Customer Reviews

Her Royal Spyness

5 star:		(34)
4 star:		(25)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Wow, this is a wonderful book. I thought I would mildly enjoy a light period mystery, but I had no idea this book would turn out to be so funny, charming, and well-written. It reminds me of the fabulous "The Lost Art of Keeping Secrets," "I Capture the Castle," and "Gone with the Windsors," two of my favorite books. While reading "Her Royal Spyness," I found myself continually looking at the cover and the back, making sure this was actually "just" a cozy mystery. It is so well-written, the characters so delightful and well-drawn, I have to say that, while I love mysteries, this book is a cut above the rest. Bowen draws a marvelous, and hilarious, portrait of young, slightly silly, but rather lovely and eccentric, royals, running around '30s London, getting into funny scrapes. More than for the mystery (although the mystery is excellent as well), read this for a delightful picture of high society amongst impoverished minor royals in the 1930s.

Lady Georgiana has a problem. She's over the age where she should be married, but she's still single. And her brother has just cut off her allowance.

Now if you're thinking, "No problem, just get a job" then you need a few more details. See, Georgie is thirty-fourth in line for the throne of England and this is 1932 London. Even though she has no money, working is beneath her class. Beside, what can she really do?

Georgie doesn't let that stop her, however. She starts trying her hand at anything she can think of, as anonymously as possible of course. And she may have found the perfect way to make some money to support her self. That is, until she finds a very dead man in her own bathtub. How did he get there? And, more importantly, is Georgie's life in danger?

I've been a devoted fan of Rhys Bowen's work since I discovered it five years ago. So buying this book was a no brainer. And I must say I enjoyed it.

The mystery itself was a little slow, especially at the beginning. Once it got going, it held my interest until the end. And I was completely stumped, figuring it out only when Georgie did.

What kept me going was Georgie herself. She is lots of fun with a great sense of humor. Her narration had me grinning most of the way through the book. She's just the right mix of upper class and realist to be immediately likable.

This book is as much about Georgie's search to support herself as it is the mystery. If read as such, it will be very satisfying. Light and fun reading.

This is the first book I have read by this author, Rhys Bowen, but I can assure you it will not be the last. To be honest, this work had me hooked after only three pages. I realize that this offering is classified as a mystery, but, in my own mind, it may be just a click or two off the standard book in this genre. Yes, there is a mystery, involving one dead Frenchman in our heroine's bathtub, but the mystery part of the book is sort of a by- product of a well told story. Observation, character development and wonderfully unlikely situations make this story. To be frank, as dense as I am, I had the "who done it" part figured out quite quickly. That is just fine tough, as the strength of this book lies elsewhere.

This work is absolutely hilarious. The plot, which has been told and retold here by other reviewers, simply put, concerns a young member of the royal family, set in England and Scotland, in 1932. The young lady has found herself cut off from what little family money there is, has no servants, is absolutely clueless as to how to even start a fire, much less prepare a meal other than toast and warmed over baked beans. She finds herself, on her own, in prewar London.

It has been pointed out by a couple of other reviewers that perhaps this work may be of more interest to women than to men. This could be true, but if you are like me, you will read just about anything as long as it is well written. Another point mentioned by a couple of reviewers is that the attitudes displayed by many of the characters in this book fit our times, socially, rather than those of England in the 1930s. I do respectfully disagree with this observation. The attitudes may not have been physically manifested during those times, but I can assure you the thoughts were there. This book is well written. Mrs. Bowen is a natural story teller with quick wit and a wonderfully understated sense of humor. Some of the observations our main character makes will have you laughing out loud as they did me.

If you are looking for a easy read, a read that is simply fun and want a few laughs, then this one is for you. I do highly recommend this one. I do hope we see more of Victoria Georgiana Charlotte Eugenie, daughter of the duke of Glen Garry and Rannoch.

The situation with Georgiana as 32nd (or so) in line for the throne is curious. It's the '30s, in the midst of the Depression, even so, there have always been impoverished aristocrats and minor royalty--and Georgiana is one. Her half-brother, the Duke, is lord of a draughty castle in Scotland, but more importantly, can't spare her an allowance. Her future is to be married off to some minor princeling from the Continent, if she's lucky. So Georgiana escapes the boring castle and heads to London, where she tries to make some money without anyone finding out--particularly the Queen.

