Coronation Year
A Novel
-
-
4.1 • 16 Ratings
-
-
- $11.99
Publisher Description
The USA Today bestselling author of The Gown returns with another enthralling and royal historical novel— as the lives of three very different residents of London’s historic Blue Lion hotel converge in a potentially explosive climax on the day of Queen Elizabeth’s Coronation.
It is Coronation Year, 1953, and a new queen is about to be crowned. The people of London are in a mood to celebrate, none more so than the residents of the Blue Lion hotel.
Edie Howard, owner and operator of the floundering Blue Lion, has found the miracle she needs: on Coronation Day, Queen Elizabeth in her gold coach will pass by the hotel’s front door, allowing Edie to charge a fortune for rooms and, barring disaster, save her beloved home from financial ruin. Edie’s luck might just be turning, all thanks to a young queen about her own age. Stella Donati, a young Italian photographer and Holocaust survivor, has come to live at the Blue Lion while she takes up a coveted position at Picture Weekly magazine. London in celebration mode feels like a different world to her. As she learns the ins and outs of her new profession, Stella discovers a purpose and direction that honor her past and bring hope for her future.James Geddes, a war hero and gifted artist, has struggled to make his mark in a world that disdains his Indian ancestry. At the Blue Lion, though, he is made to feel welcome and worthy. Yet even as his friendship with Edie deepens, he begins to suspect that something is badly amiss at his new home.
When anonymous threats focused on Coronation Day, the Blue Lion, and even the queen herself disrupt their mood of happy optimism, Edie and her friends must race to uncover the truth, save their home, and expose those who seek to erase the joy and promise of Coronation Year.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Three strivers come together during the pomp of Queen Elizabeth II's 1953 coronation in Robson's pleasant latest (after Our Darkest Night). Edie Howard, 32, owns the Blue Lion hotel, which she inherited after her parents died. With business slow, Edie worries the 400-year-old hotel will fail. That is, until she learns the queen's procession will pass in front of the building, giving her a chance to boost room rates and serve afternoon tea to tourists. Her first guest after hearing the good news is family friend Stella Donati, who has been living in Rome and looking for photography work. The coronation provides her with her first assignment in a while, with a gig for a London magazine. Then there's Jamie Geddes, a man who worked in bomb disposal during the war. An Oxford-educated (if struggling) artist, he receives a commission to paint the queen's procession and finds a room at the Blue Lion with a perfect view for the day. After a slow setup, Robson ramps up the action, first with a romance between Edie and Jamie, followed by a bomb threat at the Blue Lion on the day of the procession. As Edie, Jamie, and Stella work to save the hotel, Robson adds intriguing supporting characters to the mix, including eccentric, peevish boarders and a fussy, unhinged assistant manager. Readers are in for a treat.
