{"product_id":"the-royal-governess-a-novel-of-queen-elizabeth-iis-childhood-9780593101339","title":"The Royal Governess: A Novel of Queen Elizabeth II's Childhood","description":"\u003cb\u003e\"A beautifully woven and exquisitely detailed story of strong upstairs\/downstairs women.\"--Heather Morris, \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling author of \u003ci\u003eThe Tattooist of Auschwitz\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eSunday Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling author Wendy Holden brings to life the unknown childhood years of one of the world's most famous figures, Queen Elizabeth II, and reveals the spirited young governess who made her the icon we love today.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e In 1933, twenty-two-year-old Marion Crawford accepts the role of a lifetime, tutoring the little Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret Rose. Her one stipulation to their parents the Duke and Duchess of York is that she bring some doses of normalcy into their sheltered and privileged lives. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e At Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle and Balmoral, Marion defies stuffy protocol to take the princesses on tube trains, swimming at public baths, and on joyful Christmas shopping trips at Woolworth's. From her ringside seat at the heart of the British monarchy she witnesses twentieth-century history's most seismic events. The trauma of the Abdication, the glamour of the Coronation, the onset of World War II. She steers the little girls through it all, as close as a mother. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e During Britain's darkest hour, as Hitler's planes fly over Windsor, she shelters her charges in the castle dungeons (not far from where the Crown Jewels are hidden in a biscuit tin). Afterwards, she is present when Elizabeth first sets eyes on Philip. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e But being beloved confidante to the Windsors comes at huge personal cost. Marriage, children, her own views: all are compromised by proximity to royal glory. In this majestic story of love, sacrifice and allegiance, bestselling novelist Holden shines a captivating light into the years before Queen Elizabeth II took the throne.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Berkley Books\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 02\/23\/2021\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780593101339\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 448\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.76lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.00h x 5.31w x 0.91d","brand":"Wendy Holden","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":38351906013365,"sku":"9780593101339","price":14.45,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/products\/img_6097a2b5-3f0e-483a-b926-48878bd42528.jpg?v=1611650061","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/the-royal-governess-a-novel-of-queen-elizabeth-iis-childhood-9780593101339","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}