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QUICK FACTS
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Title: In the Shadow of a Queen
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Author: Heather
B. Moore
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Genre: Historical Fiction, Inspirational
Fiction
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Publisher: Shadow Mountain
Publishing (October 4, 2022)
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Length: (384) pages
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Format: Hardcover, eBook, &
audiobook
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ISBN: 978-1639930500
· Tour Dates: September 26 – October 9, 2022
BOOK DESCRIPTION
Princess Louise’s life is upended after her father’s untimely death. Captive to the queen’s overwhelming mourning, Louise is forbidden to leave her mother’s tight circle of control and is eventually relegated to the position of personal secretary to her mother―the same position each of her sisters held until they were married.
Already an accomplished painter, Louise risks the queen’s wrath by exploring the art of sculpting, an activity viewed as unbefitting a woman. When Louise involves herself in the day’s political matters, including championing the career of a female doctor and communicating with suffragettes, the queen lays down the law to stop her and devotes her full energy to finding an acceptable match for her defiant daughter.
Louise is considered the most beautiful and talented daughter of Queen Victoria but finding a match for the princess is no easy feat. Protocols are broken, and Louise exerts her own will as she tries to find an open-minded husband who will support her free spirit.
In the Shadow of a Queen is the story of a battle of wills between two women: a daughter determined to forge her own life beyond the shadow of her mother, and a queen resolved to keep the Crown’s reputation unsullied no matter the cost.
EXCERPT“You say you found the recipe in Domestic Medicine?” Papa asked.
Louise nodded, hating that her face had heated with consternation.
“That book is a sound contribution to our library,” Papa said. “Dr. Buchan is well-respected by our own doctors. I will try Loosy’s creation.” He came around the desk and took the cup right out of her hand, then gulped down the beverage. He closed his eyes and smiled. “I feel better already.”
Louise was certain he was teasing, but it brought a smile to her and Mama’s faces. For once, Louise had escaped a reprimand by her mother.
“And now, I will get back to work,” he said. “I promise to retire early, Liebes Fräuchen.”
Before Louise could leave, Papa asked, “When is your next piano practice? I’d like to listen in.”
Louise winced. With all that was going on, she hadn’t been practicing regularly, and Papa was a stickler for technique. He’d rapped her knuckles more than once. “Tomorrow,” she said. Maybe she could practice later today without him hearing. Get the timing down on one of the more familiar pieces.
Her father only nodded, and relief wafted through her. She wished there was something else she could do to help him. But politics never went away. At least her father had his cough remedy now.
Louise nearly skipped back to her rooms. It was raining again, so everyone was doing inside activities this afternoon, which would give her more time to work on the needlepoint she was making of the Crystal Palace. The palace was said to be one of her father’s greatest accomplishments in England, and remembering great accomplishments would surely make him feel stronger and happier. She’d been working off a photograph, since she’d only been three during the Great Expedition.
“Loo Loo!” A voice echoed along the hallway before she could reach her room.
She turned as Bea ran toward her. Her blond curls flew behind her, and her cheeks were pink with exertion.
“Slow down,” Louise said with a laugh. “Who are you running from?”
Bea stopped in front of her, her breath short, her eyes bright. “We’re making a play for Papa. Can you help? Arthur wants me to be the woodcutter’s baby. But I don’t want to. There’s no baby in Little Red Riding Hood.”
“Who is Little Red Riding Hood?”
“Helena,” Bea said with a pout.
“And it’s all in German,” Bea continued, talking even faster now. “I don’t know German yet, and everyone will laugh at me.”
She smoothed her sister’s hair from her face. “How about I be a fairy? And if you forget your lines, I can whisper them to you.”
Bea’s eyes rounded. “Really? Are there fairies in Little Red Riding Hood?”
“There are now.”
Louise grasped her hand. “Now where are you practicing?”
“It’s time for your fitting, Your Royal Highnesses.” Ms. Skerrett appeared at the end of the hall. Marianne Skerrett served at Mama’s head dresser and wardrobe woman, but she often did other errands as well. “Your sisters are already getting measured for their Christmas dresses.”
“I’m the same size as my last fitting,” Louise said. Besides their Christmas dresses were not to be festive since they were in mourning for Grandmama.
But the sixty-something Ms. Skerrett had no trouble giving orders to stubborn girls. “Her Majesty wants it done this afternoon, and we don’t want to give her another thing to worry over.”
Ms. Skerrett did have a way with words.
“All right.” Louise kept a hold of Bea’s hand. “I’ll talk to Arthur later.”
Bea nodded, but her expression had fallen.
Louise reluctantly followed Skerrett to the dressing room. Sure enough, Alice and Helena were in the middle of fittings with the assistant dressmakers in the lavender-scented room. Bea’s expression had lightened. She loved fittings, even if the dresses wouldn’t have ruffles and bows. As for Louise, she didn’t want to be fussed over. She’d rather create her own outfit.
“Come stand here,” Ms. Skerrett said. “And hold still so I don’t have to measure twice.”
Helena gave a small laugh. “Holding still for Louise is like telling a filly to walk slowly.”
Louise ignored her sister.
“Can I have two dresses?” Bea asked sweetly.
“One for Christmas,” Ms. Skerrett said. “You’ll have to ask Her Majesty about another.”
“Don’t ask Mama for a thing, Baby,” Alice said from where she stood, holding out her arm and examining the voluminous sleeve of her nearly finished dress. Its bell-shaped skirt draped to the floor.
The mourning gray fabric of Louise’s dress had high neck and buttoned front without lace. Only the hem of her own bell skirt sported embroidery.
“Oh.” Bea pointed toward the windows. “Look at the wagons.”
Everyone turned to see a line of wagons approaching the palace. Louise’s heart skipped at the sight of the cut pine trees in the back of the wagons. It was another tradition of Papa’s. Each child received their own tree, and beneath that tree, he’d put his gifts to them.
Louise stepped away from Ms. Skerrett, and before the head dresser could protest, Louise was out the door, Bea right behind her.
Giggling, Bea grabbed her hand, and then Louise swung her little sister up on her hip. “Let’s go watch them unload, shall we? Then we can report to Papa that it was done right.”
“Your Royal Highnesses!” Ms. Skerrett called after her. “The fitting is still not over.”
“I’m the same size,” Louise called back. She’d be reprimanded for this, certainly, but it would be so very worth it.
By the time they reached the front doors, the first Christmas tree was being carried into the main hallway. Bea squealed, and Louise laughed. The scent alone brought back the memories of Christmases before. The dances, the dinners, the sounds and smells, the games, and the presents. Surely Papa would cheer up and feel better when he saw that preparations were already underway.
Chapter 4, pages 27-30.
ADVANCE PRAISE
"Moore crafts an intriguing portrait of the independently minded Princess Louise and her tensions with the English royal family. Moore sets the stage with meticulous research, and she expertly combines fact with fiction, with psychological insights on Victoria's mercurial moods and the impact of her controlling nature. It adds up to a worthy portrait of a woman divided by duty and self-determination."— Publishers Weekly
5 STARS – “I always enjoy Heather Moore’s historical novels. This one did not disappoint! She is impeccable with her research and always does an excellent job of bringing people from the past to life.”— Julia Daines, bestselling author of Haven Cross, and Whitney Award Finalist
PURCHASE LINKS
AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE | BOOK DEPOSITORY | BOOKSHOP | GOODREADS
AUTHOR BIO
That cover sure is gorgeous! And I enjoyed the excerpt
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