Prisoners in the Palace

 by Michaela MacColl

Genre: Historical fiction - set in London in 1836
Age group: 12+

Liza Hastings was looking forward to attending balls, meeting charming young men, and being introduced to society—but then her parents died. Now, not only is she alone in the world, with no connections and no work, but she has also been left deeply in debt. She has little choice but to accept the job of a lowly lady's maid at Kensington Palace, serving the Baroness Lehzen and Princess Victoria. It doesn't take long for Liza and Princess Victoria to take a shine to each other, and they soon become friends, even though they are employer and employee. However, Victoria isn't on such good terms with her mother, especially because Victoria is likely to become the Queen when the King dies. Victoria's mother, the Duchess, wants the crown to herself! Liza soon discovers a plot between the Duchess and Sir John Conroy, her "personal secretary and comptroller," to take over the crown and stop Victoria from ever becoming Queen. Can Liza help the true heir become ruler? Or will the Duchess and Sir John succeed in their dastardly plot?

I loved the language used in this book. It feels somewhat old-fashioned, which suits the book perfectly. It's just nice to read the language: It's so much more beautiful and artful than many books I've read. This book also succeeded in getting me interested in Victorian history. There's a reading list included in the back, and the book made this time period seem so interesting that I may actually take a couple of those books out. The plot is great. It takes place in what seems like a domestic place—Kensington Palace—but there's actually quite a lot of intrigue and suspense. Liza makes periodical forays into the more grungy, lowlife parts of London as well, which adds a nice contrast. The characters of this book are interesting, and the plot is exciting, and the book is quite well-written. I definitely recommend it for anyone.