Your Royal Hostage

Jemima Shore #6

by Antonia Fraser

Pomp and chilling circumstance combine when a bizarre group of animal-rightists kidnap a royal bride-to-be on the eve of her wedding, and Jemima Shore, now a freelance commentator for American television, races against time to rescue the princess bride.

Cover Artist: Tom Hallman

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Crime, British Literature

272 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1987

About the author

Antonia Fraser is the author of many widely acclaimed historical works, including the biographies Mary, Queen of Scots (a 40th anniversary edition was published in May 2009), Cromwell: Our Chief of Men, King Charles II and The Gunpowder Plot (CWA Non-Fiction Gold Dagger; St Louis Literary Award). She has written five highly praised books which focus on women in history, The Weaker Vessel: Women's Lot in Seventeenth Century Britain (Wolfson Award for History, 1984), The Warrior Queens: Boadecia's Chariot, The Six Wives of Henry VIII, Marie Antoinette: The Journey (Franco-British Literary Prize 2001), which was made into a film by Sofia Coppola in 2006 and most recently Love and Louis XIV: The Women in the Life of the Sun King. She was awarded the Norton Medlicott Medal by the Historical Association in 2000. Antonia Fraser was made DBE in 2011 for her services to literature. Her most recent book is Must You Go?, celebrating her life with Harold Pinter, who died on Christmas Eve 2008. She lives in London.

Reviews

[Lbaker · Rating 1 out of 5]

Did not finish, just didn't like any characters enough to keep reading.
I left this book in Prague, and apologize to anyone who picks it up, then again, maybe you will like it more than I did.

[Peggi Warner-Lalonde · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had some trouble keeping up with the different characters, and the plot felt a bit dated. Still a fun read.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

" 'We don't want to hurt her. We must remember that. All of us. She is after all innocent ... Well, isn't she?'

"With these words the leader of the secret group tries to establish the ground rules of its conspiracy concerning the bride, HRH Princess Amy of Cumberland, a 22-year-old British Princess about to marry the somewhat older and slightly dissipated European Prince Ferdinand. But there is more than one kind of innocence, and as preparations for the Royal Wedding advance, the group evidently has in mind some gesture which will call attention to the rights and wrongs of those who have no voice of their own.

"Jemima Shore, newly sacked from Megalith Television, is covering the Royal Wedding for an American television company. As the terrible events unfold, she must grapple with the drama in her own way, via a memorable scene at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, up to the book's thrilling climax."
~~back cover

I enjoyed this book so much more than the ordinary Jemima Shore mysteries! What a wonderful spoof of royalty, Americans (especially tv reporters), and the frenzy and hoopla surrounding anything that movie stars or royalty do.

Cleverly written, the plot and the plotters seem innocuous until the final curtain, and even that fiasco opens new vistas and revelations for both the plotters and the plotted against.

[Nick · Rating 1 out of 5]

Hostage crises? Mystery? Sorry but these things are missing from a novel that is described as a roayl histage mystery. The hostage crises doesn't take place until around page 200, mind you the book is 250 some odd pages. Then our main protagonist, anchorwoman Jemima Shore who is supposed to be an amateur investigator doesn't fo nearly as much investigating then hqvig drinks with the detective and having him tell her all the details. Lastly the jumps from perspective of characters is badly done. I had trouble going from one scene, to another, to another, then introduce another character, back to the first scene like a horrible game of tennis my head began to hurt. If you are a fan of cozy mysteries, Royalty, weddings, don't be tricked into picking up this book, move a long and read something else.

[Carolyn Cash · Rating 4 out of 5]

An unforgettable whodunnit involving a royal wedding and animal rights loonies planning to draw awareness to their cause by targeting the bride, 22-year-old Princess Amy of Cumberland.

After her dismissal from Megalith Television, Jemima Shore works for an American network as a commentator covering the happy event when the Princess will marry a somewhat older and slightly dissipated minor European Prince Ferdinand.

A journalist is found murdered near where a royal media conference was held, and an incident during a royal charity gala leads Jemima on a merry chase to find the killer before it is too late.

[David Vander Plaats · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this because I had the impression that Ms. Fraser was a good author. This has got to,be the most boring book I have read in the last five years. Although it is termed a "mystery," I fail to comprehend why. The only thing mysterious about this book is why I continued to read it after I started it. I guess I expected it to have some twists and turns which would make it interesting. It did not.

[JA J · Rating 3 out of 5]

Almost as appropriate today as when written. It has aged remarkably well.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just fine. A bit dated in 2025 and the ending felt rushed. Won’t revisit but it was an easy read.

[Maya · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought this was OK. The style is hard to describe, but for a purported "mystery" I didn't find it particularly compelling. It probably didn't help that I started it before a vacation and read three-plus books before getting back to it. The characterization was pretty good (though, as I find with so many British authors, the American characters' dialogue was not completely "natural").

[Katie Hilton · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cute mystery centered on all the fuss and feathers surrounding a Royal Wedding. Jemima Shore is to be a guest commentator for an American TV network. She discovers, too late, that there is a very real danger to the bride, a real-life princess.

[Sallie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has been lurking on my TBR pile for way too long. Time to read it and move it along.

[Susanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoy Fraser's writing, particularly her biographies. I've read two Jemima Shore mysteries now, and I'd like to get more of them.

[Kimmy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Booooooooooooooooring xx