In 1933, twenty two year old Marion Crawford accepts the role of a lifetime, tutoring their Royal Highnesses Elizabeth and Margaret Rose. Her one stipulation to their parents the Duke and Duchess of York is that she brings some doses of normalcy into the sheltered and privileged lives of the two young princesses. I really loved this book - it was interesting and the story was well told. I have read quite a bit about Princess Elizabeth’s early life but liked this perspective about her and her sister. In my opinion I did feel that Marion Crawford was treated quite shabbily by the Royal Family - it seemed that she gave so much of her life to serving them and, when no longer needed, was just pushed aside. ( )

I read this one for my library book club. Chosen because of Prince Philip's death last month. I think the majority liked it but found the protagonist unlikeable and questioned some of her decisions. Also, some who had read [The Little Princesses] thought this novel was basically a rewrite of that one.
As for me, I rather liked it, somewhat interesting but also sometimes rather contrived. Funny how the troubles of today's Royal Family mirror circumstances in the 1930's. ( )

I love historical fiction that introduces you to someone you knew nothing. Being a fan of The Crown TV series, i am always looking for great historical fiction based on the Royals.
"In 1933, twenty-two-year-old Marion Crawford accepts the role of a lifetime, tutoring the little Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret Rose. Her one stipulation to their parents the Duke and Duchess of York is that she bring some doses of normalcy into their sheltered and privileged lives."
This is exactly what Marion sets out to do and we get a rare glimpse into the life of Queen Elizabeth as a child.
We also learn that being that close to the Royals comes with sacrifices to one's own life. This is truly a fascinating story that I really enjoyed. #edelweiss #Berkley #penquinrandomhouse ( )

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Twenty two year old Marion Crawford is determined to become a teacher in the slums. She wants to educate the poor and help them live a better life. Instead she is summoned by the Duchess of York to become the governess of her daughters. What she initially thought to be a temporary position ended up a lifetime role, bearing the huge responsibility of tutoring the two little princesses, Elizabeth and Margaret Rose, one of which was destined to become the Queen of England.

The Scottish woman goes from her little house to the Buckingham Palace, the Windsor Castle and Balmoral, defying court protocol and trying to bring some sense of normality into the princesses lives, especially that of little Elizabeth. A ride on the tube, a visit at the museum, Christmas shopping at Woolworth’s maybe be something of the ordinary for the average citizen, but it was more than extraordinary for the princess. And Marion Crawford did her best to show all this to her young little princess!

As Wendy Holden writes in her author’s note, she once came across with Crawford’s memoir , “The Little Princesses”. That book is said to be written after Crawford was retired and under encouragement by her husband, a bank manager who seemed to have expected more for his wife from the royal family. It seems though that Holden has done her research well and has managed to create a wonderful fiction novel based on true historical events and figures.

The main character in the book is Marion Crawford and all the story is told from her point of view. We therefore get to know all her deepest thoughts, all her secrets, everything that she ever wanted and ever tried for. She considered herself a modern woman, with a modern haircut, wearing modern cloths, made by her mother. She was studying to become a teacher in a patriarchal society, where schools were only for boys and teachers were men with dusty minds. She wanted to change that. She wanted to bring much more change than that to her country. So she was convinced that the best way to do that, was to shape the minds of those in high places. She thought she could do it. She really fought for it! She had achieved quite so many things, until war broke and Elizabeth grew and she understood she could not fight royal protocol and win all the fights.

I really loved how I got to see that insight on the royal family and the early age of Queen Elizabeth II. It may be a work of fiction, but still, the character built is so unique, giving every bit of information possible about the real people. Queen Elizabeth II is protruded as a very clever child, one that understood more than the people around her realized. She was so keen on getting any kind of information she could and she would use that information to understand how the world spins. Always on a good way and always appreciating what was given to her. Or at least to some point. People that were raised up having everything and a unique social status, sometimes fail to understand a few basic things in life.

I really loved Marion, the main character of the book, as well as I loved little Elizabeth. Holden’s writing style is captivating and if you like historical fiction of royal stories, you are bound to love this one too!

“The Governess” is coming out in Britain on August 20, 2020, by Welbeck! ( )

Auch wenn ich nicht unbedingt ein Fan des englischen Königshauses bin, so kann man sich doch kaum der Berichterstattung entziehen und ich fand es interessant, einmal eine andere Perspektive auf die Royals zu sehen als die der Yellow-Press.
Marion Crawford ist erst 22 Jahre alt, als sie die Schwestern Elisabeth und Margaret unterrichten soll. Sie ist recht schockiert, als sie feststellt, dass das Leben bei den Yorks so anders ist als das Leben, wie sie es kennt. Sie möchte, dass die Mädchen das reale Leben kennenlernen. Ihr Einfluss nimmt ständig zu und sie ganz besonders Lilibet ist ihr ans Herz gewachsen. Doch dann wird aus dem Herzog von York der englische König Georg VI. und aus Lilibet die künftige Königin.
Dieses Buch, das Fiktion und Wirklichkeit miteinander verknüpft, hat mir ganz gut gefallen. Allerdings hätte ich am Ende ganz gerne gewusst, was nun wirklich Fiktion war. Es hätte auch einiges etwas gestrafft werden können.
Man hat beim Lesen den Eindruck, als wäre da eine Kamera, die alles aufnimmt, so dass ich es betrachten kann.
Über die Charaktere rund um die königliche Familie braucht man wohl nicht viel zu sagen. Also bleibt die Lehrerin und Gouvernante, die sich um ihre Schützlinge kümmert. Sie steht mit beiden Beinen im Leben und will, dass diese Schützlinge nicht nur das abgeschottete Leben hinter Schlossmauern kennenlernen; sie nimmt sie mit raus ins wahre Leben. Aber auch Crawfords Leben verändert sich gewaltig, denn man erwartet, dass sie der Familie treu ergeben und verschwiegen ist. Allerdings erhält sie dafür nichts zurück, denn Anerkennung und Dankbarkeit bleibt aus. Sie gehört weder zur Familie noch zur Dienerschaft. Ihr Privatleben verläuft auch nicht wirklich gut. Wirklich warm geworden, bin ich mit der Protagonistin nicht.
Insgesamt habe ich nicht unbedingt etwas Neues erfahren, dennoch hat mich das Buch gut unterhalten. ( )