Women's Prize for Fiction

The UK's Women's Prize for Fiction published its shortlist for 2019:

I find the books on lists like these are all good reads, not just the winners. But this year I'll go straight for the prize-winner named at the end of this list. It has just the kind of complexity that keeps me intrigued. Happy reading!


Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker
In her own take on the events of The Iliad, Barker explores the Trojan War from the perspective of women, who served mainly as slaves or prostitutes, or those who lay out the dead. The story focuses on the battle between Achilles and Agamemnon over Briseis, once queen of a kingdom near Troy.




 Circe by Madeline Miller
Circe, born without the power of her father Helios or the astonishing allure of her mother, turns to mortals for companionship and discovers her own tremendous power of witchcraft that can menace the gods themselves. Will she suffer retribution?



Ordinary People by Diana Evans
Evans follows two couples who are dealing with changing values and commitments. Melissa and Michael, still engaged after 13 years, are grappling with the changes the come with their role as parents of a seven-year-old and a new baby. Melissa misses her job as a fashion editor, and Michael feels ignored and is in danger of being unfaithful. Their friends Damian and Stephanie realize 16 years into their marriage that they both want very different lives.




My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite
Realizing that her beautiful and favored sister Ayoola is actually a sociopath, Koreda tries to help her cover up the murders of her boyfriends until the doctor that Koreda works with, her long-term secret love, asks her for Ayoola's phone number. ("The wittiest and most fun murder party you've ever been invited to." -- Marie Claire)




Milkman by Anna Burns
In Northern Ireland in the Troubles of the 1970s, an unnamed narrator, who stands out because she reads while walking and takes French night classes, finds herself pursued by a high-ranking paramilitary known as Milkman, though she does not want the danger such attention could bring. (Milkman won the 2018 Man Booker Prize.)




An American Marriage by Tayari Jones
Celeste, an artist on the brink of success, marries Roy, a young executive. Soon Roy is arrested for a crime and sentenced to twelve years in prison. Celeste knows he did not commit the crime, but eventually she takes comfort in Andre, her dear friend from childhood. When Roy's sentence is suddenly overturned, Celeste must find a way to face the past and move forward.


The Winner: An American Marriage by Tayari Jones.

Ngaio Marsh

Once you’ve read all of Agatha Christie (not a quick undertaking), what next? Consider Ngaio Marsh. Her series featuring Inspector Roderick Alleyn of Scotland Yard starts in 1934 and continues on through the eighties. From country homes in England to New Zealand (Marsh’s home country), join Alleyn, his wife, the artist Agatha Troy, and his second-in-command, Inspector Fox as they always solve the crime. Start with A Man Lay Dead.

A Man Lay Dead by Ngaio Marsh

At Sir Hubert Handesley's country house party, five guests have gathered for the uproarious parlor game of "Murder." Yet no one is laughing when the lights come up on an actual corpse, the good-looking and mysterious Charles Rankin. Scotland Yard's Inspector Roderick Alleyn arrives to find a complete collection of alibis, a missing butler, and an intricate puzzle of betrayal and sedition in the search for the key player in this deadly game. 

Fiction Featuring Historical Women

Historical fiction often features the more well known figures in history, particularly when it comes to women.  Here are some works that highlight the lives of less well known, but very important women figures in history.

The Other Einstein - Marie Benedict

Mitza Marić has always been a little different from other girls. Most twenty-year-olds are wives by now, not studying physics at an elite Zurich university with only male students trying to outdo her clever calculations. But Mitza is smart enough to know that, for her, math is an easier path than marriage. And then fellow student Albert Einstein takes an interest in her, and the world turns sideways. Theirs becomes a partnership of the mind and of the heart, but there might not be room for more than one genius in a marriage.  Fictional account of the wife of Albert Einstein who was also a brilliant physicist.