The Queen, a sort of all-seeing head of the family, somehow knows Georgiana has come to London the moment she arrives, and summons her to ask her to check out the dubious romantic involvement the Prince has tangled himself up in. Why? Because everyone relies on Georgiana to have a bit of brains, which isn't quite so apparent unless it's relative to her brother the Duke, whom is known as not being clever at all.

Most of the book concerns Georgiana and her aristocratic but down-at-heel friends crashing parties for the food and trying to make some money with some odd ideas (in Georgiana's case, working at Harrod's and being fired the first day, and doing light cleaning for the very people who would actually recognize her!). What about the assignment for the Queen? Nothing until the end aside from a brief chance meeting. In the meantime, an actual murder mystery does rear its head (about mid-book) when Georgiana finds a man floating in the bathtub of the huge, empty London house she's staying in (she can't afford servants).

Lots more happens, but very little to do with sleuthing and mystery-solving, although Georgiana HAS to deal with some of it since her brother is arrested for the murder and she's his only hope and the murderer may be someone she knows--although this bit of enlightenment doesn't occur to her in a timely manner.

And about the Queen's assignment? Well, Georgiana has met the Woman and Doesn't Like Her (she was quite rude!).

I really don't have much hope for Georgiana as a sleuth. But the hapless characters were mostly harmless and had their charm and the situation was unusual enough to have its interest.

Rhys Bowen has been nominated for every award in the mystery field and has won seven, including the Agatha and Anthony Awards.

In her new series, Bowen explores 1930's London and the Royal family. Lady Victoria Georgiana Charlotte Eugenie, known as Georgie, is the daughter of the Duke of Athold and Rannoch. She's thirty-fourth in line for the throne and is expected to act as if she were HRM rather than a minor royal.

Due to some unfortunate circumstances, Georgie is flat broke. Her allowance has been cut off by her brother, Binky (well, her sister-in-law had a great deal to do with that). In order to survive, she's got to get a job or find herself working in the dreary job as a lady-in-waiting to another royal.

Georgie is just not cut out for the working life. She's fired (after a few hours) from a cosmetics job at Harrods, starts a job has a housekeeper for the wealthy (but must hide her identity), is expected to take care of her brother's London house and him (without any knowledge of how to light a fire, turn on the hot water, or cook), and then is asked by the Queen to spy on her playboy son.

Things are not going well for Georgie. They become even more difficult when an arrogant Frenchman tries to claim the family home and is found dead, fully-clothed, in the tub in Binky's London house.

Gorgie's new job is to clear her family name. Well, she's not equipped to do anything else, so how hard can solving a murder be?

Her Royal Spyness is delightful. I loved the period setting, the writing, the glimpse at the Royals, the class system and snobbery, everything. But a typical murder mystery it's not. Oh, there is a murder and it is solved, but the victim doesn't show up until page 102 and murder doesn't take place until page 133. In my mind, it's a wonderful piece of fiction that includes a murder.

Armchair Interviews says: Not a typical mystery, but worth reading if you love good characters and detailed settings. It's an all around good romp into 1930's London.

I enjoy historical mysteries, particularly those placed in the Twenties in England. I was impressed at first with the fresh perspective on the genre but ultimately was disappointed in this effort. The characters fell into familiar stereotypes which became very unsatisfying as the plot headed towards a predictable finish. It was not the fresh look I had been hoping for.

Her Royal Spyness by Rhys Bowen is the first in a new series starring Lady Georgie, 34th in line to the English throne and penniless. Her brother has cut off her allowance, and the queen is trying to get her to marry Prince Siegmund of Romania who Georgie and her friends have nicknamed Fishface. So Georgie moves into the family townhouse in London and attempts to make a go of it on her own. But with no servants in residence, she has to learn how to lay a fire, do basic housekeeping and feed herself. She gets a job at Harrod's and loses it five hours later, so she hires out incognito as a light housekeeper. In the midst of all this, a dead body shows up in her bathtub, and she's a top suspect. In order to lift the blame from her family, Georgie investigates the murder and digs up all sorts of dirt. I love Bowen's Molly Murphy series, and this is equally delightful. Georgie is hilarious in her ineptness, and her family is filled with the types of quirky characters necessary for a true cozy mystery. The book has lots of royal trivia and etiquette, as well as appearances by Wallis Simpson. While the murderer may seem a bit obvious, Georgie's lack of guile makes it ok for her not to pick up on it as quickly as readers do. God bless Bowen for giving readers as much info as Georgie so that we can solve the mystery on our own. This is a series that promises to be loads of fun.

