The Antiquarian’s Object of Desire Summary & Characters
Introduction
What happens when two Oxford professors must pretend to hate each other in public while secretly sharing a lifelong friendship and a growing romantic attraction?
India Holton’s The Antiquarian’s Object of Desire places Professor Amelia Tarrant and Professor Caleb Sterling at the center of this dilemma in an alternate Victorian England where magic is real and historical artifacts can explode without warning.
After a magical mishap destroys part of a London gentlemen’s club, the two rival antiquarians are banished to a remote Cumbrian estate to catalog a baronet’s dangerous collection of enchanted antiques.
Forced into close quarters, they must protect their secret bond from gossiping colleagues, a suspicious chaperone, and a scheming thief—all while resisting the pull between them.
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TL;DR: What You Need to Know
- Who: Two rival Oxford antiquarian professors who are secretly best friends and deeply in love.
- What: A forced expedition to catalog enchanted antiques at a remote manor, complicated by magical disasters, a ghost, and a black-market thief.
- Where: An alternate Victorian England where thaumaturgy—magic embedded in historical objects—is a volatile reality.
- Conflict: Maintaining a fake public feud while hiding their true feelings, stopping a thief from stealing a powerful artifact, and challenging academia’s rigid gender rules.
- Vibe: Witty, whimsical, satirical, and cozy-gothic with plenty of banter and magical mayhem.
The novel combines romantic comedy with historical fantasy. It follows a familiar enemies-to-lovers structure but subverts it: the two leads are not real enemies at all.
Their public animosity is a performance to survive a conservative academic institution.
The story explores friendship as the foundation of love, the absurdities of academic hierarchy, and one woman’s journey to claim her own worth.
Characters in This Book
| Character | Role |
|---|---|
| Professor Amelia Tarrant | 26-year-old Oxford professor of material history known as “La Terrifiante Erudite” who conceals a romantic heart beneath a rigid exterior. |
| Professor Caleb Sterling | 26-year-old Oxford antiquarian professor raised in poverty who hides his devotion to Amelia behind a carefree, flirtatious persona. |
| Professor Cornelius Ottersock | Head of Oxford’s Material History faculty who enforces institutional propriety and threatens Amelia’s career. |
| Miss Vanity Tunnicliffe | British Museum receptionist who serves as chaperone on the expedition and conceals a criminal identity. |
| Sergeant Jack Sheffield | Army soldier assigned as security for the expedition who holds a secret government role. |
| Sir Nigel Harroway | Eccentric baronet of Ravenscroft Manor who obsessively hoards enchanted antiques. |
| Lady Ruperta Harroway | Formidable mistress of Ravenscroft Manor who leads a secret society of local women. |
| Professor Basil Throckmorton | Oxford professor of Medieval Studies and academia’s primary gossip-monger. |
| Mr. Dummersby | Patronizing curator from the British Museum who condescends to Amelia and spreads gossip. |
| Grimshaw | Dolorous butler at Ravenscroft Manor whose gloomy manner hides a surprisingly jocular kitchen persona. |
| Mrs. Cuddle | Austere housekeeper at Ravenscroft Manor. |
| Bad King John’s Ghost | Cantankerous 13th-century Plantagenet ghost who haunts Amelia’s bedroom with sword and French profanities. |
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The Antiquarian’s Object of Desire Summary: The Full Story
Warning: Major spoilers ahead. This section reveals the complete plot including the ending.
The story opens at London’s Minervaeum Club, an elite society for academics. Professor Amelia Tarrant is conducting research when her supposed arch-nemesis, Professor Caleb Sterling, enters. Their colleagues watch anxiously, expecting a clash.
But when alone, Amelia and Caleb drop their public facade and banter like old friends.
Caleb reveals he followed Amelia after a previous incident at the Ashmolean Museum. Their playful sparring over a newly discovered magical Hereford teaspoon triggers the artifact’s energy. Flying books, melting glass shades, and levitating sausage rolls terrify the surrounding scholars.
Two days later in Oxford, they are summoned to the office of Professor Cornelius Ottersock, Head of Material History. Furious over the Minervaeum damage, Ottersock orders them on an immediate field assignment to Cumbria.
Miss Vanity Tunnicliffe, a British Museum receptionist, has requested specialists to assess a massive collection of antiques donated by Sir Nigel Harroway.