The Moon in the Palace - Weina Dai Randel 

A Palace concubine, young Mei knows nothing of these womanly arts, yet she will give the Emperor a gift he can never forget. Mei's intelligence and curiosity, the same traits that make her an outcast among the other concubines, impress the Emperor. But just as she is in a position to seduce the most powerful man in China, divided loyalties split the palace in two, culminating in a perilous battle that Mei can only hope to survive.  Mei, also known as Wu Zetian, went on to become  Empress Wu, was involved in the expansion of China. 

Margaret the First - Danielle Dutton

Margaret the First dramatizes the life of Margaret Cavendish, the shy, gifted, and wildly unconventional 17th-century Duchess. The eccentric Margaret wrote and published volumes of poems, philosophy, feminist plays, and Utopian science fiction at a time when 'being a writer' was not an option open to women. As the English Civil War raged on, Margaret met and married William Cavendish, who encouraged her writing and her desire for a career. After the War, her work earned her both fame and infamy in England: at the dawn of daily newspapers, she was "Mad Madge," an original tabloid celebrity. Yet Margaret was also the first woman to be invited to the Royal Society of London--a mainstay of the Scientific Revolution--and the last for another two hundred years.

Hild - Nicola Griffith

Tells the story of Saint Hilda of Whitby.  Daughter of a poisoned prince and a crafty noblewoman, quiet, bright-minded Hild arrives at the court of King Edwin of Northumbria, where the six-year-old takes on the role of seer/consiglieri for a monarch troubled by shifting allegiances and Roman emissaries attempting to spread their new religion.

Terrible Virtue - Ellen Feldman 

A fictional portrait of one of the most influential figures of the twentieth century follows the founder of Planned Parenthood, Margaret Sanger, who sacrificed two husbands, three children, and scores of lovers in her fight for sexual equality and freedom.

Magic, Mystery and History

Want to read something to get in the mood for fall and Halloween, but looking for something other than the typical horror and bone chilling ghost stories you'd usually reach for this time of year? Here are some great reads to get into the spirit of the season that you may not have thought of picking up to read.

The Historian - Elizabeth Kostova

Discovering a medieval book and a cache of letters, a motherless American girl becomes the latest in a series of historians, including her late father, who investigate the possible surviving legacy of Vlad the Impaler.

The Hallowe'en Party: A Hercule Poirot Mystery - Agatha Christie

Mystery writer Ariadne Oliver chaperones a Halloween party for a group of teenagers, one a talkative lass known for telling tall tales. In fact, Ariadne hear Joyce Reynolds brag she has witnessed a murder. But when Joyce is found drowned in an apple-bobbing tub, Ariadne wonders if the girl was too close to the truth, and too close to a killer. Unmasking the culprit is a job for Hercule Poirot.

Through the Woods - Emily Carroll

Discover a terrifying world in the woods in this collection of five hauntingly beautiful graphic stories.

The Thirteenth Tale: A Novel - Diane Setterfield

When her health begins failing, the mysterious author Vida Winter decides to let Margaret Lea, a biographer, write the truth about her life, but Margaret needs to verify the facts since Vida has a history of telling outlandish tales.









The Night Circus - Erin Morgenstern

A fierce competition is underway, a contest between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood to compete in "a game," in which each must use their powers of illusion to best the other. Unbeknownst to them, this game is a duel to the death, and the circus is but the stage for a remarkable battle of imagination and will.

Need Help With that Square? - Armchair Travel

Close to BINGO but having trouble finding a book for that one square?
Here's some reading suggestions for Armchair Travel.

The Painted Girls - Cathy Marie Buchanan

Set in Belle Epoque Paris.  The Van Goethem sisters struggle for survival after the sudden death of their father, a situation that prompts Marie's ballet training and her introduction to a genius painter.









The House at Riverton - Kate Morton

Grace Bradley went to work at Riverton House as a servant when she was just a girl, before the First World War. For years her life was inextricably tied up with the Hartford family, most particularly the two daughters, Hannah and Emmeline. In the summer of 1924, at a glittering society party held at the house, a young poet shot himself. The only witnesses were Hannah and Emmeline and only they--and Grace--know the truth...



