The Buckingham Palace connection

by Ted Willis

Dust jacket faded and small signs of wear at bottom of spine; otherwise book in very good condition.

Genres: Historical, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Thriller

288 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1978

About the author

Ted Willis (1914-1992) was a British playwright, novelist and screenwriter who was also politically active in support of the Labour Party. He was listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the world’s most prolific writer for television, and also wrote 34 stage plays and 39 feature films.

Reviews

[Jo Chambers · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent thriller about efforts to rescue the last Tsar of Russia and his family and for them to settle in Britain. Based on the truth. To his shame, King George V didn't want his Russian cousin to come to Britain because he feared this might incite the British people to revolution too. So they all perished ..... I read this book many years ago and it is probably out of print now, but it has stayed with me.

[Katharine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this story of Americans and British working together to move a discredited Tsar from Russian capture. It really sounded like a true historic account even with the author's filling in of some of the details.

[Jan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyable and plausible tale around the age old speculation that Maria Nicolaevna escaped being massacred with the rest of the Romanov family.

[Anita Howard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyed it. Listened to it on BBC podcast and found the Audiobook on Amazon. The book contains more detail.

[Tess Ailshire · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting take on the totally murky end of the Tsars. Sure, it could happen.

I do like the ending, very much.

[Kevin Bowser · Rating 5 out of 5]

“What if . . . ?”

That’s what the whole story is about. What if everything we thought we knew about the last Tsar was not the real story? I really enjoyed this book. I thought I had it all figured out. But, I had a few gaps in my story. It’s a good thing that I read all the way to the end.

[Larry Hostetler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Picked this up at a one-cent library sale in Baton Rouge. The card in the back of the book only showed it being checked out twice, in 1982. If that is correct, it is much the loss.

I found this book to be many good things: an easy read (less than a week of reading occasionally), engaging, interesting, informative, historical, a mystery/thriller novel, and unusual.

Though written as fiction, a note from the author at the beginning says that "many of the events are a matter of recorded history and actually took place." One is left to wonder which items are factual and which are fiction. Given the uncertainty surrounding the fate of Anastasia this story is another good historical fiction a la (American) Winston Churchill, Gore Vidal, and William F. Buckley.

I found very little to criticize. The conclusion/denoument adds to the perception of being more factual than fictional, and one is left wondering what is true and what is not. (Not a bad way to leave a good story.)

As long as one reads this with the understanding that it is historical fiction it is a good read. A very good read.