Taking a break from my usual Regency fare I took a trip to 1912 with Rebecca Dean’s The Golden Prince.
The main thrust of the story focuses on a fictionalized young Prince Edward and his wild first love for a beautiful country miss.
It is at her home that the heir to the throne can throw off the strictures of his royal mantle and become a man.
Beautifully written, the text is rich with history. And as the looming Royal Wedding hype suggests feeds a natural fascination with the royals.
It is a meaty book that is more literature than histro although the romantic elements will satisfy. Although a Romeo and Juliet star crossed lovers set up means we don’t get the typical hist-ro happy ending.
There are some hist-ro conventions, like the villanous character, which readers used to literature or historical fiction will knee jerk and call “romance”. There is also a license Dean takes with history that will be familiar to hist-ro readers but may make others uncomfortable because the center focus of the book were real historical figures.
Frequent Regency readers will know I am not in love with Royal center plots. I found the secondary characters much more appealing and often times longed to read more about them. I think this may be my own bias based on my predilections for plucky gals and swashbuckling guys. Fans of authors like Virginia Henley and Sabrina Jefferies will treasure this book because of similar leanings.
Its a lengthy tome perfect for long plane rides or lazy beach days as you will quickly become absorbed in the story and want to finish it–a good old fashioned barn burner as they say. Overall I think an interesting and captivating read for hist-ro readers. Its also fairly light on the loving, so is friendly for 17 and up.
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