Another one of Claire's piks and a charming little jem. It's a bit of a satire on being the Queen and the format is that she becomes an avid reader much to the dismay of the people around her since she just isn't quite as keen on all her boring royal duties. After being discouraged from reading, she takes up writing...a good conclusion and a little book that was a lot of fun.
I particularly liked the part where she met Canada's Alice Munro. A bit of a taste of the book follows. This takes place after one of her staff makes sure her books get to be lost luggage while she's on a visit to Canada so she is left with nothing to read:
"Don't you want to look at the St. Lawrence Seaway?'" said her husband.
"I opened it fifty years ago. I don't suppose it's changed."
Even the Rockies received only a perfunctory glance and Niagra Falls was given a miss altogether. ("I've seen it three times") and the duke went alone.
It happened, though, that at a reception for Canadian cultural notables the Queen got talking to Alice Munro and, learning that she was a novelisst and short-story writer, requested one of her books, which she greatly enjoyed. Even better, it turned out there were many more where that came from and which Ms. Munro readily supplied.
