Joanna Scott (The Manikin) spins a mysterious, slightly fanciful historical yarn in De Potter's Grand Tour. The titular character is variously called Armand de Potter, Pierre Louis Armand de Potter d'Elseghem or (to the immigration authorities) Pierce L.A. Depotter Elsegern; his personal history is as amorphous and changeable as his name. De Potter lives a legend of his own design, beginning with his immigration to New York from Belgium in the early 1870s, determined to become a person of note. He joins a local society in dredging up oddities from the harbor, which sparks his interest in antiquities. With a few astute investments, he soon becomes an accomplished collector specializing in Egyptian artifacts. He simultaneously works as a teacher (educating aristocratic young ladies in multiple languages), and eventually channels all his skills and interests into a travel and touring company, which has great success. Years later, his wife, Aimée (a former student, born Amy), is devastated when he is lost at sea.
The grieving Aimée finds herself unexpectedly debt-ridden and receives a disturbing final letter from her late husband, which prompts her to examine his past more closely. It now appears that Armand looked to The Count of Monte Cristo as a model for the building of his myth. As Aimée ages, she yearns for her husband, and wonders what really happened on that ship that sailed from Constantinople.
Scott's tone is whimsical, and her characters are idiosyncratic and appealing. De Potter's charming tale, told in split chronology both before and after Armand's disappearance, will please readers seeking a playful trip back in time. --Julia Jenkins, librarian and blogger at pagesofjulia