Chapter Summaries

Georgiana traveled toward Dieppe, hearing stories about salt, alkali, and the sorceress Ceridwen while asking Fargeon about a doctor who had served the Duke of Orleans. After feeling nauseated on the road, she wondered whether she wanted a child, while still hoping Severus would return for her.

• Georgiana heard travelers discuss the salt tax, salt-based alkali, and a factory in Saint-Denis, then asked the girls whether they knew the doctor who had invented the method.
• A conversation about crucibles led Georgiana and her companions to hear the legend of Ceridwen, Gwion, and Taliesin, and Georgiana answered Feilier's question about the constellation Lynx.
• The party stopped at a roadside inn, where Fargeon explained how Marseille soap was made and Georgiana asked him about the doctor from the travelers' story.
• Georgiana felt nauseated after lunch, and Matilda watched her expectantly as Georgiana considered whether she wanted a child while still hoping Severus would return.
• Georgiana remembered Merope and the girl who had brewed Amortentia, touched her bracelet, and reflected on being unable to have the person she loved most.

In Dieppe, Georgiana noticed inconsistencies in the dimensions and quality of cotton cloth, prompting Chaptal to explain the differences between Britain’s rapidly mechanizing cotton industry and the regulated wool industry. Bonaparte ordered the cloth tested and asked to visit a factory, while the group’s discussion left Georgiana considering how standards might affect innovation.

• The convoy reached Dieppe, and Georgiana joined the officials’ workshop visit after Bonaparte pointed out the harbor’s fish market to her.
• Georgiana compared two bolts of cloth and questioned their inconsistent lengths, widths, and quality, leading Bonaparte to order them spread out and weighed.
• Chaptal explained how differences in spinning and weaving affected cloth, and how the Spinning Mule had enabled Britain to produce fine cotton fabric at great profit.
• The mayor said Dieppe had no Spinning Mule because Britain prohibited its export and barred visitors from inspecting one.
• Chaptal contrasted the loosely regulated cotton trade with the traditional rules governing wool, and Bonaparte asked to visit Chaptal’s factory.

Georgiana discussed textile production, machinery, and trade with Bonaparte during their visit to Dieppe, finding a possible opening for peace. After they retired to an old villa, she shared her idea with him, and a British gentleman arrived seeking her.

• Georgiana learned how printing rollers, spinning machines, guild rules, and fabric standards shaped the textile trade.
• Georgiana considered fine cotton cloth a possible opening for peace because Britain and France had not established standards for it.
• Georgiana and Bonaparte left the factory tour and settled into a neglected former nobleman's villa, where the smoky fireplaces angered him.
• Georgiana whispered her idea to Bonaparte and compared it to taming a wild horse.
• Fiegel announced that a British gentleman wished to see Georgiana, while Bonaparte told him to wait.

Georgiana and Bonaparte enjoyed an evening on the beach before a battle between a Horned Serpent and Garudas drew her into action. After she saved the wounded Horned Serpent, Rosier revealed that the Quiberon Quafflepunchers had arrived to join the national Quidditch team she planned to organize.

• Georgiana and Bonaparte walked along the beach, joked, chased each other, and talked about her wish to live somewhere secluded.
• Bonaparte spotted warships firing at a battle offshore, and Georgiana flew toward it on a broom.
• Georgiana saw the Horned Serpent defending itself against Garudas, while Thor Rosier and his pink-clad wizards struck the birds with lightning and drove them away.
• Georgiana brought the wounded Horned Serpent ashore, treated it with Dittany and antidote, and ordered Rosier to notify the British Ministry of Magic about Muggles who needed memory charms.
• Rosier introduced the Quiberon Quafflepunchers as the players for Georgiana's planned national Quidditch team, leaving her and the team in an awkward silence.

Georgiana met the British gentleman, William Pitt the Younger, in Saint-Rémy Church, where they discussed trade, political influence, and her staged performance in the market. Pitt left her question unanswered and asked what she intended to do.

• Georgiana considered the obstacles Artemisia Lufkin faced in organizing a Quidditch World Cup and left the French relief matters to the government.
• Georgiana followed Fiegel to Saint-Rémy Church to meet the British gentleman.
• Pitt identified Georgiana as Pomona and asked whether she had arranged the tariff reduction.
• Pitt described the political battles over cotton taxes and the public opposition that had helped defeat him.
• Georgiana asked what Pitt was planning, and he asked what her market performance meant.