Ottersock dispatches Amelia and Caleb to Ravenscroft Manor, sending Vanity as a chaperone and seconding Sergeant Jack Sheffield from the army for security. Traveling by train, Caleb uses an enchanted candle snuffer to suppress Vanity’s endless icebreaker games.
Arriving at the village of Staveley amid dark storm clouds, they dine at a pub where local women warn them against visiting Ravenscroft Manor.
The Hereford teaspoon in Amelia’s pocket reacts to local thaumaturgic mineral deposits and causes crockery to explode. Caleb grips Amelia and kisses her to absorb the magical discharge.
Stunned by the romantic spark, Caleb lies to the frightened patrons that the ghost of King Edward III caused the disruption. The group departs on a dilapidated dogcart for Ravenscroft Manor.
At the oppressive, antique-cluttered manor, they find their nosey academic rival, Professor Basil Throckmorton, already present. Hosted by the eccentric Sir Nigel and his formidable wife Lady Ruperta Harroway, the team begins cataloging the collection.
At dinner, Amelia notices an enchanted 17th-century Cabrier longcase clock whose minute hand spins backward. Their recognition of its magic triggers a sonic detonation that forces an evacuation of the dining chamber. Shortly after, the Hereford teaspoon again interacts with a silver saltcellar, causing an explosion that destroys the dining table.
As days progress, Amelia and Caleb face exhausting cataloging sessions under the patronizing surveillance of Throckmorton and Mr. Dummersby of the British Museum. Dummersby repeatedly patronizes Amelia’s intellect and spreads gossip, while Caleb subtly tricks him into slapping his own face over academic jargon.
Meanwhile, Amelia is haunted in her bedroom by the profane, sword-wielding ghost of Bad King John. Seeking comfort, Amelia visits Caleb’s bedroom late at night, where they cuddle, read Mary Wollstonecraft’s biography, and share intimate kisses.
While searching the manor, Amelia steps on the Hereford teaspoon wrapped inside an Italian-milled sock, pulling her into a brief temporal pocket where she glimpses Caleb’s impoverished childhood in Bethnal Green. Seeking escape from their gossiping chaperones, Caleb leads Amelia to a hidden servants’ attic lounge.
Over a game of chess and a bottle of whiskey, their emotional defenses crumble. They indulge in passionate physical intimacy. Later, exploring the grounds, they dig up an enchanted gold pocket watch belonging to Peter the Great.
The assignment reaches a crisis when Amelia discovers Caleb bound and gagged in his bedroom. Vanity Tunnicliffe drops her naive facade, revealing herself as a covert black-market antique trafficker.
Having stolen the Hereford teaspoon, Vanity plans to use its destructive magic to break the unbreakable glass dome protecting Dervorguilla of Galloway’s sapphire brooch at Balliol College in Oxford—the most powerful antique in England.
Vanity escapes through the window using a flying “helicopter parasol.” Amelia and Caleb pursue her, but their search leads them to a subterranean tunnel beneath the fields. Two local women, Hilda and Mavis, take them at pitchfork-point to a hidden salon.
There, Lady Ruperta reveals she leads a secret society of local women who have been clandestinely burying Sir Nigel’s most dangerous enchanted artifacts. Lady Ruperta helps them escape through the servants’ quarters, where Amelia dispels King John’s ghost by throwing the ancient tooth from Sir Nigel’s locket at the specter.
Intercepted at the manor door by a furious Professor Ottersock, Amelia and Caleb usher him into a carriage and race through the night to Oxford.
Arriving at Oxford station, Sergeant Sheffield reveals his true identity as an undercover Home Office agent investigating antique thefts.
The group hurries to Balliol College’s dining hall, where they find Vanity floating near the vaulted ceiling, trapped by the teaspoon’s chaotic psycho-conjunctive magic.
Amelia uses Sir Nigel’s enchanted locket to bind Vanity’s earring and stabilize her descent, but when the streams of magic cross wildly, Caleb smashes a stained-glass window with a chair and hurls the Hereford teaspoon into the quadrangle, breaking the spell and dropping Vanity safely into Sheffield’s arms.
In the aftermath, Ottersock berates them in his office and attempts to enforce his traditional authority. Having reached her limit with academic chauvinism, Amelia reclaims a resignation letter she had previously mailed. She proclaims to Ottersock that she is resigning “because I love me” before walking out.
