On
Her Majesty's Frightfully Secret Service
by Rhys Bowen is a delightful read. It combines an old-fashioned
who done it mystery with social commentary, humor, true 1930s
historical content and fun loving characters.
The
plot begins with Lady Georgiana (Georgie) Rannoch, 35th in
line to the British throne, traveling to London to meet with
Queen Mary. During this time period, anyone in line to the
British throne could not marry a Catholic. This presents a
problem since her fiancé, Darcy, is Catholic. The only
solution is for her to give up any claim to the throne, but
she needs the support of the crown to ask permission from
Parliament for this to happen. In the course of their discussion,
the Queen finds out Georgie will be traveling to Northern
Italy to visit her good friend Belinda who is unwed and hiding
out until she delivers her child. The Queen asks Georgie to
attend a house party and spy on her son David, the Duke of
Wales, who is heir to the throne. After arriving she finds
also in attendance are Wallis Simpson; a Contessa, who was
once Camilla Waddell-Walker, Georgie's schoolmate; Count di
Marola, Mussolini's advisor; Baron Rudolf von Rosskopf; a
German Nazi general and his aide; and Georgie's mother, Claire,
a former actress engaged to Max, a wealthy German industrialist.
Much to Georgie's surprise Darcy is also there camouflaging
himself off as an English gardener. Besides the Queen, Darcy,
who is believed to be part of English intelligence, asks her
to spy on the guests, requesting her to become a fly on the
wall, wanting her to be his eyes and ears.
It is apparent Bowen does not like Mrs. Simpson very much,
probably because she "does not have any redeeming qualities
except she was considered glamorous. She spent a lot on clothes,
manipulated David, the future King of England who was known
as Edward and was so cutting to people. He wanted a mother
figure to hug him, make him feel safe, and tell him what to
do. She bossed him around a lot. Because she is not the nicest
person in the world I enjoyed having her battle wits with
Georgie's mother who does not take her guff."
The humorous and biting bickering between the houseguests
occurs after the police sequester them. They are trying to
find out the killer of one of the visitors, the Baron, who
was flirtatious to the women and a blackmailer as well. The
game of Clue comes to mind, who did it and with what weapon?
Georgie now has her hands full as she tries to find the killer
and the true purpose of why Mussolini’s assistant and
the Nazi generals are in attendance.
Down the line, Bowen will have to decide how to handle Claire,
Georgie's mother, and where "her loyalties lie? In this
story, Max is manufacturing guns at his factories. In a future
book, she will have to decide if she wants to be a part of
Germany or go home. Max is quite willing to play along with
the Nazis because he is making a load of money. As I say in
this book his family made a fortune during WWI by supplying
all the weapons. He is not bad like Goebbels, but is morally
blind."
As with all her books, Bowen intertwines the culture, customs,
and events of the time period. Readers learn about the life
of the aristocracy, what is required of them, versus the common
class. There is also the Conference in Stresa between England,
France, and Italy to consider forming an alliance to stop
the Nazi threat. Another conference, at the villa, hopes to
convince the Prince of Wales that the threat of communism
is much more worrisome than Hitler, who is painted as a leader
helping Germany out of its dire economic situation.
Bowen noted, “I always go through the historical details
that occur at the same time as the plot of the book. I see
if there was a blizzard, big fire, conference, or treaty.
When I found out about the 1935 Stresa Conference held by
England, France, and Germany I wondered how it was possible.
Remember Hitler and Mussolini were as thick as thieves, where
Mussolini goes up to Germany and fawns all over Hitler. Why
would he outwardly try to show he wanted to participate in
combating the Nazi threat? Then I thought, what if there are
other conferences going on behind the scenes for the opposite
purpose. I wanted to have Georgie be a lamp with a lampshade
secretly hearing what was spoken, inadvertently hearing things
she should not.”
This novel has a very authentic spin. It is enjoyable, believable,
and a very fun read within a great plot that has well-developed
characters.
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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