Wise Children (1991) was the last novel written by Angela Carter. The novel follows the fortunes of twin chorus girls, Dora and Nora Chance, and their bizarre theatrical family. It explores the subversive nature of fatherhood, the denying of which leads Nora and Dora to frivolous "illegitimate" lechery. The novel plays on Carter's admiration of Shakespeare and her love of fairy tales and the surreal, incorporating a large amount of magical realism and elements of the carnivalesque that probes and twists our expectations of reality and society.
This is a particularly poignant work in light of the fact that Angela Carter wrote this novel after she knew she had been diagnosed with lung cancer. She would leave behind a husband and small son behind when she died in 1992.
Tropes in this novel include:
- Always Identical Twins: Nora and Dora are this. Averted with Melchior and Peregrine, and Gareth and Tristram.
- Creepy Uncle: Dora is Peregrine's niece. They sleep together towards the end of the novel, and it is implied that it happened once before... when Dora was THIRTEEN.
- Reports of My Death Were Greatly Exaggerated: Played with. Everyone is used to Perry disappearing and coming back, but people genuinely believe that he is gone for good this time. He reappears in time for his birthday party.
- Sibling Incest: Saskia and Tristan are either half brother and sister or cousins. They have an on and off affair.
- Theme Twin Naming: Nora and Dora, naturally.
- Twin Switch: A weird example. Dora is in love with Nora's lover and asks if she can impersonate her twin in order to sleep with him. She agrees, and the boy in question is none the wiser.
