A Royal Likeness by Christine Trent
ARC, Paperback, 472 pages
Kensington Press
December 28, 2010
★★★★★
Genre: Historical Fiction
Source: Received from the author for the December HFBRT event
“As heiress to the famous Laurent Fashion Dolls business, Marguerite Ashby’s future seems secure. But France still seethes with violence in the wake of the Revolution. And when Marguerite’s husband is killed during a riot, the young widow travels to Edinburgh and becomes apprentice to her old friend, Marie Tussaud, who has established a wax exhibition. When Prime Minister William Pitt commissions a wax figure of Admiral Nelson, Marguerite becomes immersed in a dangerous adventure—and earns the admiration of two very different men. And as Britain battles to overthrow Napoleon, Marguerite will find her loyalties under
fire from all sides”.
Christine Trent’s second novel blows her first one away – and that is quite a feat as The Queen’s Dollmaker was phenomenal. Right from the very first chapters the events that unfold suck you right in to the story and immediately embed these characters in your mind. By the time you hit roughly page 200 you will not be able to put the book down – and if you have to, you will run right back to it ASAP.
The main character, Marguerite Ashby, was a young woman when we last left her in The Queen’s Dollmaker. Throughout A Royal Likeness we see her grow up right before our eyes. She becomes the apprentice to the renowned Madame Tussaud. I really loved Madame Tussaud because she was a very industrious businesswoman and she was so enjoyable to read about.
I was most surprised by how much I enjoyed the Battle of Trafalgar scenes in this novel. I am not one who usually enjoys battle or war scenes – but this was very well done. There was the right amount of the description of the battle topside as well as the action below deck. This was where I became enamored with this story and could absolutely not put it down – I sacrificed sleep to stay up and finish the last 100 pages.
I would recommend this book to everyone. It is not absolutely necessary to have read The Queen’s Dollmaker first – you will still have a very enjoyable story – but I would recommend it because they are both amazing.
You can read an excerpt of the book here.
The main character, Marguerite Ashby, was a young woman when we last left her in The Queen’s Dollmaker. Throughout A Royal Likeness we see her grow up right before our eyes. She becomes the apprentice to the renowned Madame Tussaud. I really loved Madame Tussaud because she was a very industrious businesswoman and she was so enjoyable to read about.
I was most surprised by how much I enjoyed the Battle of Trafalgar scenes in this novel. I am not one who usually enjoys battle or war scenes – but this was very well done. There was the right amount of the description of the battle topside as well as the action below deck. This was where I became enamored with this story and could absolutely not put it down – I sacrificed sleep to stay up and finish the last 100 pages.
I would recommend this book to everyone. It is not absolutely necessary to have read The Queen’s Dollmaker first – you will still have a very enjoyable story – but I would recommend it because they are both amazing.
You can read an excerpt of the book here.
Christine Trent is currently working on her third novel, tentatively titled The Prince’s Pavilion expected sometime in 2012.
Reviews of this book by other bloggers:
Also by Christine Trent
The Queen’s Dollmaker
[My Review]
By the King’s Design
[My Review]
Lady of Ashes (Lady of Ashes #1)
[My Review]
Stolen Remains (Lady of Ashes #2)
A Virtuous Death (Lady of Ashes #3)
The Mourning Bells (Lady of Ashes #4)
Death at the Abbey (Lady of Ashes #5)
A Grave Celebration (Lady of Ashes #6)
Find Christine Trent: Website | Facebook
Also today as part the HFBRT event:
Guest post by Christine Trent at Historically Obsessed
Copyright © 2010 by The Maiden’s Court
Wow! That's quite a recommendation! I enjoyed The Queen's Dollmaker, so I will definitely add A Royal Likeness to my bookshelf.
ReplyDeleteI liked The Queen's Dollmaker and am looking forward to reading this one!
ReplyDeleteJust recently read The Queen's Dollmaker and liked it alot. I find myself wishing I could own the dresses on some of these covers, this one included :)
ReplyDeleteOh, even more impetus to get the Queen's Dollmaker and stat!
ReplyDeleteI love reading about this period of French History. This book must really be good if you could not put it down.
ReplyDeletePlease enter me in this contest for this wonderful book.
CarolNWong(at)aol(dot)com
JoAnne, Audra, Daphne - I think you will love this book!
ReplyDeleteHolly - I always love these costumes - the color of this one is extraordinary!
Thanks for the review. Each one adds something different to the impression of the book. I am glad to see she is working on another one.
ReplyDelete