Blood Royal

This is a work of fiction based on real facts about the Princess of Wales and her turbulent marriage to the heir of the British throne. Its a tale of what if the princess murdered the prince in an act of provocation and revenge. Quite an interesting narrative, although the end is a bit fast and an expected conclusion that does not really pull the whole story together.

The latest Robbins book I read was "Descent from Xanadu" (1984), which was one of the worst books I've read in a long time. "Blood Royal" is Robbins' sixth, or so, posthumous novel and my guess it that co-writer Podrug deserves most of the credit. The main story is about the American lawyer who's hired to defend the princess of "ales who has killed her husband, the prince. There are a number of subplots, a mystery about frozen bodies turning up in Westminster Abbey, and the flashback story of Marlowe's life. True to Robbins's style, there's also lots of gratuitous sex "You must be a knight, you have a long lance"). While some of the subplots - especially the mystery - are not fully developed, they kept my interest. When there were about 20 pages left, I was wondering how the book would be able to tie tie it all together so quickly, but the ending was a nice surprise. The book does have its flaws. Some dialoge should have been polished and some obvious mistakes should have been discovered by the editor, most notably one chapter where the narrative suddenly switches from first person to third person, and back to first person again. But the flaws aren't big enough to destroy the book, and I found "Blood Royal" to be a surprisingly enjoyable read.

Following the life of Marlowe Jamees, she was a very strong willed teenager that became a strong and accomplished woman in the legal world. Becoming a lawyer and to be called upon to defend the Princess of Wales, that would be the ultimate. She was what many a woman would like to become. If you get the chance read this book. Rachel Whitfield

Not to many fairy-tales are written for adults these days. Blood Royal is one that I highly recommend. I found this book very entertaining and it held my attention to the very end. I myself am looking forward to the next Robbins/Podrug book. This book is a very good read.