If you love Jennifer Robson or The Crown you will love New York Times bestselling author Karen Harper’s novel about Elizabeth, The Queen Mother.
1939. As the wife of the King George VI and the mother of the future queen, Elizabeth—“the queen mother”—shows a warm, smiling face to the world. But it’s no surprise that Hitler himself calls her the “Most Dangerous Woman in Europe.” For behind that … calls her the “Most Dangerous Woman in Europe.” For behind that soft voice and kindly demeanor is a will of steel.
Two years earlier, George was thrust onto the throne when his brother Edward abdicated, determined to marry his divorced, American mistress Mrs. Simpson. Vowing to do whatever it takes to make her husband’s reign a success, Elizabeth endears herself to the British people, and prevents the former king and his brazen bride from ever again setting foot in Buckingham Palace.
Elizabeth holds many powerful cards, she’s also hiding damaging secrets about her past and her provenance that could prove to be her undoing.
In this riveting novel of royal secrets and intrigue, Karen Harper lifts the veil on one of the world’s most fascinating families, and how its “secret weapon” of a matriarch maneuvered her way through one of the most dangerous chapters of the century.
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If you thought the Queen Mum was a benign, plump, cheery old lady, think again. In Karen Harper’s novel she is tough, determined, and fabulously gossipy. Reading this novel is like sitting next to an indiscreet royal insider at a private dinner.
I enjoyed reading about the parents of Queen Elizabeth ll. I have read very little about this time period in the English monarchy. It made me want to read more about Queen Mary and others of this time period. I received a copy of this book from edelweiss and Netgalley for a fair and honest opinion that I gave of my own free will.
381 pages
3 Stars
I was very excited to receive this book. It was, ultimately, disappointing.
I apparently mistook this for a biography of the Queen Mother, Elizabeth, not a work of historical fiction.
Frankly, this book painted the QM to be a rather soppy, self-indulgent woman. Not at all the woman I had seen on television and read about. Not at all whom Hitler calls, “the most dangerous woman in Europe.” She was portrayed to be obsessed with secrets of the past. And, although she obviously showed great care for her husband, the king, Bertie, and her daughters, her mind was too often elsewhere.
I have always believed that Queen Mary was not at all happy with David’s abdication and marriage to Wallis Simpson. Did I miss something? That she, and the Queens’ Elizabeth blamed David for the early death of Bertie.
I like my historical fiction to travel a little closer to reality.
I been wanting to read this book for sometime now. And finally got audiobook from the library. I did read all the reviews and other thoughts of this book. I knew I had to listen to the audiobook. This is the first book that I had read from Karen Harper. It is sad that the author passed away. I don’t know to much about The Queen Mother. And learn a little bit of both her and Queen Elizabeth ll. This book while I was listening had me googling learning about the people to which I was listening about. How they all dealt with the War. Would War2 effected a lot of people. Highly recommend this book with open mind.
About Book-
This book is about The Queen Mother and how she dealt with the War. And protected her family.
The Queen ‘s Secret gives a Authentic look at life as a monarch during WW II in England. Each chapter develops around secrets the Queen keeps to protect her family and her nation. This historic novel helped me develop a great appreciation for Queen Elizabeth.
Very realistic – I can QE hating it. Surely it is not true history.
I don’t know how much of this book is based in fact, but I really enjoyed reading and learning more about the Queen Mum!
I found this book very interesting.
If you’re a lover of all things historical, then “The Queen’s Secret” will provide a look into the royal family’s lives during World War II. However, it makes several claims about the Queen Mother’s life and inner thoughts that are not evident in the historical record. I’d love to know where the author got those ideas, but I doubt a record exists about the Queen’s sexual history.
I recommend this book for entertainment, but not a trustworthy source for historical knowledge.
Meh… Not a bad read but its history is sloppy.
At first I thought that this book was about Queen Elizabeth II, But then I realized that it was Elizabeth Bowes- Lyon. She was the Queen mother, former Queen of England, and consort/wife to King George VI of England. I’ve never read a fictional account of her life before. So I was super excited to get started on this. I have to admit that I was sorely disappointed in this one. I thought that Karen Harper was playing off some of the scandals and rumors that surrounded the Queen at the time. The most outrageous being that Elizabeth and her brother were the products of her father’s affair with the maid. I don’t mind authors embellishing a little bit in a story, after all this is fiction. If I wanted a nonfiction book, I would have gotten a bio on the Queen mother. But for this story, I just felt that it could have been left out. I don’t think it added anything to the story. I think that book could have been a lot better if they focused more on the war. There were things that I enjoyed from the war aspect of things. Like Elizabeth’s relationship with Winston Churchill, who she didn’t trust at first, but developed a close friendship with. Then there was her relationship with King George, the two seemed to grow closer as the war went on. Plus , I like the dynamic of Lilibet and Margaret added to it. Overall, this is not the best book I’ve read. But I would not rule out reading another book by this author.