Georgiana considered the exploitation of child apprentices and the obstacles facing Robert Peel’s factory reforms while reflecting on the social changes brought by industrialization. After speaking with a member of Parliament, she left the church with Fiegel and the Frenchmen, determined to think carefully about what she might weave.

• The chapter described how industrial growth and the spread of factories increased demand for child labor and worsened conditions for poor workers.
• Robert Peel’s proposed protections for apprentices passed the House of Lords but stalled in the House of Commons amid factory owners’ opposition and concerns about enforcement.
• The chapter contrasted Britain’s unregulated cotton industry with guild rules that restricted looms, apprentices, and working hours in other trades.
• Georgiana connected the plight of factory children with Harry’s failure to save Severus and Arthur Weasley, recalling that an antidote and a Blood-Replenishing Potion could have saved them.
• After speaking with a member of Parliament, Georgiana left the church with Fiegel and a group of Frenchmen, deciding she needed time to consider what she would weave.

Georgiana discussed labor, political change, and the rise of industrial cities with William Pitt the Younger, then met Grogan Stump on her way home. She explained her political observations to Bonaparte and ended by asking about Birmingham's Lunar Society.

• Georgiana and Pitt discussed Chaptal's ideas about guilds, workers' unrest, poverty, and the effects of the power loom.
• Georgiana praised Robert Peel's eloquence and argued that leaders needed people willing to support them before she left Pitt.
• Georgiana met Grogan Stump, who thanked the French Ministry of Magic for protecting non-magical residents and requested an official visit.
• Georgiana told Bonaparte that Pitt had passed the Workers' Alliance Act and used a magical map to explain how industrial growth could shift parliamentary representation.
• Georgiana described Severus protecting three students from a werewolf and asked Bonaparte whether he knew of Birmingham's Lunar Society.

Remus studied werewolf transformations and accounts of feral children, while Georgiana reflected on imitation, abandonment, and her place beside Leon. After she questioned him about a bird that raised human children, Leon kissed her, and she wondered whether he would ever relinquish power and let her go to Elba.

• Remus refused to eat human flesh or harm anyone and searched for what caused his transformations, finding information about the Lunar Society in a Birmingham library.
• Georgiana considered the Lunar Society's study of feral children, including Edgeworth's interest in Wild Boy Peter, and recalled Jane Eyre's struggle to leave Rochester.
• Georgiana compared herself to Jane Eyre and thought she should leave rather than occupy Josephine's place beside Bonaparte.
• Alexander Fordyce's speculation and the collapse of Scottish private banks came up as Remus repeated what his book said about the banker.
• Georgiana asked Leon whether a legendary bird that raised human children was good, and Leon answered by kissing her.
• Georgiana wondered whether Leon would give up power and let her go to Elba.

Georgiana reflected on industry, power, and her uneasy tolerance of Bonaparte while weighing how to use her influence responsibly. She told him the rest of her story about a silver crucible bearing a Horned Serpent, leaving him listening as she questioned whether he took her seriously.

• Georgiana asked Bonaparte whether he remembered the pattern on the teapot he had smashed at Count Cobenzl's, and he froze before she dropped the subject.
• She read about a job advertisement and learned from Matilda that the scandal linking Napoleon and Hortense had reached Britain and that its alleged source had been arrested.
• Georgiana admitted to Bonaparte that she wanted a pure soul and worried she was tolerating him for practical reasons; he said her opinions would be useful when they reached Antwerp.
• She decided that power required strict screening and reflected that Voldemort might never have become the Dark Lord without access to magic.
• Georgiana told Bonaparte that the silver crucible with a Horned Serpent she had seen at the British Museum, along with other records, suggested the symbol originated in Western Europe.

Georgiana let Mr. Stanley ride in her carriage and questioned him about Birmingham, learning about Watt’s education and the industrialists who supported canals and steam technology. The journey continued toward Le Tréport as Georgiana reflected on how wizarding society had fallen behind Muggle science and admitted she did not know what to do.

• Georgiana allowed Mr. Stanley to join her carriage, then asked about his connections in Birmingham.
• Stanley recounted Watt’s early life, his training as an instrument maker, and his friendships with Black and Robinson.
• Stanley described how Birmingham merchants and industrialists promoted canal building during the Seven Years’ War.
• Stanley praised Boulton’s talent for persuading people and making his Soho Manufactory and steam engines appealing.
• Georgiana remained silent about Stanley’s suggestion to fit her carriage with springs and worried that wizards had fallen behind Muggle science.

Georgiana traveled with Bonaparte’s convoy and wrestled with her feelings about war, children, and her choices. After an emotional confrontation with Bonaparte, she returned to the carriage in better spirits, where a jolt spilled liquor over her dress.

