The King’s Shilling (The Heart of War)
Michelle is sent by her father, a titled Frenchman, the Baron de Montfaucon, to stay with Lord Grenfell and his family at their country estate in England, following her divorce which, in 1912, is seen by the Baron as bringing disgrace on the family. While saying he will end her allowance, the Baron explains that Grenfell has stopped paying interest on an ancient loan and that Michelle may keep the owed money if she is able to recover it.
She is well received by most of the family, particularly with His Lordship’s nephews, Francis and Riversdale, known as ‘Rivy’. Francis is a soldier and Rivy works in finance. To pay for a lawyer she ‘borrows’ a valuable necklace which she pawns. This is discovered by His Lordship, who threatens to expose her unless she marries one of his nephews; she has three years to decide which. Rivy’s finances collapse and the world is on the brink of war, and still she cannot decide.
The action moves at a brisk pace, and the characters are mostly well-drawn, although a few minor ones are two-dimensional. The book will appeal to anyone interested in the upper echelons of society in the early 20th century. The twins take Michelle on a polo weekend at the Duke of Westminster’s estate in Cheshire where she meets, among others, Winston Churchill and his wife, Clementine. There are detailed descriptions of cars, cigars, wines, food and decor, presumably intended to show the opulence of the lifestyle but which I found intrusive; do we really need to know the brand of cigars or the vintage of champagne?
This is the first part of a duology, The Heart of War. By the end, World War I is about to start and nothing about Michelle’s future has been decided. Clearly it is necessary to read the sequel to reach a conclusion.
