. Instead, with at least two fields in play, the story begins with a bit more surprise and complexity. 

This sentence is a hook, because it creates tension with "most" and "harmless." (Those are two words that remind me of Douglas Adams when combined, although his exact phrase is "mostly harmless." However, separated as they are, and without more pointers, I wouldn't call this a reference to him.) It is also a promise, because the name "Miss Jane Victoria Fairfield" is exactly the kind of name found in historical romance, and because the careful words suggest that if I like complexity and attention to detail, I will like this story. 

Did that sentence lead me to read on, and did the book fulfill its promise of an experience I'd enjoy? Yes, reader, they did. 

Background and frame by Ken Silbert