Nell Gwynne Books in Order

The Nell Gwynne stories are some of Baker's lightest and sharpest work. They sit on the border between fantasy, steampunk, and historical adventure, with a strong streak of comedy running underneath. If the larger Company books are about immortal operatives and deep time, these stories step back to an earlier age and show one of the worlds that helps lead to that future.

The setup is excellent. In nineteenth-century England, Nell Gwynne's looks like an elite brothel serving rich and powerful men. That part is true enough, but it is only half the story. The house also works hand in hand with the Gentlemen's Speculative Society, a secretive group of inventors, plotters, and agents. Because the women of Nell Gwynne's hear things cabinet ministers, noblemen, and officials would never confess anywhere else, they become spies, troubleshooters, and sometimes the most competent people in the room.

Lady Beatrice is the main figure linking the books. She begins as the proper daughter of a proper military family, then is thrown into a much harder life and remade by it. Baker gives her intelligence, nerve, and enough skepticism to make the whole setup fun. Around her are the other women of the house, plus Mrs. Corvey, their formidable proprietor. One of the pleasures of the series is that the women are not treated as decoration. They are the engine of the plot, and they know it.

These stories enjoy their gadgets.

There are strange stones, speculative machines, missing agents, suspicious aristocrats, seaside disasters, and even sea monsters. The books move from London drawing rooms to covert missions and holiday trips that stop being holidays almost immediately. Because the series is shorter and more compact than the Company saga, Baker can get to the fun quickly. Each installment has its own case or crisis, but together they build a picture of a hidden intelligence network operating under the noses of respectable society.

The tone matters a lot here. The books are witty and a little bawdy, but not crude. They have an affectionate feel for old melodrama, while still giving the women real agency and real danger. Baker clearly enjoys the contrast between polite Victorian surfaces and the absurd, risky work happening underneath. There is also a warm sense of camaraderie. Nell Gwynne's is a workplace, but it is also a kind of refuge, full of women who understand exactly how power works and how to survive around it.

If you want a doorway into Baker without committing to a huge series, this is a good one. The stakes are smaller than in the Company books, but the pleasures are immediate: smart women, secret missions, odd inventions, and a very knowing sense of humor. Start with The Women of Nell Gwynne's, then move on to Nell Gwynne's Scarlet Spy and Nell Gwynne's On Land and At Sea for the fullest version of the ride.