The Midwife of Venice - Roberta Rich

Hannah Levi is renowned throughout Venice for her gift at coaxing reluctant babies from their mothers--a gift aided by the secret "birthing spoons" she designed. But when a count implores her to attend to his wife, who has been laboring for days to give birth to their firstborn son, Hannah is torn. A Papal edict forbids Jews from rendering medical treatment to Christians, but the payment he offers is enough to ransom her beloved husband, Isaac, who has been captured at sea.



Nora Webster: A Novel - Colm Tóibín

Widowed in her forties, with four children and not enough money, Nora has lost the love of her life, Maurice, the man who rescued her from the stifling world to which she was born. And now she fears she may be drawn back into it. Wounded, strong-willed, clinging to secrecy in a tiny community where everyone knows your business, Nora is drowning in her own sorrow and blind to the suffering of her young sons, who have lost their father. Yet she has moments of stunning empathy and kindness, and when she begins to sing again, after decades, she finds solace, engagement, a haven-- herself.


City of Women - David R. Gillham

1943, in the height of World War II. With the men taken by the army, Berlin has become a city of women. While her husband fights on the Eastern Front, Sigrid Schroder is the model soldier's wife. She goes to work every day, does as much with her rations as she can, and cares for her meddling mother-in-law, all while ignoring the horrific immoralities of the regime. But behind the facade is an entirely different Sigrid. She dreams of her former Jewish lover, who is lost in the chaos of the war.

That spine tingling chill...

Many people are fans of that spine tingling chill happens when your reading an exciting book or a scary book. But if you are not a huge fan of scary - why not try a Gothic style chill instead? Gothic fiction is a genre or mode of literature that combines fiction, horror, death and Romanticism. Still not so sure about the horror and death part? What about a Gothic romance instead?

Try a classic such as Victoria Holt's Mistress of Mellyn where a young Victorian girl accepts a position as governess at Mellyn Manor, an estate shrouded in rumors of mystery and murder.

Or there is Barbara Michaels' Ammie, Come Home. Hosting what was supposed to be a harmless sâeance to entertain her visiting niece, Sara, in her elegant Georgetown home, Ruth Bennett comes face to face with an unwelcome spirit who reveals a dark history of lust, treachery, violence, and murder that now plagues the modern-day inhabitants of the haunted house. Michaels' other titles have spooky tales of governesses and orphan girls battling sinister thoughts of their employers and other menace.

For a tad more modern approach, there is Simone St. James' award winning book The Haunting of Maddy Clare. In 1920s England, Sarah Piper is sent by her temporary agency to assist a ghost hunter, Alistair Gellis, as he investigates the spirit of Maddy Clare, a young serving maid said to haunt the barn where she committed suicide. The ghost is no hoax, and Sarah is soon caught up in trying to discover who Maddy was, where she came from, and why she is desperate for revenge.

Mary Stewart's The Moonspinners was made into a film, but the book is much more menacing as our heroine tries to figure out who is telling the truth as she vacations on the islands of Greece.

And if you like a bit of satire, Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey does a wonderful send up of the Gothic genre. Austen knew what she was writing about since Gothics were a popular trend at the time.

So try reading something a little bit different this year for Halloween. Enjoy!

P.D. James

The world lost a stellar member of the crime-writing world last week. Phyllis Dorothy James, known to her many devoted followers as P.D. James, passed away on November 27th at the age of 94. Dubbed "The Queen of Crime", she was most famous for her series of detective novels featuring police commander Adam Dalgliesh. Her novels had intricate plots and psychologically complex characters. She accumulated numerous awards for the 18 crime novels produced during a writing career spanning a half-century. Seven of her mysteries were adapted for the public-television series “Mystery!” and were broadcast in Britain and the United States. Her last novel, “Death Comes to Pemberley” (2011), is a sequel and homage to Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice” and was adapted for a television mini-series in Britain in 2013.

