Goodnight, Sweet Prince [Hardcover]

David Dickinson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 9, 2002

It is 1892, the fifty-fourth year of Queen Victoria's reign. Lord Salisbury serves as prime minister, Cavalleria Rusticana is the hit of the London season, and the Prince of Wales is embroiled in yet another scandal. Alexandra, the popular and much-adored Princess of Wales, has long suffered the disgraces of her husband and now worries over the dissolute behavior of her son. Victor Albert—Eddy to his family—apparently takes after his father. That the Prince of Wales has fallen victim to blackmail and that Eddy is receiving death threats further complicate life among the royals. So it is that an investigator, Lord Francis Powerscourt, is summoned to look into the affairs of the prince and his family. Matters get quickly worse in this ingenious, skillfully plotted historical mystery novel. Eddy, his throat slit from ear to ear, is discovered at Sandringham, in a blood-soaked bed, and Powerscourt suddenly finds himself investigating a murder—but with a handicap, because the royal family has announced to the press that Eddy died of influenza in order to avoid a scandal of monumental proportions. So Powerscourt cannot reveal what only he and the highest-ranking government officials know. Powerscourt's exploration of Eddy's dissipated past in his search for the truth behind the gory murder takes him into the twilight world of London and ultimately to a mysterious rendezvous in Venice's St. Mark's Square. There, though, more treachery and more blood stand between Powerscourt and the solution.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this excellent novel, the first in a new historical series, Dickinson draws on his experience as series editor of the BBC's three-part program about the British royal family, Monarchy, to weave a tale of blackmail and murder among the royals late in Victoria's reign. When the dissolute Prince of Wales is threatened with yet another scandal, Lord Francis Powerscourt, an Irish peer with a shadowy history of espionage, first tries to discover who's blackmailing and then who murdered the prince's equally dissolute eldest son, Prince Eddy. Through brief, deft visual descriptions and dialogue that's equally unforced, the author gives us a varied assortment of appealing characters. Scenery, too, from the cold coast of Norfolk to the tangled alleys of Venice, is rendered with fascinating verisimilitude. Dickinson's knowledge of the arts, history and literature is nothing if not exhaustive, and adds enormously to the overall background. Few authors could get away with such a cliche as "The gentlemen from The Times are here" yet Dickinson does, and makes it credible to boot. Similarly, Powerscourt's liquorish friend Lord Johnny Fitzgerald seems ripe for the stereotype of the drunken toff, but instead turns out to be one of the book's most engaging characters. The tension builds slowly (this is the year 1892, after all) but surely. Even if Prince Eddy wasn't really murdered (that he died of influenza is the "cover story" here), Dickinson can make us believe it for a while. One hopes to see more of Lord Powerscourt and his friends in the near future.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

When someone murders 28-year-old Prince Eddy in his bed at Sandringham, it falls to Lord Francis Powerscourt, military intelligence officer, to find the perpetrator. Because of various blackmail-enticing indiscretions of the prince's father, the Prince of Wales (Queen Victoria's son), and Eddy's alleged connections to the homosexual underworld, public acknowledgment of his murder could cause untold moral and political scandal. Powerscourt and his associates therefore invent a "death by influenza" as they uproot family secrets in search of the murderer. These events provide succulent fodder for fans of Victorian mysteries. Fine prose, high society, and complex plot recommend this series debut for most collections.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Carroll & Graf; 1St Edition edition (January 9, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786709456
• ISBN-13: 978-0786709458
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.8 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #280,704 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars fascinating and captivating reading, January 11, 2002

By 

tregatt (Portland, Oregon) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Goodnight, Sweet Prince (Hardcover)

If you're looking for a good historical mystery that is evocative of the Victorian period with all it's dark, horrific secrets and that takes a look at the highhandedness as well as the dissolute weakness of the British monarchy, look no further: "Goodnight, Sweet Prince" reflects all this in spades. While not the kind of mystery novel that is full of twists and turns and red herrings, I found myself absolutely glued to the pages as I read along as the detective of this novel, Lord Francis Powerscourt, tried to unmask the murderer of Prince Eddy, eldest son to the Prince of Wales, and uncover a motive behind the killing.