She returns to her flat, where Caleb joins her after stealing back the Hereford teaspoon. Caleb announces he is also quitting university academia so they can become full-time authors together. He proposes marriage, and they unite in a joyful, passionate embrace.
Six months later, at a British Museum exhibition opening hosted at the Minervaeum Club, a pregnant Amelia (now Mrs. Sterling) and Caleb celebrate the publication of Caleb’s bestselling historical novel, A Regal Love.
When the Hereford teaspoon slips from Amelia’s pocket onto the floor, its magic triggers another glorious explosion of flying books, flaming pipes, and levitating objects, reuniting Amelia and Caleb in a passionate embrace amidst the familiar academic mayhem.
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Summary by Chapter
Warning: This section contains spoilers for every chapter. It provides a brief summary of each chapter for readers who want to explore what’s inside. This book has 24 chapters.
Chapter One: At London’s Minervaeum Club, academics gossip about Amelia Tarrant’s terrifying reputation and her rivalry with Caleb Sterling. When Caleb joins her, they drop their public animosity to banter about a magical Hereford teaspoon. Their playful sparring activates its energy, causing flying books and melting light fixtures.
Chapter Two: Two days later in Oxford, Professor Ottersock reprimands Caleb and Amelia for the Minervaeum damage. Miss Vanity Tunnicliffe requests specialists to assess antiques donated by Sir Nigel Harroway in Cumbria. Ottersock assigns Caleb and Amelia to the task, appointing Vanity as chaperone.
Chapter Three: Amelia, Caleb, Vanity, and Sergeant Sheffield board the train to Cumbria. To escape Vanity’s enthusiasm, Caleb drops an enchanted candle snuffer, creating a soothing spell of quiet. In the dining car, Amelia and Caleb wrestle with their growing attraction.
Chapter Four: Arriving in Staveley, the team dines at a pub while waiting for transport. A local woman warns them against visiting the manor. The Hereford teaspoon reacts to nearby earth magic, causing plates to explode. Caleb kisses Amelia to neutralize the dangerous energy flare.
Chapter Five: Shaken by the kiss, Amelia and Caleb break apart as the magic quells. Caleb lies to the frightened crowd, attributing the explosion to King Edward III’s ghost. They board a dogcart, and Amelia uses her stern voice to order chasing pub staff back to their duties.
Chapter Six: Walking the final mile to lighten the horse’s load, Amelia and Caleb share ginger candies and debate literature. They observe unusual autumn blooms and blue sorcery ribbons in the woods, realizing the estate lies along an active thaumaturgic mineral seam. At Ravenscroft Manor, Throckmorton waits to monitor their feud.
Chapter Seven: Amelia and Caleb enter Ravenscroft Manor, a somber hall packed with antiques, greeted by the dolorous butler Grimshaw. Vanity spots a ghost on the upper landing. In her room, Amelia uses a thaumometer to detect spectral vibrations from an enchanted coin.
Chapter Eight: At dinner hosted by Lady Ruperta and Sir Nigel, Amelia fixates on an enchanted Cabrier longcase clock whose minute hand spins backward. Amelia and Caleb analyze the clock’s energy emissions. Their recognition triggers instability, prompting an evacuation before the clock detonates.
Chapter Nine: Re-entering the dining room, Amelia and Caleb find the Hereford teaspoon amplified the clock’s energy. After a playful skirmish atop the table, they knock a saltcellar down, causing an explosion that wrecks the table. Throckmorton leaves for Oxford in disgust. Amelia encounters Bad King John’s ghost.
Chapter Ten: Haunted by the sword-wielding ghost, Amelia seeks refuge in Caleb’s bedroom. Caleb bars the door, and they share his bed while reading Mary Wollstonecraft’s biography. As they cuddle beneath the counterpane, Amelia asks Caleb to kiss her goodnight.
Chapter Eleven: Their kiss shatters when King John’s ghost manifests, hurling pillows as poltergeist energy surges. Realizing an antique is generating the specter, they agree to search the bedrooms together. After a sensual discussion about their friendship, Amelia returns to her room to dress.
Chapter Twelve: Over the next week, Amelia and Caleb endure cataloging under the gossiping eyes of Throckmorton and Dummersby. Dummersby condescends to Amelia, while Caleb tricks him into slapping himself. Magical mishaps erupt, and Amelia briefly writes a resignation letter before tearing it up.