If you're not familiar with James' works, here are a few titles to get you started reading this marvelous author.
A Taste For Death
Commander Adam Dalgliesh investigates the throat-slash murders, in a London Church, of Sir Paul Berowne, former Minister of State, and a tramp named Harry Mack, murders that lead Dalgliesh onto surprising English pathways.
The Private Patient
When investigative journalist Rhoda Gradwyn turns up dead after seeing renowned plastic surgeon George Chandler-Powell for a routine surgical procedure, Commander Adam Dalgliesh is called in to investigate. The last in the Adam Dalgliesh series.
The Children of Men
The human race has become infertile, and the last generation to be born is now adult. Civilization itself is crumbling as suicide and despair become commonplace. Oxford historian Theodore Faron, apathetic toward a future without a future, spends most of his time reminiscing. Then he is approached by Julian, a bright, attractive woman who wants him to help get her an audience with his cousin, the powerful Warden of England. She and her band of unlikely revolutionaries may just awaken his desire to live . . . and they may also hold the key to survival for the human race.
Death Comes to Pemberley
P.D. James has based this novel on Pride and prejudice, written by Jane Austen, and upon the characters within it. Six years after her marriage, Elizabeth Darcy is happily living with her husband and two sons at Pemberley, when, after the end of their annual autumn ball, an uninvited guest arrives in a chaise from the woods surrounding the estate screaming that her husband has been murdered, thereby shattering Elizabeth's peaceful life.

For the Armchair Traveler in Need of a Last Minute Vacation

Susan Orlean embodies the the travel journalist with her book of essays entitled My Kind of Place: Travel Stories From a Woman Who's Been Everywhere. She travels to Paris, features the African music scene, attends World Taxidermy Championships in Springfield, Illinois. In each place she finds people worth knowing about and a world you did not realize that it was out there.






Marlena de Blasi is a chef who goes to Venice to explore and experience the cuisine that region has to offer. She ends up in a life changing romance in A Thousand Days in Venice. A lush tale for a beautiful city.

The Lost Girls: Three Friends, Four Continents, One Unconventional Detour Around the World by 

Jennifer Baggett, Holly C. Corbett, and Amanda Pressner is next on our list. This is the tale of three friends at a crossroads in their twenties quit their high pressure New York media jobs, leave their friends and everything familiar behind, and embark on a year-long backpacking adventure around the world. 

Alice Steinbach is a journalist from the Baltimore Sun who goes on sabbatical. The Pulitzer Prize-winning writer explores the nature of independence, chronicling her own adventures as a woman in search of freedom from the things that define her as she journeys to Paris, Oxford, Milan, and beyond. Her book is Without Reservations: the Travels of an Independent Woman.

Frances Mayes is well known for her book Under the Tuscan Sun. However in her other title,  A Year in the World, she travels a month at a time - each to a different location. Once month it is Spain, the next it could be England. Each time they travel, she and her companion try to live in the community that they are exploring. Her descriptions of food and the beauty of her surroundings will have you planning your next journey.

Walk, hike, trek or stroll

Exercise doesn't have to be complicated to be beneficial. Something as simple as a brisk walk will benefit both mind and body. Walking helps to maintain a healthy weight, strengthen bones, lift your mood and recently it has become a popular subject for books.  The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce is a gentle charmer full of British quirkiness and certain to make you laugh and cry. Harold Fry is painfully shy and recently retired from his job as a brewery salesman when he receives a letter from Queenie Hennessy a friend from his past. Queenie is dying of cancer and writes to say goodbye.  Harold becomes convinced that if he walks the 600+ miles to see Queenie he can save her life. If you prefer nonfiction try, Wild: from lost to found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed is a candid and inspiring memoir of a woman reeling after her mother's death and a string of bad life choices.  Hoping to get her life back on track, Stayed begins a 1,100+ mile solo trek from California through Oregon to Washington. Both of these books would make great book discussion choices. Enjoy the journey!