• The convoy stopped when a carriage became stuck in the mud, and Bonaparte asked Georgiana what she had discussed with Stanley.
• Georgiana challenged Bonaparte about child labor and declared she would go unclothed in protest, prompting him to restrain her.
• Georgiana kissed Bonaparte and told him she had chosen to save a snake because she wanted to, then spoke of having no dowry and possibly never having children.
• Georgiana cried over Joshua Wedgwood’s youngest daughter, and Bonaparte ordered her into the carriage once the trapped carriage was freed.
• Georgiana shared lunch and liquor with Matilda and the others, but the moving carriage spilled her drink over her dress.

Georgiana met British Minister for Magic Loffkin and other officials in Le Tréport to negotiate magical trade, including dragon blood and restrictions on dangerous creatures. The talks left major trade and jurisdiction disputes unresolved, with plans to continue negotiations at an international conference.

• Georgiana welcomed Loffkin, Stamp, Carolan, and Ross Perot to her residence in Le Tréport.
• Georgiana proposed that countries create permitted and prohibited trade lists and discuss them at an international conference.
• Georgiana suggested that British employees help the French cultivate fungi in exchange for a discount on dragon blood.
• Georgiana urged Loffkin to put Venomous Tentacula on the prohibited trade list, while Stamp and Perot argued over Garudas and Horned Serpents.
• Georgiana rejected Loffkin’s silent appeal over jurisdiction, leaving disputes about Scourers and French authority unresolved.

Georgiana considered how commerce, luxury, and private relationships shaped the lives of figures such as Boulton and the Wedgwoods while burning clothes she suspected had been made with child labor. After Bonaparte returned, she reflected on the mysterious death of Boulton’s wife and a Birmingham legend, uncertain whether she could tell him the story she had in mind.

• Georgiana recalled the Wedgwood children’s lives, Mary Anne’s illness and death, and the paths the family took after Jos fell ill at school.
• Georgiana considered how Boulton used private relationships and influential patrons to sell his wares, and remembered Tom Riddle’s dealings with Hepzibah Smith.
• Georgiana weighed the labor behind luxury clothing and burned garments she suspected had involved child labor.
• Bonaparte and the others returned as Georgiana burned clothes in the courtyard, and she greeted him beside the fire.
• Georgiana recalled Anne Boulton’s mysterious drowning and wondered whether her death had been suicide.
• Georgiana thought of the Birmingham legend of John Baskerville and a mad dog, and wondered whether Bonaparte would listen to her own story.

Georgiana confronted Bonaparte over children being exploited in factories and urged him to address the orphanages’ abuses. Bonaparte proposed a scheme to support widows and orphans through leased brewing rights, but Georgiana left before they could resolve their disagreement.

• The chapter recounted Anne Boulton’s death, John Baskerville’s printing work and burial, and Wedgwood’s efforts to reproduce the Portland Vase.
• Georgiana gave Matilda’s shopping list to Stanley and Mr. Martin so they could check whether Matilda had overspent.
• Bonaparte poured wine and asked Georgiana what she was thinking, and she described the mistreatment of orphaned children in factories.
• Georgiana suggested involving the Church and Caprara, but Bonaparte objected to women meddling in politics.
• Bonaparte proposed leasing brewing rights so widows and orphans could earn income, and suggested testing the plan in a city.
• Georgiana said she could not ignore children’s suffering and left Bonaparte to calm down.

Georgiana considered London’s poverty and prisons, weighed possible reforms and cooperation between Britain and France, and tried to understand how her actions might affect the future. She ended by puzzling over why a British warship she had helped save might still appear at the Battle of Trafalgar.

• Georgiana studied a map and considered Tartu, Leuven, Mechelen, Ghent, and Waterloo as possible places to pursue her plans.
• Georgiana reflected on Paul I’s death, Alexander I’s possible involvement, and Catherine the Great’s treatment of widows and orphans.
• Georgiana recalled the timing of Jack the Ripper’s murders alongside London’s mayoral election and inauguration.
• Georgiana considered British-French cooperation, including joint law enforcement and fishing rights, and wondered whether her intervention had changed anything.
• Georgiana shouted in frustration as she tried to work out why the warship she had helped save might still take part in the Battle of Trafalgar.

Georgiana, now speaking as Pomona, considered how respectable men and hidden killers exploited vulnerable women and children, and formed a plan to force the wealthy to confront child labor. She left the chapter resolved to become independent, while speaking with the phantom of Albus about his death and his past with Grindelwald.

