A royal pain
Ratings18
Average rating3.8
15
Ratings18
Average rating3.8
Another hilarious mystery featuring penniless aristocrat Lady Georgie, “a feisty new heroine to delight a legion of Anglophile readers” (Jacqueline Winspear). The Queen of England has concocted a plan in which Georgie is to entertain a Bavarian princess— and conveniently place her in the playboy Prince’s path, in the hopes that he might finally marry. But queens never take money into account. Georgie has very little, which is why she moonlights as a maid-in-disguise. She must draw up plans: clean house to make it look like a palace; have Granddad and her neighbor pretend to be the domestic staff; un-teach Princess Hanni the English she’s culled from American gangster movies; cure said Princess of her embarrassing shoplifting habit; and keep an eye on her at parties. Then there’s the worrying matter of the body in the bookshop and Hanni’s unwitting involvement with the Communist Party. It’s enough to drive a girl crazy. . .
Reviews with the most likes.
Loved: Fun setting! 1930s England!
Disliked: The story seemed to drag at times.
What will stick with me: I really like Georgie as a character and look forward to following her adventures in the rest of the series!
Georgie is one of Queen Victoria's great-grand-daughter and 34th in line for the throne. But like a lot of aristocrats, she has the title but no money. So when the Queen asks her help to match the Prince of Whales with the young princess of Bavaria who is visiting, Georgie, as everybody, cannot say no. The problem is, the young princess, just out of a convent, is a little out of control and the prince is a lot more interested in Mrs Simpson. And naturally, death is once again on Georgie's path.
Georgie is a nice character: while she has been educated to being a lady, she also lives by her family's principles, never to run or surrender. What interests me most in this series is that it is set in the 1930's England, and mixes historical characters (such as the royal family) with fictional characters. It gives a good look at how people from different status traveled around, ate, clothed, in a word, lived in that era. I warmly recommend Rhys Bowen's books to all who love historical mysteries!
Sadly, I guessed one the responsible parties pretty early on in the book :o(
I just find the idea of a lady not knowing that they should ask for the allowance from the secretary, and not discuss the matter with the Queen... and that of course they should be compensated for the visit. And that she doesn't have a maid... sigh
I like the idea of her cleaning - or opening up service :-D
I knew the twist pretty early on, though.
What ever happened with the body in the library?
Short Review: This the second in the series and starts to stand on its own. Georgie actually does some detective work in this book and does not rely on being in the right place at the right time. The audiobooks continue to be very good and I am looking forward to reading the next in the series. Let reference to Dorothy Sayers and the Peter Wimsey books in the book. But no less humor. Very enjoyable.
My full review is on my blog at http://bookwi.se/royal-pain/
Featured Series
18 primary books19 released booksHer Royal Spyness is a 19-book series with 18 primary works first released in 2007 with contributions by Rhys Bowen.
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