Call the Midwife

I just finished watching Season 1 of the delightful medical drama series Call the Midwife. The series aired in the fall of 2012 to wide critical acclaim in both the U.S. and Great Britain.  Season 2 premiers Sunday, March 31st on PBS and I can't wait! The story is told through the eyes of newly qualified nurse midwife Jenny Lee. Jenny takes her first job at what she thought was a private hospital in East London, but Nonnatus House turns out to be a maternity clinic operated by nuns. The Sisters of St. Raymond Nonnatus along with lay midwives serve the slums of East London in the 1950's. A wonderful medical drama about the professional and personal lives of the midwives.The drama stars; Jessica Raine, Miranda Hart, Cliff Parisi, Jenny Agutter, Pam Ferris, Judy Parfitt and Vanessa Redgrave. The TV series is based on the book The midwife: a memoir of birth, joy and hard times by Jennifer Worth.

Novels featuring midwives:
Midwives by Chris Bohjalian
The time 1981, and Sibyl Danforth has been a devoted midwife in the rural community of Reddington, Vermont, for fifteen years.  One winter night, during a strong winter storm, Sibyl takes desperate measures to save a baby's life. She performs an emergency Cesarean section on its mother, who appears to have died in labor. But what if --as Sibyl's assistant later charges--the patient wasn't already dead, and it was Sibyl who accidentally killed her?

Amish Midwife by Mary Starns Clark
A desire to learn about her biological family leads nurse-midwife Lexie Jaeger to the heart of Pennsylvania Amish country, where she meets a mysterious lay-midwife who needs her help after an Amish client and her baby die.

Murder on Astor Place by Victoria Thompson
Following a predictable delivery in a rooming house, turn-of-the-century midwife Sarah Brandt discovers that another boarder, a young girl, has been murdered and, despite the interference of the girl's powerful family, joins forces with Sergeant Frank Malloy to find the killer before er can strike again. Gaslight mystery series features midwife and amateur detective.

Staircase of a Thousand Steps by Masha Hamilton
Set in Transjordan before the 1976 war with Israel, Jammana and Faridah, the midwife, find themselves trapped between the old world and the new.

Talk of the Ton: Georgian/Regency Mysteries 1760-1830

One hears about Regency romances a lot, but what about Regency era mysteries?  Come join the Much Ado About Mysteries discussion group on Thursday March 14, 2013. At 7:00pm we will be chatting about the theme Talk of the Ton: Georgian/Regency Mysteries 1760-1830. We are going to be discussing the mystery stories set in the time period in which George III and his son George IV reigned.

Americans know George III as a revolutionary tyrant, but he is know for much more in his homeland.  In England, he was known as "Farmer George" for all of the progress that British agriculture made during this time. Those scientific advances helped grow the rural population, who eventually became the workers during the industrial revolution. He also kept the country together during the French Revolution and during the Napoleonic wars. He was known as a devoted husband (rare for a monarch of his time) and provided the country with several heirs.  Unfortunately he suffered from various health issues (another topic for discussion!) and his son was called in to reign as Regent.


The Regent (the future George IV) was known for his fashionable taste and his scandals. But he did have influence on the high society or as the French called it the 'ton.'  He definitely loved and created gossip.

So come and grab a copy of the reading list, held at the Reader Services desk, find a book and join us in the fun of discussing mysteries about this fascinating period of history. We have Jane Austen in the role of a sleuth, but there are gritter and darker stories too - a little something for everyone. Hope to see you there on March 14th.

Warm Romances for a Cool Winter

Looking forward to cuddling by the fire with a good romance? Take a look at these charming titles to see if they will suit.

