| Crowned
and Dangerous by Rhys Bowen opens with Lady Georgiana
Rannoch and the Honorable Darcy O’ Mara trying to elope
in Scotland even though she is thirty-fifth in line for the
British crown and he is Catholic. En route he learns that
his father is accused of killing a wealthy American who bought
the O’Mara estate. To save Georgie from scandal, Darcy
ends his engagement to her and returns home to County Kildare,
Ireland. Because Georgie and Darcy do have access to the crime
scene readers are able to take a believable journey with them
as they try to figure out “who done it.”
Bowen noted, “I thought of writing a series with the
most unlikely heroine, a royal who was penniless. I wanted
the recurring theme to be how would she support herself and
survive? Remember, servants had done everything for them.
Since only the sons, mostly the first-born, received the inheritance
what happened to girls like my main character Georgie. She
was expected to marry someone of the same class so marriage
became a business transaction. They all are trying to live
the life they knew, but it is getting more difficult. Everything
fell apart after World War II because no one could afford
the up keep and the taxes.”
Intertwined within the mystery are fascinating historical
facts about the era. Bowen wanted to show readers how, “In
England if you want to marry you have to wait three weeks
and must announce it in the Church. Since Greta Green in Scotland
is on the border many couples went there to marry. There was
also the problem of Georgie being in line for the British
Crown and Darcy is Catholic. Since the 1700s if someone was
in the line of succession they cannot marry a Catholic. This
law existed until it was repealed last year.”
She also tried to show how, “People were more proper
back then and did not cuss like today. Using the word ‘Golly’
was a very normal girlish way of expression, much like the
‘valley girl’ vocabulary of today. Back then women
could not swear. ‘Golly’ was a way to get around
saying the word G-d. It was an expression used instead of
‘Oh My G-d.’”
Anyone wanting a fun story with well-developed characters
should read this novel. Geogrie is a delightful character
who is intelligent, determined, and admirable although a bit
clumsy. With this series no one has to read the previous books
to understand what went on within the story.
Reviews of other titles in this series
Her Royal Spyness #1 [review]
A Royal Pain #2 [review]
Naughty
in Nice
#5 [review]
The Twelve Clues of Christmas #6 [review]
Heirs and Graces #7 [review]
Queen of Hearts #8 [review
1] [review
2]
Malice in the Palace #9 [review]
Crowned and Dangerous #10 [review
1] [review
2]
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