It’s WWII and we get the story in the eyes of queen mother, who is Queen Elizabeth and man it is such a ride in this book. King George is reigning after his brother has abdicated the throne so he could marry his American mistress and now both King George and Queen Elizabeth are facing the worst of their reign, a world war with the worst enemy ever, Hilter.
While the whole world is at war, England is now part of it and Elizabeth and George have to prepare not only themselves and their two daughters but the whole nation two. And it’s not an easy task. Even though Hilter calls Elizabeth the “Most Dangerous Woman in Europe” she is terrified in multiple levels. She has to prevent Edward and his horrible wife to ever set foot in England again. And she, herself has secrets that has been troubling her mind more and more as the war last more and more. Should she tell George her secrets, should she keep them? How much should she tell him?
While everyone sees her a force of nature, deep inside she is just as troubled as everyone else. But for England she must and she will power through to the end.
It was…refreshing in way to read this book. Yes, it was during WWII and we read some troubling and devastating things, but at the same time? We got to see a different side of the royals in this book, it felt like they were just another regular family. Karen Harper did an amazing job with this book and I just want to read more of her books after this. She makes you closer to the characters in a way you don’t think it would be possible, by the end of the book, you just don’t have a choice but to fall in love with all of these characters.
4 out of 5 stars.
Usually I like books by author, especially “The Royal Nanny”, “The American Duchess”, and my favorite “The First Princess.” However, this book fell flat. I felt like I was reading the Nation Enquirer. I felt like I had to choose either Team Duke and Duchess of Windsor or Team King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. I felt the author was Team David and Wallis. Every lurid and sensational rumor or scandal. that could be brought up about the Royal family and the Queen Mother was written about here. Furthermore, there was no authors note to address some of these more sensastionlal speculations. There is also no bibliography to read more about the subjects in this novel.
This story begins at the public celebration of the Queen Mother’s 100th birthday. The Queen Mother begins reminiscing over her long life beginning in Scotland with her large happy family and doting parents and so the the speculations and “secrets” begin. She grows into a beautiful and accomplished young woman and her problems with David, the Prince of Wales begin. Hence my problem with the novel. I understood the first ten times the author brought it up, the next fifty times were not needed. The Queen Mother was a busy woman with a war on. I doubt she spent every minute obsessing over the Windsors raising a family and helping in the war effort and standing by her husband. There was so much to write about Queen Elizabeth for the book to be so repetitive. The author could have trusted the reader not to forget all the “secrets” without being reminded repeatedly.
There were parts of the book that showed real promise and I wish they had been expanded on. The scene between Prince Charles and the Queen Mother. The author was able to show the very real love and affection between them. The scenes of Queen Elizabeth comforting the wounded and her subjects that had been bombed in the East End. These scenes showed her humanity and why her subjects loved her so much. Also, the scenes of the Princess Elizabeth in love and also eager to serve her country. Very good reading. More of this kind of writing would have made this book a more enjoyable read. At least for me. Maybe I am more Team Bertie and Elizabeth. I was given the opportunity to read this book by Netgalley in exchange for a review.
This book takes place during the time of World War II in England. It follows the Queen Elizabeth’s family through many trial and tribulations they and their country all faced during this difficult time. I really learned a lot more about the war through this perfectly researched novel.
We learn early on the secret that the Queen doesn’t want anyone, including her husband and children, to know. Of course, you have to read the book to find out what it is. But actually, there are two secrets.
Elizabeth was loved by her husband, Bertie, and her children Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret. She is shown to be a strong, determined, and very protective woman who deeply cared for her country. The time of war was difficult for her because she worried so much about the people and the sacrifices that they were making. Thus, she was determined that she and her family would make the same sacrifices.
The Queen truly disliked Wallis Simpson and how Edward fell for her. Had he not abdicated the throne, Bertie would not have had to take on the mantle of the King.
Winston Churchill was named Prime Minister during this time and he met not only with Bertie, but with the Queen as well because both men admired her ideas and her stamina.
We gain more intimate knowledge about the Queen and her husband’s private life which is quite surprising.
The Queen fought weight problems all of her life, but dearly loved her food, especially sweets, chocolates, and her drinkee-poos. All in all, she is portrayed as a down to earth woman.
I have long been a fan of the Queen Mother and have read and reviewed numerous biographies about her. I admire her strength and the ability to appear to relax and enjoy life. In my eyes, she was a very special woman.
