jacey | Booklog 90/2022: Meredith Bond: Princess on the Run (Reply)

I must confess this book almost hit the wall a number of times, but, somehow, I kept on reading. Isa is a Germanic princess who runs away from her English boarding school when she’s informed that her brother is dead. She’s sure he’s not and sets off to find him. She’s completely naive, has her horse stolen and is cheated out of her money on the first day. She has no idea of manners or what things cost, and she’s thoroughly irritating. She’s led a life of papmered luxury, has never had to do anything for herself and still tries to order people about imperiously. She’s trying to blag her way on to the mail coach to Margate (her brother’s last known whereabouts) when Sam, newly come into his title and (impoverished) estate and trying to turn over a new leaf, comes to the rescue and instead of continuing on his errand he tells the chit (going under the name of Miss Gunter) he’ll take her to Margate. Shortly thereafter they acquire a recently retired lady’s maid as a chaperone. Sam makes it seem that Margate is only a couple of days travel away (and it probably is by mail coach) but over thirty days later they are still on their way, having tried to avoid men who seem to either want to take Isa back to school, or kill her. The villains are never more than cardboard cut-outs. Yes, if this seems improbably, it is. Isa does gradually learn to say thank you, and of course the pair begin to fall in love. I’m not sure whey. If I’d been Sam I’d have bought her a coach ticket and sent her on her way. It takes 35 days to reach Margate from Reading, and not much happens on the journey. Sheesh! I wanted to like this, I really did, but Isa was so damned irritating.

An inauspicious end to my reading year, but I'm looking forward to books already loaded on to my Kindle for 2023