Mrs. Queen Takes the Train

I underestimated myself. I recently committed to reading two more of the books I bought on the Grand Southern Literary Tour by the end of the year. Happily, I finished both before the end of this month: Lanterns and Lances by James Thurber (here) and Every Day by the Sun by Dean Faulkner Wells (here, here, and here). 

Now I have moved on to something completely different: Mrs. Queen Takes the Train by William Kuhn. I adore the cover and the idea behind the novel which has to do with The Queen, yes, that Queen, escaping from Buckingham Palace one rainy Monday afternoon and taking the train to Edinburgh for a visit to the decommissioned royal yacht, Britannia, that is moored nearby at Leith. She has many fond memories of days and nights spent on the yacht and wants to recapture just a bit of those happy feelings. And who can blame her.

Into the mix and on her trail are her lady-in-waiting (Note to Self: find one of these), her dresser, a butler, an equerry, a girl from the royal stables, and a young man who works at the shop that supplies cheese for Her Majesty. 

I have to admit I am always happy to read fictional exploits of The Queen. I so enjoyed Alan Bennet's An Uncommon Reader which concerns what happens when The Queen takes to reading. I love getting even a little look at what goes on behind the walls of those palaces. Even if that only comes from the author's imagination.

While other girls may have yearned to be a princess I always wanted to live in castle and be The Queen.

Reigned all day.