Marion Crawford thinks her dream is to teach in the slums but instead she finds herself as governess to Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret Rose. Can she shape the future of the monarchy and make the social difference she believes possible…?
The Governess is an historical novel set around the Royal Family during the 1930s and 40s.
Marion has good intentions and initially wants to teach the poorest in society. However she is then convinced that she can help the nation in a different way by shaping the future of the aristocracy so they in turn can make a difference to the poor. She then comes to the notice of the Royal Family and begins a career at the palace, getting a front row seat for the dramatic historic twists that hanged the monarchy forever.
I felt very sorry for Marion as she puts her whole life on hold to support the Royals during the abdication crisis, WW2 and beyond. Her marriage is unhappy and childless and she wasted her best years on her royal charges. In light of modern revelations about royal private lives, the reaction to her ‘betrayal’ is an overreaction and I felt desperately sorry for the way she is treated. However the ending focuses on the love and affection that endured her whole life.
I felt immersed in Marion’s life and think the author has researched well the characters and historical era. The audio narration was enjoyable to listen to and helped to bring the plot and characters to life.
The Governess is a very enjoyable historical novel and perfect for royalty fans.
Book blurb
Sunday Times bestselling author Wendy Holden brings to life the unknown childhood years of one of the world’s most iconic figures, Queen Elizabeth II, and reveals the little-known governess who made Britain’s queen into the monarch we know today.
In 1933, twenty-two-year-old Marion Crawford accepts the role of a lifetime, tutoring their Royal Highnesses Elizabeth and Margaret Rose. Her one stipulation to their parents the Duke and Duchess of York is that she bring some doses of normalcy into the sheltered and privileged lives of the two young princesses.
At Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle, and Balmoral, Marion defies oppressive court protocol to take the girls on tube trains, swimming at public baths, and on joyful Christmas shopping trips at Woolworth’s. From her ringside seat at the heart of the British monarchy she witnesses the upheaval of the Abdication and the glamour and drama of the 1937 Coronation.
During the war, as Hitler’s Heinkels fly over Windsor, she shelters her charges in the castle dungeons (not far from where the Crown Jewels are hidden in a biscuit tin). Afterwards, she is there when Elizabeth first sets eyes on Philip. But being beloved governess and confidante to the Windsor family has come at a cost. She puts her private life on hold until released from royal service following Princess Elizabeth’s marriage in 1947.
In a majestic story of love, sacrifice, and allegiance, bestselling novelist Holden shines a captivating light into the years before Queen Elizabeth II took the throne, as immortalized on the popular television series The Crown.