The author, Karen Harper, is a favorite of mine and I have read other books of hers. She is to be congratulated for having written yet another masterpiece.
Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.
3 stars
I looked forward to reading ‘The Queen’s Secret’ as it covered the war years of Elizabeth and Bertie. As the story starts, I felt like I was in the room with Elizabeth telling her story. I enjoyed listening to this storyteller. This lasted through the first bombing on the East End. Her vivid descriptions of going to the East End made the scene come alive and her special care of Bessie, her personal maid whose family lived there. After this point in the story, I found myself wandering while reading. The inkling to “her secret” became repetitive and I almost felt like the writing changed. After such good vibes at the beginning, the book became hard to complete. Thank you Harper Collins and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
On the eve of WWII, Elizabeth, Queen of England and wife of King George VI must deal with a lot – Hitler is on the rise, the country’s prime minister is trying to appease Hitler to give up his plan to rule the world, the king’s brother has abdicated the throne for “that woman,” her young daughter is suddenly interested in boys (and not the right kind of boys) plus she has a palace to run.
This book is full of interesting and little-known tidbits about what was going on in the early days of WWII – from Elizabeth’s hatred of Wallis Simpson to the moving of precious works of art out of the castle. If you love novels whose authors obviously spend time doing their research, you’ll like this one.
One problem with the book is that it is told in first-person – normally I like books that are told in the first person because the author tells the story from the viewpoint of a single person. In this book, though, the story suffered because of it. It wasn’t easy to tell who the main character was talking about since so many of the references were to people using their family nicknames. It was as if the author was privy to Elizabeth’s diary and wrote this story from it – thus it is repetitive, opaque, and at times boring.
If you are a fan of Karen Harper, you’ll undoubtedly love this book.
My thanks to Morrow and Edelweiss for an eARC.
This book just did not do it for me; I had to force myself to finish it.
The writing seemed stiff to me. The story was repetitive and predictable. The “secret”, for as often as it was brought up, was really not a big deal.
A minor note – In the first chapter, a child is being told she and her brother were adopted. There had been references to “the Benjamins”. This supposedly was a reference to the biblical Benjamin who, according to this story, was the son of Rachel’s handmaiden. I beg to differ there – Rachel died giving birth to her second son Benjamin.
I gave the book three stars because there is some accurate history to learn from the story.
The Queen’s Secret gives readers an in depth glimpse into the life of Queen Elizabeth, wife of King George VI. It follows the Queen Mum during her reign from the late nineteen thirties through the late nineteen fifties, often giving views of their public lives and then the quieter moments of their personal lives. She was known to be a strong and determined woman who generally got her way when it came to everything, and was often referred to as the “most dangerous woman in Europe”. But she also had weaknesses and private concerns too that were divulged, which helped to give a softer view of her too. This was somewhat of an eyeopening journey, I had no idea how powerful and influential the Queen Mum really was.
All in all I would say that this was quite an enjoyable read, while being a fictional tale, a lot of what I read had a very realistic feeling to it. It was rich with heartfelt emotion and attention grabbing drama, I had a hard time putting this one down! If you love historical fiction that centers around royals then I have a feeling this one will become a favorite of yours, it words paint a very compelling picture!
I requested an advanced copy of this title from the publisher, and I am voluntarily leaving my honest and unbiased opinion.
The Queen’s Secret by Karen Harper is a fabulous historical fiction piece focussing on Queen Elizabeth (the wife of King George VI and mother to Queen Elizabeth II). This novel is placed during the years 1939-1945 with many flashbacks to Elizabeth’s youth and earlier marriage years. The novel allows the reader to experience ER’s inner thoughts, dreams, fears, rationales, and musings. This, to me, made the character more realistic, interesting, and relatable.
Being a huge English Monarchy fan myself, I know quite a bit about past and present royalty, but Queen Elizabeth seems to be one of those overlooked modern day royals. I find her fascinating, strong, steadfast, and loyal. I was truly thrilled when I saw that there was going to be a book that was devoted to her.
I thought the author did an amazing job recreating what her thoughts and beliefs would be like if one were to tap into Elizabeth’s stream of consciousness. She was real, she was flawed, she was imperfect, yet loving , supportive, and strong. She was handed many a difficult task, and I feel, held up to the challenge quite well.
I thought the prose was ingenious. There were small one-liners and snippets that were hilarious, caught the reader off-guard, and made me laugh out loud. The author was just superb in creating the inner workings of Queen Elizabeth to what I feel would be what would reflect she might have been thinking at that time. It was great and I loved every moment of it.
5/5 stars.