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Title: In the Shadow of a Queen
Author: Heather B. Moore
Genre: Historical Fiction, Inspirational Fiction
Publisher: Shadow Mountain Publishing (October 4, 2022)
Length: (384) pages
Format: Hardcover, eBook, & audiobook
ISBN: 978-1639930500
Based on the true story of the free-spirited daughter of Queen Victoria.
Princess Louise’s life is upended after her father’s untimely death. Captive to the queen’s overwhelming mourning, Louise is forbidden to leave her mother’s tight circle of control and is eventually relegated to the position of personal secretary to her mother—the same position each of her sisters held until they were married.
Already an accomplished painter, Louise risks the queen’s wrath by exploring the art of sculpting, an activity viewed as unbefitting a woman. When Louise involves herself in the day’s political matters, including championing the career of a female doctor and communicating with suffragettes, the queen lays down the law to stop her and devotes her full energy to finding an acceptable match for her defiant daughter.
Louise is considered the most beautiful and talented daughter of Queen Victoria, but finding a match for the princess is no easy feat. Protocols are broken, and Louise exerts her own will as she tries to find an open-minded husband who will support her free spirit.
In the Shadow of a Queen is the story of a battle of wills between two women: a daughter determined to forge her own life beyond the shadow of her mother, and a queen resolved to keep the Crown’s reputation unsullied no matter the cost.
ADVANCE PRAISE
“Peek into the House of Hanover and view the strength of two women: Queen Victoria and her daughter Princess Louise. This story weaves compassion and conflict into breathtaking and gripping historical detail.”— Julie Wright, author of A Captain for Caroline Gray
"Moore crafts an intriguing portrait of the independently minded Princess Louise and her tensions with the English royal family. Moore sets the stage with meticulous research, and she expertly combines fact with fiction, with psychological insights on Victoria's mercurial moods and the impact of her controlling nature. It adds up to a worthy portrait of a woman divided by duty and self-determination."— Publishers Weekly
5 STARS – “I always enjoy Heather Moore’s historical novels. This one did not disappoint! She is impeccable with her research and always does an excellent job of bringing people from the past to life.”— Julia Daines, bestselling author of Haven Cross, and Whitney Award Finalist
Heather B. Moore is a USA Today bestselling author of more than ninety publications. Heather writes primarily historical and #herstory fiction about the humanity and heroism of the everyday person. Publishing in a breadth of genres, Heather dives into the hearts and souls of her characters, meshing her love of research with her love of storytelling.
Her historicals and thrillers are written under pen name H.B. Moore. She writes women's fiction, romance and inspirational non-fiction under Heather B. Moore, and . . . speculative fiction under Jane Redd. This can all be confusing, so her kids just call her Mom. Heather attended Cairo American College in Egypt and the Anglican School of Jerusalem in Israel. Despite failing her high school AP English exam, Heather persevered and earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Brigham Young University in something other than English.
Please join Heather's email list at: HBMoore.com/contact/
Website: HBMoore.com
Twitter: @heatherbmoore
Instagram: @authorhbmoore
Facebook: Fans of Heather B. Moore
And yes, the Blog still lives: MyWritersLair.blogspot.com
Literary honors: 2020 Goodreads Choice Award Semi-Finalist, Foreword 2020 INDIES Finalist, ALA Best New Books - September 2020, 6-time Best of State Recipient for Best in Literary Arts, 2019 Maggie Award Winner, 4-time Whitney Award Winner, and 2-time Golden Quill Award Winner.
Heather is represented by Dystel, Goderich, and Bourret.
My Thoughts
I have not read a historical fiction of royalty in quite some time. I was intrigued when I was offered a copy of the book for review. I knew next to nothing about Queen Victoria and even less about her children, so this was going to be totally new to me.
The story starts in 1861 in England. Princess Louise is 12 years old at the beginning of the story, each chapter has a little blurb in the form of a letter to and from the royalty. Louise was the sixth child and fourth daughter of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Albert. She and her sibling's upbringing were strict with education with the emphasis on cooking, farming, household tasks, and carpentry, which the latter I found kind of odd. She was very artistic from a young age, but because she was a royal, pursuing the arts was not considered. She was allowed to attend an art school thanks to her mother.
The Queen was determined to carry her children off to the proper people. There was a list of royals to choose from but Louise would have none of them. She found little time for the niceties of finding a suitor. It was difficult to find the perfect suitor for her, she insisted that the husbands that she choose would have to live in England, so that left a lot of the royal men not suitable, which was fine in Louise's mind.
Louise was the unofficial secretary to Queen Victoria and that was a job she was well suited to. Prince Albert died and the Queen and all of the family went into deep mourning, so this left a lot of time to pursue her love of art., becoming a prolific sculptor and artist. Louise was best known for her philanthropic endeavors, and she received many honors for her works.
Princess Louise did meet and fall in love with John Campbell, telling her mother that she had no desire to marry a prince and she wanted to marry John. He was heir to the Dukedom of Argyll, Marquess of Lorne. Their marriage was a happy one for a time, then they drifted apart for a while but they persevered and the marriage continues.
I learned a lot about Louise, Queen Victoria, whom I always thought of as a fussy old woman but that could not be further from the truth. She just wanted what was best for her family and her kingdom. She had been deeply in love with Prince Albert and that love was passed down to her children.
I think that the author did a tremendous job in the research and writing, depicting the Queen and her children as a great family, notwithstanding issues, every family has that, even royalty.
I really enjoyed this book, I will be reading more by Heather B.Moore. I give this book 5 stars!
I received a copy of the book for review purposes only.
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