A Curious Beginning (2016) is the first installment in the Veronica Speedwell Series by American author Deanna Raybourn. The mystery series is set in the late 19th century and follows the adventures of the eponymous Veronica Speedwell, who is a lepidopterist, or a scientist who studies butterflies. Prior to her Veronica Speedwell Series, Raybourn was primarily known for her Lady Julia Gray Mysteries (2006-2014), which followed Victorian-era detective Lady Julia Gray across nine novels. Raybourn has also written a series of novels that take place in the 1920s, expanding the timeline of her historical fiction repertoire.

As of 2024, there are nine books in the Veronica Speedwell series. The Speedwell series has enjoyed popular and critical acclaim; reviewers note Raybourn’s research and humor as trademarks of the series.

This guide is based on the 2015 New American Library-Penguin Random House hardcover edition.

Content Warning: This guide references ableist rhetoric, racist rhetoric, violence (including gun violence), threat of forced marriage and pregnancy, and sexism (including disparaging women for their sexual histories).

Plot Summary

The novel opens as protagonist Veronica Speedwell attends the funeral of her late guardian, Nell Harbottle. Veronica feels limited sorrow over the loss and focuses more on her eagerness to depart from England to pursue butterflies, as she is a lepidopterist, or a scientist who studies butterflies. Before she can depart, however, she finds her cottage ransacked by a large man who attempts to kidnap her. The attempt is disrupted by Baron Maximilian von Stauffenbach, who mysteriously comments that Veronica is in danger and must come with him to London. She agrees, not because she believes herself in danger, but because she wants free accommodation in London. The baron, Max, reveals that he knew Veronica’s mother but says he cannot yet say more about Veronica’s unknown past.

In London, the baron entrusts her with his friend Mr. Stoker, whom Veronica later learns is disgraced naturalist Revelstoke Templeton-Vane. Stoker is taciturn and reluctant to safeguard Veronica, only agreeing due to a debt he owes Max. It is later revealed that, after the failed expedition that led to Stoker’s disgrace, Max traveled to South America to bring an injured and depressed Stoker back to England. Veronica is intrigued by Stoker’s collection of preserved animals and helps him work on preserving an elephant.

The next day, a newspaper headline reveals that Max has been murdered in his home; Stoker assumes Veronica is involved and urges her to come with him as he leaves London. Stoker sees himself as kidnapping Veronica, while she believes herself to be going with him willingly. This position is reinforced when she declines to “escape” with an ally of Max, Edmund de Clare, who comes to save her from Stoker. De Clare is revealed to be her uncle. Max was killed by his associate, Silent John, who ransacked Veronica’s cottage.

Stoker and Veronica hide out in Professor Pygopagus’s Traveling Show, posing as a married couple. Stoker was previously a member of the show, and his reappearance causes several old animosities to flare up, including with strongman Colosso and Salome, Stoker’s former sexual partner. They also encounter Mornaday, a man posing as a groom who later reveals himself to be a police inspector. Veronica and Stoker earn their keep by performing a dangerous knife throwing act. When Veronica faints mid-act due to a malaria flare-up, Stoker’s throw hits her in the arm, injuring her. While she recovers, Pygopagus orders Stoker to fight Colosso with a rebenque, a South American whip. When the fight is dangerously stacked in Colosso’s favor, Stoker quickly disarms the strongman. Veronica and Stoker, who have agreed to work together, flee the traveling show and return to London.

In London, they hide from the police, who believe Stoker to be guilty of Max’s murder due to a mysterious past. The two stay at the Belvedere, a property belonging to Lord Rosemorran, a friend of Stoker’s. The building is full of treasures gathered by Rosemorran and his grandfather, both wealthy collectors. Rosemorran’s sister, Lady Cordelia, urges Veronica and Stoker to remain at the Belvedere until they have more information, but the pair instead break into Max’s house. There, they find a packet of papers hidden inside a false book. Another intruder arrives, and they flee as someone shoots at the second intruder. It is later revealed that de Clare pursued them, and Mornaday shot at de Clare.

When they read the papers, they learn that Veronica’s mother was an Irish actress named Lily Ashbourne, whose birth name is Mary Katherine de Clare; de Clare is Veronica’s uncle. Letters between Lily and Max reveal that Lily was impregnated and abandoned by an apparently aristocratic partner. While on an errand, Stoker and Veronica are abducted by a “gang of ruffians” (232) who work for de Clare. De Clare claims to have information for Veronica but attempts to kill Stoker. Veronica and Stoker narrowly escape. While they are swimming for freedom as de Clare’s boat pursues them, Mornaday arrives.

Mornaday introduces himself as a Scotland Yard inspector. He refuses to reveal all he knows, fearing the risk to his career, but urges Stoker and Veronica to flee England. Veronica decides instead to stay in England and solve the case. Back and the Belvedere, she and Stoker discover that her compass, which was a gift from her Aunt Lucy, contains a key for a safe deposit box at the Bank of London. When they go to the bank, they discover papers that show that not only is Veronica the daughter of Prince Albert Edward, the Prince of Wales, but that Albert Edward’s marriage to Lily was legitimate. Because Lily died after Albert Edward’s subsequent marriage to Princess Alexandra of Denmark, his second marriage and his children by Alexandra are illegitimate. Because Lily was an Irish Catholic married in the Catholic Church, this could lead to revolution in Ireland, with Irish Catholics rallying behind Veronica as the true heir to the throne after her father.

Stoker and Veronica realize that the Special Branch of Scotland Yard, which deals with matters pertaining to the Crown, likely intends to kill Veronica to protect the Crown, frame Stoker for her murder, then kill Stoker to cover their tracks. De Clare, an agitator for Irish Home Rule, likely intends to kidnap Veronica, force her into marriage with an Irish separatist, and kill her once she has birthed an heir that will be raised to be loyal to the Irish Home Rule cause.

Veronica develops a plan to assemble all the suspects at Stoker’s warehouse. De Clare enters with Silent John and several supporters; Mornaday arrives with his superior, Sir Hugo Montgomerie. Veronica reveals all she knows, leading de Clare to confirm that Silent John killed Max in an effort to gain this information. Veronica then burns the papers that prove her birth, dousing them in formaldehyde to cause them to burn instantly. De Clare attacks Stoker. In the fray, Stoker knocks him into the formaldehyde-fueled fire. De Clare bursts into flames and leaps out the window into the Thames. Stoker’s warehouse burns down.

The next day, Stoker and Veronica meet with Sir Hugo and Mornaday. Veronica refuses the bribe from the royal family to keep her silence, promising she will do so without “hush money.” Mornaday confides that Sir Hugo reports to a mysterious woman. Queen Victoria’s jubilee arrives, and Veronica watches the monarch—now known to be her grandmother—ride past, feeling a sense of closure about her family history. Stoker reveals, however, that he saved the real papers proving her birth; Veronica unknowingly burned fakes. She reveals that she has convinced Rosemorran to let Veronica and Stoker turn the Belvedere into a public museum.