The Lost Queen by Norah Lofts

[Susan]

The Lost Queen by Norah Lofts, published in 1968

I had been spying this book sitting on my ignored to be read bookcase while I happily read away on my Kindle. Having decided earlier this month to make a dent in my TBR bookcase, I pulled this book off it. It is the tragic story of Caroline Matilda, youngest sibling of King George III, and her marriage to the insane King Christian VII of Denmark. This tale was recently told in the Danish film A Royal Affair which was nominated for a Best Foreign Film Oscar. I've read another novel about this (The Visit of the Royal Physician by Per Olov Enquist) and a nonfiction on King George III's siblings (A Royal Affair: George III and His Scandalous Siblings by Stella Tillyard), so I knew the story. When I read royalty nonfiction, I like to focus on royal women. I have a soft spot for them since so many of them were marriage pawns and sent away to another country, many of them never to return to their homeland or see their families again. Caroline Matilda's story is no exception. At the age of 15, she is sent to Denmark to marry a first cousin she has never met and who is quite unstable mentally. I don't want to spoil the story, but the true plot unfolds in an epic tragedy. I thought I might be disappointed, but I wasn't as I appreciated that the novel was told with sympathy towards Caroline Matilda. I also wasn't "yelling" at the book for historical inaccuracies although I don't recall a side story towards the end of the novel and have to investigate that. George III was reluctant to marry off his six daughters. Three never did marry, one married at age 29 and two married late in life (age 48 and age 40) after George III was permanently insane and his eldest son and heir was the Regent. I bet what happened to Caroline Matilda was partially the cause.

[Lisa]

Thanks for the review. This is on my TBR shelf as well, and I love Norah Lofts, but I've been ignoring the book since it's not set in any of the time periods I'm reading at the moment, although I have been tempted. So many books, so little time...