• Georgiana reasoned that Catherine Eddowes’s false name, Mary Kelly, might have led a killer to the real Mary Kelly, and considered how multiple murderers could have imitated Jack.
• She imagined that child laborers could lure children away from school, compelling middle-class parents to search factories and confront the consequences of their political choices.
• Georgiana accepted that she might become a monster rather than pretend to be morally pure, and thought she could use poison and her current identity to act before her death.
• Pomona heard screams and regretted defining Josephine’s relationship with Bonaparte as a remarriage, while saying she would rather believe Bonaparte had used her.
• Pomona told the phantom Albus that she had to become independent after his death, then asked why he did not go find Grindelwald; Albus joked that men were unreliable and that love could no longer hurt him.

Georgiana reflected on how wealth and political power exploited women and children, then broke down over the suffering of factory workers and her own loneliness. Bonaparte comforted her and discussed taxing wine and brewing licenses to support orphans and widows, leaving her briefly leaning on him.

• Georgiana considered how wealthy factory owners profited from child labor while women and ordinary people lacked political power.
• Georgiana wept and told Matilda to order that no woman except Josephine could spend the night in the First Consul's bed.
• Bonaparte found Georgiana crying, and she complained that women's tears could not move every man.
• Bonaparte explained that the Charity Goods Market Entry Tax funded shelters and hospitals, then proposed supporting orphans and widows through beer rents and leased licenses.
• Georgiana accused Bonaparte of wanting to tax brewing companies and invoked his plan to pay tribute to Catherine the Great.
• Bonaparte asked whether he could sleep in another woman's bed, then pulled Georgiana into his arms and reassured her.

Georgiana toured Le Tréport’s textile mills with Bonaparte, then discussed education, taxation, industrial reforms, and British fashions with him during a seaside walk. Bonaparte hinted that Georgiana had started a fashion and asked what she would give him for his birthday, while she offered Sèvres porcelain as both a gift and an advertisement.

• Georgiana toured a Le Tréport textile mill and found no child workers on site.
• Georgiana and Bonaparte walked along the coast and discussed superstition, education, and conquest over ignorance.
• Bonaparte warned Georgiana that restoring indirect taxes would provoke resentment, and she proposed treating industrial wastewater before discharge.
• Georgiana told Bonaparte about Wedgwood’s showroom and its young attendant, and Bonaparte said British women were beginning to wear men’s clothing.
• Bonaparte told Georgiana she had started a fashion and asked what gift she would give him for his birthday.
• Georgiana offered Sèvres porcelain as a birthday gift and a way to advertise the manufactory.

Georgiana reflected on the struggle between religious and secular authority, scientific progress, and the social forces shaping France and Britain. The Birmingham riots devastated the Lunar Society, while Georgiana considered bringing Amy Argand to France to develop cheaper hydrogen production and street lighting.

• Georgiana considered how the Ministry of Magic and secular authority could prevent religion from dominating the state, while worrying that Grindelwald might exploit similar ideas.
• Georgiana recalled how Tom Wedgwood’s experiments with nitrous oxide and forgetfulness grass damaged him and the Lunar Society, as Davy left for the Royal Institution.
• A Birmingham mob attacked the Royal Hotel and Priestley’s meeting house, then targeted the Lunar Society’s members and property, driving Priestley out and nearly destroying the society.
• Boulton had produced private tokens that spread through commerce, while Georgiana considered how currency, debt, and Napoleon’s need for revenue shaped society.
• A riot forced Amy Argand to leave Birmingham, and Georgiana planned to bring the impoverished inventor to France to improve hydrogen production for streetlights.

The chapter contrasted London's street trades with Wedgwood's plans for the Portland Vase, then followed Georgiana and Bonaparte as they discussed political instability, policing, and the dangers facing France and Britain over a chess game. It ended with Bonaparte suggesting they make a set of Senet pieces and play together.

• The chapter described how London match-sellers and newsboys earned money, including by selling matches and exchanging newspapers.
• Wedgwood chose to fund John Flaxman's trip to Rome, where Flaxman would retrieve the Portland Vase and discovered an ivory chess set he and Wedgwood hoped to reproduce.
• Leon Sterndale gave Georgiana an ivory chess set, and she played chess with Bonaparte while reflecting on political succession, law enforcement, and unrest in Britain and France.
• Georgiana wondered whether the engineers she had helped would rescue her if she fell into hardship, then Bonaparte prompted her to make a chess move.
• Bonaparte moved his rook, hinted at his plan, and invited Georgiana to make Senet pieces so he could teach her the game.