The Lady Most Willing by Julia Quinn, Eloisa James and Connie Brockway
   This title is a historical romance novel in three parts by three authors. It is a cold Scottish night and the laird decided that his heirs need to find a bride. So he kidnaps some ladies from a local ball and brings them to his chilly castle to meet his nephews. But the laird gets more than he bargained for when he gets an extra lady and a duke. Filled with great dialogue and fun characters, this story will charm you on that cold night. But make sure to have an afghan handy, since this castle is particularly drafty. 

If you like this book, go back to last year's The Lady Most Likely by the same authors. There is a character that is continued.

Can't Stand the Heat by Louisa Edwards
   This contemporary romance is for those readers who follow Top Chef and love the Food Network. Miranda, a New York culinary critic, accepts Chef Adam's challenge to work a day in his rising star restaurant. She thinks she's going to get a behind the scenes look at what makes him tick, but their chemistry together has the kitchen turning steamy. This is the first book in Edwards'  A Recipe for Love series, and she does a great job with the main and secondary characters. A fun time will be had by all.

 

How to Capture a Countess by Karen Hawkins
   This is the first book in the Duchess Diaries series that features the Duchess of Roxburghe (married five time and she has outlived them all!) and her attempts at being a matchmaker. She starts with her nephew Lord Sinclair who has a rather rakish reputation. The Duchess finds out that he has been hunting for her goddaughter Rose ever since she caused a bit of a scandal with him a at ball. Guess who the Duchess invites over for a house party? Hawkins provides her book with snappy dialogue and great humor. And just wait until you meet the infamous Roxburge pug dogs. I can not wait until the next title in the series.

Enjoy your reading!

God Save the Queen!

This month, Queen Elizabeth II is celebrating her diamond jubilee as the Head of State of the United Kingdom and 15 other Commonwealth realms. Upon the death of her father, King George VI, she acceded to the throne and was crowned on June 2, 1952 at the young age of 25.

If you’ve watched all the festivities on TV, and now want to learn more about her, there is a DVD called The Diamond Queen. It is a documentary of Queen Elizabeth II’s life: the defining moments of her monarchy and her impact around the world.

After watching that, you might become interested in learning more about the rest of her family. If so,  there's Bertie & Elizabeth, a fictionalized movie, but nonetheless a very good portrayal of the life of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, her parents. Then you can move on to her grandchildren and watch The Royal Wedding, which is about William and Kate’s special day.

If you don't have time to sit and watch the movies, there is also an audio book Elizabeth the Queen, by Sally Bedell Smith and read by Rosalyn Landor.

There has always been a fascination with English Royalty, and who knows, there might be great-grandchildren in the not too distant future.

If you just can't get enough of Downton Abbey...

Fans of the popular television drama "Downton Abbey" may be a bit panicked (!) that Season 2 is about to end. If you're one of those who can’t bear the thought of months without the Crawleys and their servants, perhaps the following reading suggestions might help to fill the void before Season 3 arrives. Simply click on the links below to find book summaries, title availability or to place holds. For additional reading suggestions, always feel free to speak with someone at the Reader Services desk.

If you're intrigued with British high society, you might consider reading:

The Fox’s Walk by Annabel Davis-Goff
The American Heiress by Daisy Goodwin
The House at Riverton by Kate Morton
A Room with a View by E.M. Foster
The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
The Buccaneers by Edith Wharton
Howards End by E.M. Forster

If you’re interested in nonfiction about Britain on the brink of great societal and political change, you might try:

The Sisters: The Saga of the Mitford Family by Mary S. Lovell

The Perfect Summer: England 1911, Just before the Storm by Juliet Nicolson

The Bolter by Frances Osborne

If you'd like to further explore World War I, try these possibilities:

Regeneration by Pat Barker (Book 1 of the Regeneration trilogy)    

Fall of Giants by Ken Follett  

A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway

All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque

To End All Wars: A Story of Loyalty and Rebellion, 1914-1918 by Adam Hochschild (nonfiction)

If you enjoy mysteries set against the historical backdrop of World War I and the post-war years, you might like:

River of Darkness by Rennie Airth (Book 1 in the John Madden trilogy)

