Hester Browne's Blog - Posts Tagged "hester-browne-runaway-princess"
Here are some reasons to read The Runaway Princess, out now!!
Like nearly everyone I know, I'm absolutely fascinated by the gradual transformation of Kate Middleton into a real Duchess - and also the polite 'no' that Chelsy Davy gave the whole royal gig. Being a princess in the 21st century is so far removed from the 'annual childbirth and a little light state banqueting' deal of previous generations that it's more like applying for a top level job, with the added horror of your whole family being interviewed for it, along with you, in the papers.
Which is really the dilemma Amy Wilde faces in this novel: where does the princess end, and the girlfriend start? I really loved writing The Runaway Princess, and Amy is one of my favourite characters. She’s very down-to-earth, but she has a dry sense of humour – I’d like to think that if I were suddenly flipped into a parallel reality in which I was expected to have witty yet non-controversial opinions on everything from windfarms to Lady Windermere’s Fan to gusts of wind up my non-weighted skirt hem, I’d manage as well as she does. I should point out – not that my mother is reading this, or anything – that none of Amy’s northern family are based on my own dear northern family. Apart from Amy’s mum being a dab hand with a sponge. My mother, also.
Here are some good reasons to put The Runaway Princess on your To-Read shelf…
1. If you cringed on behalf of poor HRH K-Middy and her accidental holiday snaps, you will be right behind the heroine, Amy who comes from an even more normal background. Amy only has a matter of weeks to turn herself from a well-upholstered Yorkshire gardener into the sort of uber-polished princess who can wear Nude Heels and a tiny cocktail hat that looks like an alien communication device, and all without blushing. In that time, she also manages to design a rose garden and address various Family Secrets.
2. it’s properly romantic, and features some moonlit picnicking, a private jet, roof terraces, Crown Jewels, a proposal scene that made me cry when I wrote it, a cute dog, and Claridges.
3. (There are no gardening tips, sorry.)
4. It’s set all over London so if you’re missing those atmospheric Olympics shots of Tower Bridge and the London Eye and theDartford Tunnel Buckingham Palace, Amy and Leo’s Mayfair love affair will be right up your Downing Street.
5. There are princes in this who are even worse behaved than Prince Harry. And come on, who doesn’t love a naughty prince?
6. If you’ve ever dreamed about booking Westminster Abbey for your own nuptials, imagined yourself in The Dress and exactly how Prince Harry will pop the question, but then thought, ‘Oh, hang on… What if Uncle Ken insisted on turning up in that sparkly jacket he’s worn to every family wedding since cousin Nicola’s third one to that guy who turned out to be… oh. No. Uncle Ken. And Nicola. And Nicola’s third “husband”. Hmm. Would it be really bad etiquette to send exactly half my family to Iceland for the whole month of my royal wedding?’ then this book is totally for you...
Which is really the dilemma Amy Wilde faces in this novel: where does the princess end, and the girlfriend start? I really loved writing The Runaway Princess, and Amy is one of my favourite characters. She’s very down-to-earth, but she has a dry sense of humour – I’d like to think that if I were suddenly flipped into a parallel reality in which I was expected to have witty yet non-controversial opinions on everything from windfarms to Lady Windermere’s Fan to gusts of wind up my non-weighted skirt hem, I’d manage as well as she does. I should point out – not that my mother is reading this, or anything – that none of Amy’s northern family are based on my own dear northern family. Apart from Amy’s mum being a dab hand with a sponge. My mother, also.
Here are some good reasons to put The Runaway Princess on your To-Read shelf…
1. If you cringed on behalf of poor HRH K-Middy and her accidental holiday snaps, you will be right behind the heroine, Amy who comes from an even more normal background. Amy only has a matter of weeks to turn herself from a well-upholstered Yorkshire gardener into the sort of uber-polished princess who can wear Nude Heels and a tiny cocktail hat that looks like an alien communication device, and all without blushing. In that time, she also manages to design a rose garden and address various Family Secrets.
2. it’s properly romantic, and features some moonlit picnicking, a private jet, roof terraces, Crown Jewels, a proposal scene that made me cry when I wrote it, a cute dog, and Claridges.
3. (There are no gardening tips, sorry.)
4. It’s set all over London so if you’re missing those atmospheric Olympics shots of Tower Bridge and the London Eye and the
5. There are princes in this who are even worse behaved than Prince Harry. And come on, who doesn’t love a naughty prince?
6. If you’ve ever dreamed about booking Westminster Abbey for your own nuptials, imagined yourself in The Dress and exactly how Prince Harry will pop the question, but then thought, ‘Oh, hang on… What if Uncle Ken insisted on turning up in that sparkly jacket he’s worn to every family wedding since cousin Nicola’s third one to that guy who turned out to be… oh. No. Uncle Ken. And Nicola. And Nicola’s third “husband”. Hmm. Would it be really bad etiquette to send exactly half my family to Iceland for the whole month of my royal wedding?’ then this book is totally for you...