Bowen has done it again! She's created another smashing series featuring characters from an earlier (and poorer) London scene, Depression Era. Georgie, aka Lady Victoria Georgiana Charlotte Eugenie, has escaped Scotland and her brother, the Duke, and his matchmaking attempts by heading to their home in London. Georgie was `finished' - raised to get married, run a home, have servants, etc. So arriving in London without any money brought about an entirely new education for the spunky royal, who, incidentally, is 34th in line for the throne. So when Georgie receives an invitation (summons) from HRH Queen Mary for tea, she fears that the Queen will continue the matchmaking - but that seems to be the least of Georgie's troubles.

Cut off from her allowance, Georgie finds that everyday life is a lot more difficult than she ever imagined. Without a servant to set and light the fire, draw warm water for a bath, or even brew a cup of tea, Georgie stumbles along trying to figure out how to survive on her own and what she could possibly do to get a job. Luckily Georgie is not the only lady in her class that has fallen upon desperate times, and she runs into her old school friend Belinda. This seems to be the beginning of many mishaps and adventures that lead to Georgie finding a corpse in her bathroom.

Georgie knows her brother, Binky, is innocent despite the evidence the police have collected against him. She decides that it is up to her to clear her brother's name and her family's honor - but how? Drawing on reserves of strength she didn't know she had, Georgie pulls out all the stops to solve the mystery - and the queen's request - before one of her many `accidents' halts her in her tracks.

I have enjoyed every one of Rhys Bowen's novels, and this one is no exception. Georgie is a wonderful, personable character who is able to bring the experiences of fending for oneself to life. It seems impossible that people lived (and still do?) without knowing how to make tea or change a bed, but Georgie's earnest attempts at simple chores brings it home to how London was changing in the early 1900's - as well as the rest of the world.

Cozy readers will enjoy the plotline, as well as those who enjoy British mysteries. I would compare this with Robin Paige's Victorian Series or Nancy Atherton's Aunt Dimity's series.

*Her Royal Spyness* deserves five stars for character development and historical interest, but I didn't find the mystery plot quite up to Bowen's usual compelling standards.

Georgie (Lady Victoria Georgiana Charlotte Eugenie, daughter to the Duke of Glen Garry and Rannoch) is close enough to the epicenter of British power - a royal - to be in on some interesting action in a fascinating historical time. But she's far enough toward the fringes - 34th in line to the throne - to leave plenty of scope for fictional adventures.

She holds rank without the wealth to support its lifestyle. She has the brains and spirit to refuse to be married off to the unsuitable samples of European royalty she's being pushed at. And as the story begins, 21-year-old Georgie is fed up with freezing in the family castle in Scotland while enduring her sister-in-law's frugalities.

She impulsively flees to London - and runs head-on into life outside her prior experience. She meets up with old friends and makes some new ones. Because her brother, who now holds the title, stopped her allowance on her 21st birthday - assuming she would shortly find someone appropriate to marry - she's broke. Therefore she tries to earn money, with mixed results and plenty of comedy. Then she finds a body in the bathtub of the family's London house. The murder victim when alive held a document that could have taken Castle Rannoch away from the family. Her brother Binky is arrested for the murder.

Georgie, her friend Belinda, and her maternal grandfather - a retired Cockney policeman - investigate the case. Georgie has some slips and near-falls; are they due to her lack of physical coordination, or something more sinister? All is revealed, of course, and we have some fun along the way with historical persons and fictional ones.

Speaking of historical characters, the "spyness" of the title refers to an assignment given to Georgie by HRH the Queen. That mission is a subplot, but I suppose the title was too good to pass up.

I am looking forward to the next book in this series.

and it won't be the last! An absolute delight from beginning to end. It's bright, witty, inventive, and a social satire to boot. Lady Georgie is a very intelligent, very capable young woman determined to make her own way in the world - and not allow herself to be foisted off on some fish-lipped prince of a Balkan country. The characters are always interesting. The dialogue snappy. The love interest intriguing. (A Mr. Darcy, if you can believe it!) And since this is the first in a series, we should have many more to look forward to.