The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol. 4

The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol. 4 (2021) is a work of historical fiction by American author Beth Brower. It is the fourth installment in the popular epistolary series, which Brower initially self-published before it gained viral momentum on social media and was acquired by major publishers. Set in London in the autumn of 1883, the novel continues the diary of Emma M. Lion, a resourceful young woman struggling to maintain control of her inherited home, Lapis Lazuli House, against the claims of her parasitic cousin. As she navigates her precarious finances, Emma’s life is complicated by the demands of her formidable Aunt Eugenia, a cast of eccentric neighbors, and a deepening bond with her enigmatic tenant, the war photographer Niall Pierce. Brower is also the author of the standalone novels The Q and The Beast of Ten, as well as the Books of Imirilla fantasy trilogy.

Through its intimate diary format, the novel juxtaposes high-society comedy with Emma’s private, intense grief, exploring the chasm between public presentation and internal reality. The book examines the theme of Women’s Struggle for Independence as Emma leverages her status as an unmarried property owner, a position newly fortified by the real-world Married Women’s Property Act of 1882, to fight for her financial and personal autonomy. This struggle requires a constant, draining negotiation of The Performance of Social Roles, from inventing a fictional chaperone to placate her aunt to adopting literal disguises for clandestine missions. As her blood relatives prove to be sources of conflict and control, Emma comes to rely on a Friendship as an Emotional Anchor via an unconventional network of male friends who provide her with loyalty and unconditional support.

This guide refers to the 2021 Rhysdon Press edition.

Content Warning: The source material and guide contain depictions of cursing, gender discrimination, emotional abuse, illness, and death. 

Plot Summary

In the autumn of 1883, 20-year-old Emma M. Lion is focused on reclaiming her London home, Lapis Lazuli House, from her nefarious cousin, Archibald Flat, who squandered the inheritance that her late parents left for her. Emma’s life in the St. Crispian’s neighborhood is defined by her precarious finances, managed by her banker, Mr. Penury, and her budding, unconventional friendship with her tenant, the enigmatic photographer Niall Pierce. As Pierce establishes his studio in her salon, their lives become increasingly intertwined through daily teas and written notes passed through a chink in the wall connecting their attic rooms. While her formidable Aunt Eugenia Spencer and beautiful cousin Arabella depart for the country to look for eligible bachelors, Emma is left to navigate London with her friend Mary Bairrage and her recently reconciled childhood nemesis, the handsome Roland Sutherland.

Emma’s quiet plans are disrupted by the arrival of Jack Hollingstell, a charming scoundrel to whom she owes two favors. He cashes in the first, demanding that she deliver a valuable ruby and diamond bracelet to a contact at a notorious dance hall, The Drunken Duck. To ensure her compliance, he subtly threatens her friends. At the dance hall, a costumed Emma is mistaken for a performer and accidentally pushed onstage, where her clumsy attempts to flee are misinterpreted as a comedic act. After the performance, she finds her target, who deftly removes the bracelet from her wrist. However, her escape is thwarted by encounters with her dissolute cousin, Damian Spencer, and then by the imperious Duke of Islington, who is shocked to find her in such a disreputable place. Islington forcibly escorts her home. Their heated argument draws the attention of the local vicar, Young Hawkes. The following Sunday, Hawkes delivers a pointed sermon about the hypocrisy of a “duke” judging a “dancer,” which spurs Islington to offer Emma a sincere apology.

Aunt Eugenia summons Emma to a weekend party at Mulberry Hall, where the socially awkward Charles Goddard ambushes her. Charles corners her and breathlessly details his plans for their future marriage, which includes 10 children. Emma has no intention of marrying him and stomps on his foot. The next day, she shoves him into a lake and later fakes an illness to avoid him for the remainder of the weekend. Back in London, a new crisis arises when Lady Eugenia initiates a correspondence with the fictional chaperone Emma invented to appease her aunt, a wart-covered woman named Agnes Dowd. To maintain the façade, Emma enlists her artist friend, Saffronia March, to transcribe replies to Lady Eugenia. Soon after, Pierce brings Emma to an informal dinner at Islington’s home, where she is surprised to find the party consists only of the two of them, Islington, and Young Hawkes. The evening is remarkably comfortable, and the four form an unexpected, easy camaraderie.

The fragile peace shatters when Emma discovers an old newspaper announcing that Maxwell Stuart, her childhood love who was killed in Afghanistan three years prior, is finally being brought home for burial the following day. Emma is distraught because she lacks funds for the journey to Maxwell’s home in Berkshire, but Pierce insists on paying for her travel and accompanying her. At the somber graveside service, Maxwell’s older brother, Evelyn, gives Emma a small gold pendant bearing her initials that was found on Maxwell’s body, confirming his identity. The next day, Emma and Pierce have tea with Maxwell’s mother, Lady Stuart, but the visit is interrupted by Maxwell’s cruel father, who verbally attacks Emma, blaming her for his son’s enlistment. Pierce furiously defends her. In the garden afterward, a bitter Evelyn insults Pierce, who responds by punching him. Before Emma and Pierce depart, Lady Stuart gives Emma a final, unopened letter from Maxwell.

On the train back to London, Emma reads Maxwell’s final words to her, and her grief overwhelms her. Pierce sits with her, offering silent, unwavering comfort. They are met at the station by Islington, who intuits the situation and takes them to his home, where Young Hawkes is also waiting. The three men quietly surround Emma with their support. In the following days, Emma sends a quote from Maxwell’s letter to Lady Stuart to be used as his epitaph. Life in St. Crispian’s reasserts itself when a local group of mischief-makers, The Reprobates Ten, stage a mock coronation in her drawing room, crowning her their queen. On All Hallows’ Eve, Emma, Pierce, Islington, and Hawkes gather in the church graveyard. As they reflect on their strange bond, Hawkes tells the story of the Spartan King Leonidas, who, facing an army whose arrows would blot out the sky, famously declared that he would fight in the shade. Despite Leonidas’s death in the battle, the four friends embrace the sentiment as their own, silently acknowledging their shared resolve to face their own battles together.