It’s a race for the heart, and a race for the history books! Set in England during the reign of Queen Victoria, the book begins in July of 1875. All eyes are on England as The Empress of Austria is staying there, a clever, beautiful woman who is a bit of a thrill seeker with a passion for hunting. Determined not to be out shown by her fellow English hunters, Empress Elizabeth aka Sisi finds a pilot in Captain Bay Middleton.
While the Empress is determined to hunt Captain Middleton, Middleton has his eyes set elsewhere. Charlotte Baird is the Lennox heiress, with a fortune to her name. Used to being chased after by fortune hunters, Charlotte prefers watching people with her camera instead of having people watch her the way she has been her whole life. However, she is at first reluctant to marry Captain Middleton despite being smitten with him due to his desire to win a prestigious horse race and his hunting hobby.
Charlotte lost her mother young in a jumping accident that broke her neck, and since then has lived in fear of it happening to someone else she loves. The book had a pull quote from Lucy Worsely, queen of BBC documentaries, which was enough itself to get me to read. The book is really your traditional, historical romance. But Charlotte’s unique interest in photography gives it an interesting spin as is the knowledge of royal watchers that the Earl of Spencer who is mentioned in the book is related to Princess Diana, and that the Bay Middleton in the book was his equarry, which is his officer of honor. And also related to Duchess Kate!
What may or may not have happened between Middleton and the Austrian Duchess has been something of a royal scandal that’s been speculated about for ages, with rumors circulating that it even resulted in secret love children. Whatever the truth of the matter was, the book was a delightful read, and I would happily read another Daisy Goodwin novel again.