The Crimson Rooms by Katharine McMahon
No Graves as Yet: A Novel of World War I by Anne Perry (Book 1 of the World War I novels)

The Return of Captain John Emmett by Elizabeth Speller
A Duty to the Dead by Charles Todd (1^st in the Bess Crawford mysteries)

Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear (Book 1 in the Maisie Dobbs series)

If you’d like to read nonfiction directly related to the Downton Abbey television series, you might check out:

Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey: The Lost Legacy of Highclere Castle by Fiona Carnarvon
The World of Downton Abbey by Jessica Fellowes

Below Stairs: The Classic Kitchen Maid's Memoir That Inspired "Upstairs, Downstairs" and "Downton Abbey" by Margaret Powell

The Man, The Myth, The Musician: Keith Richards

In the age old question which rock group is better : the Beatles or the Rolling Stones - if you answer the Stones - this is the book for you.

Life by Keith Richards with James Fox, gives the Rolling Stone fan a glimpse into the creative and sometimes chemically enhanced mind of a founding member of the band. Richards is very straightforward on some issues (the music, his ex- girlfriend and Brian Jones), and cagey on others (Altamont.)  It is amazing he remembers as much as he does and it is fun when he has others in his circle being interviewed about the topics at hand.

At 564 pages, this is a long read, but Keith's humor and unique perspective make it worth while. Definitely a must read for anyone who is interested in the 60's and 70's music scene in England, and in one of the biggest rock bands of the last century. Just a warning - you might as well get your Stones music out when reading, because you will be hearing the songs in your head!

Her Royal Spyness

Lady Georgiana has some problems. She wants to do something with herself instead of mope around the family's cold Scottish estates. But they have no money and she decides to earn some. It's better than waiting around to be married or being a companion to a great aunt in the middle of nowhere. She's not in great demand - she's only 34th in line for the throne and there's a depression on!

So she goes to stay in the London house (for free!) and get a job. The problem is she doesn't know how to cook, set a fire in the fireplace, or take care of herself. She's a bit naive but willing to learn. After getting fired from Harrod's, she starts a business of being a maid who will "open your London house" for you. With the help of her non-royal grandfather, and her best friend Brenda, she is starting to make it on her own.

But her brother Binky gets accused of murder, and then her cousin the Queen wants her to keep an eye on her cousin David, the Prince of Wales. Hmmm. What's a lady to do?

In Her Royal Spyness, Georgie learns to make her way in the world - she's not stupid - just rather sheltered - and discovers that good manners can get you far. And then someone gets murdered in the house. and he turns out to be a blackmailer. She just has to clear Binky of the charges!

Rhys Bowen has another great series on her hands. Lots of fun and froth. And a bit more information on what was really going on behind the scenes of royalty in the 1930's. Great fun, and I am eagerly awaiting the next one.

Others in the series:

A Royal Pain (2008) Georgie keeps us her cleaning business and the Queen decides to have a foreign princess stay with her. Thank goodness the princess seems to like "Bubble and Squeak".

Royal Flush (2009) After Georgie makes a big mistake by putting the word "escort" in a ad, she gets sent back home to Scotland to with orders to keep an eye on a certain Mrs. Simpson. But it seems someone is injuring royals, even lesser ones!

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie

A terrific audiobook that I enjoyed and really thought was charming, funny and an intriguing mystery is called The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by first time novelist 70 year old Alan Bradley. The story is read by Jayne Entwistle who portrays precocious 11 year old Flavia de Luce, as an unconventional young lady with a love of chemistry and a talent for deductive reasoning with enthusiasm, curiosity and a British accent that draws you in. The story begins in the summer of 1950 in a sleepy English village. When Flavia discovers a murdered stranger’s body in a cucumber patch outside her bedroom window, she begins her quest to solve the mystery like a female adolescent version of Sherlock Holmes. I really enjoyed each of the characters in this audiobook and how they all developed their own unique personality.