The Philadelphia Adventure is the product of a master storyteller who artfully spins his plot. Alexander has peopled his tale with entertaining, fanciful characters and achieved fast-paced action that mesmerizes the reader and chains him to his reading post. He has punctuated the book with gentle humor and enlivened it with heroic action. Finally, he has enriched the book with literary allusions that spout from the mouth of The Weed. Much to the chagrin of Professor Garrett, The Weed quotes widely and frequently—from Browning to Xenophon—from what appears to be a plethora of trivia stored within his head.

As satisfying as these achievements may be, they are not the greatest triumph of The Philadelphia Adventure, which is the creation of a worthy hero with derring-do and panache who happens to be female. The inimitable Vesper is bold without being brazen, fearless without...