A gripping and evocative story of love, politics, betrayal and bravery, which reimagines events of the interwar years. Jennie Lee was elected to parliament aged just twenty-four, five years too young even to vote in 1929 Britain. From the Labour backbenches, she hurled barbs and bolts of thunder at the likes of Winston Churchill, Lady Astor, even her own party’s Prime Minister, Ramsay McDonald. … McDonald. The novel intertwines real events with a personal story involving Elizabeth Bowes-Lyons, the future Queen Mother; the womanizing fascist Oswald Mosley; the Great War prime minister Lloyd-George; and the radical Labour MP Aneurin Bevan. A series of political and intimate intrigues turn history into thriller when Jennie has the chance to radically change the course of history for Britain, Europe and the world. ‘…marvellous in so many ways… An excellent take on the twisted, dangerous politics of 1930s Britain and a rattling good read.’ C.J. Sansom, author of Dominion and the Shardlake mysteries
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The book starts out in 1904 with the seduction of Labour Leader, Ramsay Mac Donald, by a Scottish Hotelier wife who, 9 months later gives birth to Jenny Lee. No-one is to know of this indiscretion. As the daughter of a miner’s union leader, she’s interested in politics and socialism from an early age on and in 1929 she’s elected as an MP for Labour. Her maiden speech makes an impression on Sir Oswald Mosley and the attraction is mutual. She also has a long-lasting affair with fellow MP, Frank Wise.
When she goes on a trip through Russia as a part of the Labour delegation, she’s seriously disorientated by what she sees and experiences there. She’s still certain about what she wants for everybody but doesn’t really know how to get there any longer. When she goes on a lecture tour through America and Canada, she also experiences the good and bad sides of life over there.
After the Wall Street crash in 1930, Mosley who was on the left side of the party (as Jenny also is) has revolutionary ideas about how to deal with the mass unemployment but the Labour Leader doesn’t want to know about it. Eventually, he’s put outside of the party and begins his own new political party
Also unknown to the rest of the world, when she was a child she befriended the aristocratic Elisabeth Bowes-Lyon (yes, we know her now as the queen mom) who’s now married to King George’s second son, Albert. Elizabeth hasn’t forgotten Jenny and takes an interest in her political career. And when her husband secretly and illegally wants to support the politics of Mosley, Jenny is forced (between blackmail and friendship) to act as a go-between.
Apart from being the secret daughter of Mac Donald and the friendship with the Duchess of York, the historical facts are rigidly observed until this point. It’s here that both versions part their ways. When Jenny learns about the intended betrayal of her party’s leader, she has the opportunity to act and by doing so, she changes (unknowingly) the course of history. But is this a change for the better? What if it’s the start of something that’s worse?
I love historical books that merge truth with fiction. Certainly, those books that make you ask yourself “what if?” this or that happened differently, what would have been the immediate effects and what would it mean on a longer plane? The former can be scientifically calculated, but for the latter, you must not only start out with a whole new premise but also count various unknown variables into the equation.
I must admit that I’ve done quite a lot of looking up while reading this book. Although the main characters were familiar, I’m not all that well versed in British interbellum period politics. Actually, it was a delight to get to know those colourful people that populate the historical reality and see what the author has done with those facts in an alternate universe. It’s not as if you won’t enjoy the book if you don’t know those things, but for me, it brought an extra enjoyment that I did a bit of reading about the period and the people.
The differences between life in the early Soviet Union, America and Britain are clearly described and the inequality that exists in each model gives food for thought. If not for the war, how would each society have evolved? The desperation in Russia, the racial segregation and blatant racism in the USA as the stark difference between the aristocracy and the working/unemployed masses in Britain all contained a basic injustice that could have been the feeding ground for a revolution.
This is an amazing historical political thriller of high quality that is written in an entertaining style. Politics are constantly mentioned but not in a boring or pedantic way. After all, it’s important to know who those people are and what they stand for. Jenny Lee is a charming and engaging character and was so in real life. This book possesses every quality to be made into a period movie or TV-series. If they do, I’ll certainly watch.