A Royal Pain

I have to agree, but in a positive way, with a less favorable review: fun and adventurous, yes,a page-turner without thinking too much or caring,yes!...exactly what I need right now. Sometimes we get tired of reading about serious world problems, tragedies, abuse, terrorism---day and night we are bombarded online, on TV, in the newspapers, and in many books. Just a little fun diversion is a lovely change of pace. The descriptions of London and the English and Scottish countryside make me want to jump on the next plane. Why do some reviewers think a review is a synopsis? As a teacher I made sure my students understood that they should provide the general setting and tone of the book, but even a school book report should be a critique: the writer's insights and feelings about it. Reviewers here surely realize that people read reviews in advance to decide about buying the book and do not want the entire plot spelled out for them.

Sure, Georgiana Rannoch is the second cousin of King George V and thus in line for the crown (she only has 33 royals ahead of her), but she is also flat broke. Of course, it is the 1930s and a depression is in full swing in England. Georgie is so poor that she disguises herself to work as a maid and worries that the queen will send her out to the country to serve as Queen Victoria's daughter's lady-in-waiting, where she will have to walk the Pekinese and hold knitting yarn. Another horrid fate beckons to her in the form of marriage to discreetly gay Romanian Prince Siegfried. Compared to those possible futures, her life as a penniless maid is rather pleasurable. Georgie's friend, Belinda, leads quite a different existence --- one filled with yachts, parties, new clothes and many dalliances with men. Belinda insists on dressing Georgie in some of her own finery so they can lunch at the Savoy. There, Belinda bemoans the fact that Georgie's love interest, Darcy O'Mara, has somehow vanished from her life. She also introduces her friend to some lively young gentlemen who invite them to an upcoming party. Queen Mary summons Georgie to Buckingham Palace for tea. Over shared éclairs, the queen confides her worries over her son, the Prince of Wales. Instead of being interested in an appropriate young royal, the prince is enchanted with the unsuitable Wallace Simpson, who is not only an American commoner but is married. The queen has hatched a plan. She will invite a young Bavarian princess, Princess Hannelore, to visit, with the hope of diverting the Prince of Wales's romantic intentions. However, she doesn't want the prince to realize that he's being set up, so the queen has decided that the princess will stay with Georgie. Georgie is floored. She can't say no to the queen, and yet her house is hardly suitable to entertain royalty. She has no servants, is living on toast and baked beans, and must go out to work. How ever will she cope? Happily, the one relative Georgie has been able to depend upon comes through for her. Her grandfather and his lady friend agree to pose as servants. Her problems are far from over, as Georgie realizes when Princess Hanni arrives with her maid and companion. Hanni is trouble. She not only is a fan of American gangster movies, she actually talks like an American gangster. She also has a bit of a shoplifting problem, loves parties, and throws herself at any available young man (including Georgie's lost love, Darcy O'Mara). Yet, that is just the beginning. When one person ends up dead, it appears to be an accident...but when the corpses keep accumulating, the queen again calls upon Georgie, requesting that she act as a detective. This second book in the Royal Spyness Mystery series is not only an entertaining romp of a mystery with a feisty and unique heroine but is also a fascinating glimpse into England between world wars and a comical peek backward at life in British upper classes. Many mystery lovers are no doubt fami

I love Georgie, she's just a great character who doesn't take herself too seriously. Her loyalty to her upbringing and her royal status delightfully conflict with "modern" London's expectations. The only bad thing about this book is finishing it and knowing it will be a while before the next book is published!

My next tag is personal favorite, and I chose A Royal Pain by Rhys Bowen. Rhys Bowen is not only one of my favorite authors, but Lady Georgiana is one of my favorite characters as well. Lady Georige, 34th in line to the English throne in 1932, is still working secretly as a maid in order to pay for the daily necessities when the Queen asks her (and you never say no to the Queen) to house and escort Princess Hanni of Bavaria around town in hopes that she will distract the Prince of Wales from his obsession with "that American woman". But Georgie is not only broke, but living without servants! Her maternal grandfather and his next door neighbor step in as butler and housekeeper when the flighty Princess and her entourage arrive. Princess Hanni has learned to speak English from American gangster films, wants to meet "hot and sexy men", and shoplifts from Herrod's. Georgie's hands are more than full, when people start dropping dead around her, and she needs to discover who's murdering them in order to avert an international incident! Georgie is absolutely charming. She hasn't a clue how to flirt, and regularly trips over her own feet. She's sincere and loyal, and remarkably innocent, but she's learning to acquire some backbone (especially in dealing with Wallis Simpson). Bowen writes a bit like a fun tabloid tell-all; you feel like you're getting a sneak peek behind palace walls, but as seen through the eyes of an outsider/insider. Georgie is a unique character, and I simply can't wait for her next adventure. I give the book 5 stars.