Wishlist Wednesday

And now, for this week’s Wishlist Wednesday…

The concept is to post about one book from our wish lists that we can’t wait to read. Want to play? Here’s how:

  • Follow Pen to Paper as host of the meme.
  • Please consider adding the blog hop button to your blog somewhere, so others can find it easily and join in too! Help spread the word! The code will be at the bottom of the post under the linky.
  • Pick a book from your wishlist that you are dying to get to put on your shelves.
  • Do a post telling your readers about the book and why it’s on your wishlist.
  • Add your blog to the linky at the bottom of the post at Pen to Paper.
  • Put a link back to Pen to Paper somewhere in your post.
  • Visit the other blogs and enjoy!

My Wishlist Wednesday book is:

Mrs. Queen Takes The Train by William Kuhn

From Amazon:

After decades of service and years of watching her family’s troubles splashed across the tabloids, Britain’s Queen is beginning to feel her age. She needs some proper cheering up. An unexpected opportunity offers her relief: an impromptu visit to a place that holds happy memories—the former royal yacht, Britannia, now moored near Edinburgh. Hidden beneath a skull-emblazoned hoodie, the limber Elizabeth (thank goodness for yoga) walks out of Buckingham Palace into the freedom of a rainy London day and heads for King’s Cross to catch a train to Scotland. But a characterful cast of royal attendants has discovered her missing. In uneasy alliance a lady-in-waiting, a butler, an equerry, a girl from the stables, a dresser, and a clerk from the shop that supplies Her Majesty’s cheese set out to find her and bring her back before her absence becomes a national scandal.

Mrs Queen Takes the Train is a clever novel, offering a fresh look at a woman who wonders if she, like Britannia herself, has, too, become a relic of the past. William Kuhn paints a charming yet biting portrait of British social, political, and generational rivalries—between upstairs and downstairs, the monarchy and the government, the old and the young. Comic and poignant, fast paced and clever, this delightful debut tweaks the pomp of the monarchy, going beneath its rigid formality to reveal the human heart of the woman at its center.

I started off with a very sad-sounding book for this week’s selection, and I just couldn’t bring myself to stick with it. Who needs sad right now?

Mrs. Queen Takes The Train has been getting some really positive reviews from people whose opinions I trust, and I think it sounds rather delightful and adorable! I’d definitely be up for reading something whimsical and off-beat, and this one seems to fit the bill. I’ve put in a request at my public library… now I just have to wait.

Has anyone read it yet? What did you think?

Quick note to Wishlist Wednesday bloggers: Come on back to Bookshelf Fantasies for Flashback Friday! Join me in celebrating the older gems hidden away on our bookshelves. See the introductory post for more details, and come back this Friday to add your flashback favorites!

11 thoughts on “Wishlist Wednesday

  1. This sounds like such a great book. I love history and the monarchy so would definitely pick this book up to read. I love how quirky it sounds too. And such a cute cover! Have you read Balthazar Jones and the Tower of London Zoo by Julia Stuart? It is about the Tower of London and a beefeater who is in charge of restoring the zoo there that was there in the 19th century. It was full of information about british history and the tower and was such a fun and quirky read. As soon as I read the blurb to the book above I was instantly reminded of the one I read earlier this year. I’d definitely recommend it!

    Anyway great choice, and I hope you get your hands on a copy soon 🙂
    Becca @ Lost in Thought
    http://lostinthought-becca.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/wishlist-wednesday-22.html

  2. Like most Americans, I am slightly obsessed with all things British and I am intrigued by this book. There is also the mental picture of Queen Elizabeth walking out of the palace in disguise that made me giggle and now my co-workers are giving me odd looks. I’m not a royal watcher but I enjoy the British culture and the upstairs/downstairs dynamic (as can be seen by my obsession with Downton Abbey). Thanks for the suggestion and for stopping by my blog.

    Patricia @ Lady with Books

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