November 2024 — By George: Windsor Drama

The British Royal Family has been an object of fascination, even bordering on an obsession for some. The Windsors seem to draw especially outsized interest, with relentless press coverage, both factual and speculative. The combination of a strictly controlled public image and readers’ insatiable thirst for gossip stirs perpetual curiosity about those inscrutable royals.

Revered or reviled, the drama percolating among the Windsor ranks has led to numerous biographies and other works fictionalizing its members. Speculations abound about what it would be like to intimately know - or even discover a hidden lineage to - the captivating monarchy.

Fiction:
	The Windsor Knot - S.J. Bennett "A highly original and delightfully clever crime series in which Queen Elizabeth II secretly solves crimes while carrying out her royal duties."
	Coronation Year - Jennifer Robson "On Coronation Day, the Blue Lion, and even the queen herself disrupt their mood of happy optimism, Edie and her friends must race to uncover the truth, save their home, and expose those who seek to erase the joy and promise of Coronation Year."
	The Uncommon Reader - Alan Bennett A funny and superbly observed novella about the Queen of England and the subversive power of reading."
	The Other Windsor Girl - Georgie Blalock "In dreary, post-war Britain, Princess Margaret captivates everyone with her cutting-edge fashion sense and biting quips."
	Abdication - Juliet Nicolson "A glorious debut novel set in 1936 London about secrecy, tumultuous love, and a king and his subjects torn between public duty and private desire."
	Princess Elizabeth's Spy - Susan Elia Macneal "Castle life quickly proves more dangerous--and deadly--than Maggie Hope ever expected. The upstairs-downstairs world at Windsor is thrown into disarray by a shocking murder, which draws Maggie into a vast conspiracy that places the entire royal family in peril."
	The Royal Windsor Secret - Christine Wells "Investigations take a shocking turn into the world of the Parisian demi-monde, and a high-class courtesan whose scandalous affair with the young Prince of Wales threatened to bring down the British monarchy long before anyone had heard of Wallis Simpson."
	The Princess - Wendy Holden "Her yearning to be loved dovetails with royal desperation for a bride. But the route to the altar is perilous. There are hidden dangers. Ruthless schemers. Can Diana’s romantic dream survive?"
Nonfiction
	The Palace Papers - Tina Brown "The Palace Papers reveals how the royal family reinvented itself after the trau matic years when Diana's blazing celebrity ripped through the House of Windsor like a comet."
	Diana, William, & Harry - James Patterson "Diana is faced with a seemingly impossible challenge: one son destined to be King of England and another determined to find his own way. She teaches them to honor royal tradition, even while daring to break it."
	The Windsors at War - Alexander Larman "The Windsors at War tells the never-before-told story of World War Two in Britain and America with a fresh focus on the royal family, their conflicted relationships, and the events that rocked the international press."
	Spare - Prince Harry "A landmark publication full of insight, revelation, self-examination, and hard-won wisdom about the eternal power of love over grief."
	Queen of Our Times - Robert Hardman "A definitive portrait of Queen Elizabeth II on the seventieth anniversary of her reign by a renowned royal biographer."
	Endgame - Omid Scobie "With unique insight, deep access, and exclusive revelations, journalist Omid Scobie pulls back the curtain on an institution in turmoil, exposing the infighting, family deterioration, and outdated practices threatening its very future."
	George VI and Elizabeth - Sally Bedell Smith "The story of how their love, devotion, and strong marriage led George VI to overcome insecurities and difficulty speaking and to become an exceptional leader."
	The Last King of America - Andrew Roberts "Roberts paints a deft and nuanced portrait of the much-maligned monarch and outlines his accomplishments, which have been almost universally forgotten."

Summaries adapted from publisher marketing materials

November's Featured Review

The Nanny - Gilly Macmillan

"A dark and unpredictable tale of family secrets that explores the lengths people will go to hurt one another."

Hop on the Holds List

The Crash – Freida McFadden

The Stolen Queen – Fiona Davis

(NF) What I Ate in One Year – Stanley Tucci

(NF) Sonny Boy: A Memoir – Al Pacino

(NF) The Message – Ta-Nehisi Coates

Quote of the Month:

"Though you have had, and may have, many mightier and wiser princes sitting in this seat, yet you never had, nor shall have, any that will love you better." - Elizabeth I

Bookish News and Links:

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Love Lists? Try these:

These two lists: list 1 and list 2 feature historical fiction based on royal families throughout time.

For timelines and lineage of the British Monarchy, Historic UK has very detailed information as far back as the Saxons.

DW, Germany's international news source, has a list of monarchies still in existence.

Adaptation News: Upcoming movies and shows based on books:

In theaters on November 1, Conclave is a star-studded film based on the book by Robert Harris.

The Day of the Jackal by Frederick Forsyth has been made into a Peacock original, and will be streaming beginning November 7.

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever will arrive in theaters on November 8. It is based on the book of the same name by Barbara Robinson.

Cross, a Prime Video series releasing on November 14 is centered around James Patterson's popular Alex Cross character.

Also on November 14, Hulu will stream Say Nothing, based on the novel by Patrick Radden Keefe.

Tom Hanks and Robin Wright will star in Here, appearing in theaters on November 15, and based on the graphic novel by Richard McGuire.

As a series, Interior Chinatown is based on the original by Charles Yu, and will stream on Hulu beginning on November 19.

November 27 will see the long-awaited theatrical release of Wicked (Part 1), a movie adapted from Gregory Maguire's book and the hit musical.

Recent Reads

I have recently finished reading The God of the Woods by Liz Moore and A Darker Shade of Noir, an anthology of women writers edited by Joyce Carol Oates. I also just finished listening to Beware the Woman by Megan Abbott

I am now reading Model Home by Rivers Solomon and looking forward to Bury Your Gays by Chuck Tingle. I am also listening to the audiobook of Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld.

What other Royal families do you find fascinating, or do you skip all the hype?: Fill me in at jnmegan@gpl.

Until next time: Be safe, be well, and be well-read!

Joelle

So, who am I, anyway? I am a resident of West Groton, with a husband, 3 children in college (and one at GDRHS) and a Samoyed that keeps my vacuum well-employed. I am currently working part time at the Groton Public Library and in a former life I was a Director or PR/Marketing at a high-tech consulting firm. My BA is in Psychology, but most of my time was spent in college earning a Concentration on the Novel. That is all to say that I make no claims at being an expert of any kind and my thoughts, opinions and mistakes are solely my own. I am just a person whose passion for books has continued to grow from the moment I was first able to grip and gnaw on them. I have been devouring them ever since.

Nov 01, 2024 / Joelle M Egan