Chapter Thirteen: Caleb discovers a gold locket has vanished. When Amelia uses a thaumometer, she steps on an object and is pulled into a temporal pocket, witnessing Caleb’s childhood in Bethnal Green. Caleb pulls her back, and they find the Hereford teaspoon tucked inside a sock.
Chapter Fourteen: Exhausted by scrutiny from Dummersby and Throckmorton, Amelia discovers a hidden door behind the study paneling. Sir Nigel tearfully bids farewell to a Hanoverian dessert fork that transformed into a rose. Caleb rescues Amelia and invites her to escape to the manor’s attic.
Chapter Fifteen: Caleb leads Amelia into a cozy attic lounge. Over chess and whiskey, Caleb admits he read Mary Wollstonecraft and proposes an analytical experiment of kissing her anywhere three times. Amelia surrenders her king, climbs onto his lap, and they share three passionate kisses.
Chapter Sixteen: After their intimate encounter, Amelia notices a surge of magical energy and insists on investigating outdoors. They hike to a red-gold oak tree, where Caleb digs up an enchanted gold pocket watch belonging to Peter the Great. Servants interrupt them, and Lady Ruperta escorts them indoors.
Chapter Seventeen: Caleb finds a quiet room with a grand piano and plays softly, joined by Lady Ruperta. She confides about the burdens of her marriage and advises him that one can walk away from history but not from personal choices. Grimshaw informs Amelia that Caleb and Vanity went upstairs together.
Chapter Eighteen: Amelia finds Caleb tied to a chair, while Vanity admits she is a black-market antique trafficker. Vanity stole the Hereford teaspoon to break the protective dome over Dervorguilla of Galloway’s sapphire brooch. She escapes with her flying parasol. Amelia unties Caleb, and they pursue on a single horse.
Chapter Nineteen: Searching the fields, Amelia and Caleb dig under daffodils and uncover a locket containing an ancient tooth. Two local women, Hilda and Mavis, force them at pitchfork-point into a tunnel. Lady Ruperta and a secret society reveal they have been burying Sir Nigel’s dangerous artifacts.
Chapter Twenty: The secret society guides Amelia and Caleb through a hidden exit. In Caleb’s bedroom, Amelia hurls the ancient tooth at King John’s ghost, permanently dispelling it. They pack, receive raincoats from Mrs. Cuddle, and head downstairs to meet their transport.
Chapter Twenty-One: At the front door, Professor Ottersock confronts them, furious over damage bills. Caleb slams the door in his face, but Ottersock demands discussion. Learning Throckmorton and Dummersby are inside, Ottersock panics and orders them into his carriage, driving toward Lancaster.
Chapter Twenty-Two: Reaching Oxford station, Sergeant Sheffield reveals he is an undercover Home Office agent investigating antique thefts. They race to Balliol College’s dining hall, where they discover Vanity levitating near the vaulted ceiling due to the teaspoon’s chaotic magic.
Chapter Twenty-Three: Amelia uses Sir Nigel’s locket to bind Vanity’s earring, but crossed magic causes Vanity to fly erratically. Caleb smashes a window and hurls the teaspoon outside, dropping Vanity into Sheffield’s arms. Amelia resigns “because I love me,” and Caleb proposes marriage.
Chapter Twenty-Four: Six months later, a pregnant Amelia and Caleb attend a British Museum exhibition opening. Caleb presents his novel A Regal Love. When Amelia drops the Hereford teaspoon, its magic triggers another chaotic explosion, reuniting them in an embrace amid the mayhem.
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Book Details & Information
- Genre & Subgenre: Historical Fantasy / Academic Romantasy (Paranormal Historical Rom-Com)
- Core Narrative Tropes: Fake Enemies-to-Lovers, Secret Childhood Friends-to-Lovers, Academic Rivals, Forced Proximity, Magical Heist, Undercover Identities
- Tone & Atmosphere: Witty, whimsical, satirical, frothy, tongue-in-cheek, cozy-gothic
- Primary Conflict: Amelia and Caleb must catalog dangerous enchanted artifacts without revealing their secret love or blowing their fake feud, while stopping a thief from stealing a reality-altering artifact.
- Pacing Style: Fast-paced, episodic, and banter-heavy, escalating through magical explosions, romantic near-misses, and a climactic chase.
- ISBN: 978-0593641491
- Pages: 368
- Book Structure: 24 chapters, preceded by a dedication and a table of significant characters, followed by acknowledgments and an excerpt from Wishspun.