It's 1892 (and the 54th year of Queen Victoria's reign) when Prince Eddy is discovered murdered in his bed (he has been stabbed over and over again and died with a smile on his face) at Sandringham (the royal country house). His father, the Prince of Wales, immediately orders a cover-up, and the story is put out that the Prince had died of influenza instead. But the Prince of Wales also insists that his son's death be investigated and avenged. Lord Francis Powerscourt, a special investigator who had been initially called on to discover who was trying to blackmail the Prince of Wales, is now asked to investigate the murder instead. How was so audacious a crime carried out? Why didn't the Prince call out for help? And who wanted him dead? These are the questions that Lord Francis has to ask himself as he begins his investigation. The suspects are many and diverse, and include anyone from the anarchists to the Prince of Wales himself, who was furious at Prince Eddy for his scandalous and dissolute behaviour. And as Lord Francis follows the wispy path of gossip and innuendo, he begins to uncover such a trail of scandal and vice that even makes this very decent man begin to question what he is doing.

The great thing about this novel is the manner in which the plot unfolds. Davidson takes his time to set the stage -- the murder of the prince does not take place until a quarter way into the book -- but by that time he has drawn a picture of the two dissolute and arrogant princes, intent on their own pleasure, and with very little care for the feelings of others, as well as given a very good idea of the kind of person the chief investigator, Lord Francis Powerscourt, is. We see how early tragedy has touched Lord Francis's life, and how this has made him especially sensitive to the pain and sorrow in others. The pacing of this novel is flawless, and the manner in which Davidson 'fleshes' out his characters in absolutely brilliant -- with a few well chosen words and phrases, you'd swear that the very characters themselves have come alive in front of you. "Goodnight, Sweet Prince" is an extremely well written book, that however may not be everyone cup of tea since it deals with the scandalous and imperious behavior of royal family members that may offend some readers, esp if their royalists. But it would be a shame however to give this excellent book a miss, because it is an extremely fun read.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great characters and mystery--royals acting badly, April 7, 2002

By 

booksforabuck "BooksForABuck" (Long Beach, CA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Goodnight, Sweet Prince (Hardcover)

In 1881, Victoria is Queen and Empress and proper British society is at its very height, yet all is not well. Investigator Lord Powerscourt is brought into a strange case involving blackmail of the Prince of Wales himself. England's heir has followed in some of the unfortunate traditions of royalty and his son, Prince Eddy, may be even worse. When Prince Eddy is found dead and the Prince of Wales decides on a cover-up, Powerscourt is called upon to find the killer in a murder that the English Royals simply cannot admit occured.

Author David Dickinson offers a delightful combination of engaging characters (the romance between Powerscourt and Lady Lucy is very well done as is the time-table toting butler) and compelling mystery. As Powerscourt digs deeper into the murder, he finds that Prince Eddy had much to account for and that the list of people with motives is long indeed. Powerscourt's investigative abilities and the reader's enjoyment are enhanced by his insights into society and humanity.

The scandals of the Royals have made history from the days of Shakespear until today. Dickinson reminds us that even in the glory days of the British Empire and Victoria, power and corruption add up to a dangerous combination--dangerous both to the royals themselves, and to everyone who comes in contact with them. GOODNIGHT SWEET PRINCE is a joy to read.

Highly Recommended.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Taste in books is very subjective., September 25, 2007

By 

RMissBrook "Anglophile" (Hull, MA USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Goodnight Sweet Prince (Lord Francis Powerscourt Murder Mysteries) (Paperback)

And what one person likes another thinks is rot. But I very much like this book and the subsequent one I have read. I vowed I was not going to start another "series" of English mysteries. I already have about seven different authors going. But I have ordered the third in this series. I especially like the character development in this series, not just of the main characters, but of the supporting ones as well. I never am any good at figuring out "who did it", so the characters, the environment and the quality of the writing are very important to me. But most important is whether or not I actually like and come to care about the characters. And I would love to be friends with the people in this story.