For more information about the Concord Public Library, visit concordpubliclibrary.net.
Mrs. Queen Takes the Train
William Kuhn
2012, 374 pages
Fiction
Historian William Kuhn’s debut novel is reminiscent of Alan Bennett’s The Uncommon Reader. Queen Elizabeth II is feeling low. She decides a visit to the decommissioned royal yacht Britannia, which is moored near Edinburgh, might be just the thing to set her right again. The Queen boards an ordinary train at King’s Cross Station with a string of staff trailing after, trying to keep her safe and to keep her adventure private.
Downton Abbey or Upstairs Downstairs fans will enjoy the stories of her majesty’s dresser, lady-in-waiting, equerry, stable girl, and butler, as well as a clerk in a posh cheese shop. Kuhn weaves their stories – touching on everything from the Iraq war to class and racial stereotypes, yoga, sexual orientation, aging, environmental politics, mental health, royal and family dramas, and Twitter – into the tale of the AWOL Queen, to humorous effect.
It’s a light-hearted, entertaining read packed with interesting tidbits about contemporary British life and the royal household.
