In her latest historical fiction novel, “The Royal Windsor Secret,” author Christine Wells combines a bit of mystery, a bit of romance, a lot of history, a soupçon of royalty, and an impressive amount of jewelry to create a story about a young woman, raised at a luxury hotel in Cairo, who travels to Paris and London in search of the identity of her parents. While young Cleo is trying to find out who her parents are, she is also trying to accomplish what is almost impossible at that time — to realize her dream of becoming a jewelry designer.
Growing up pampered at Shepeards Hotel, Cleo has roamed the city and ridden horses in the desert with her best friend Brodie. He’s the grandson of a Scottish landowner whose father was disinherited because of whom he married. Brodie’s passion is studying wildlife, but he ends up running the hotel’s zoo. Serafina, Cleo’s guardian, lives an unconventional lifestyle studying Egyptian artifacts. She recognizes Brodie’s intelligence, and he is allowed to participate in Cleo’s lessons with her tutor. When his knowledge surpasses that of the tutor, Serafina tutors him.
At the start of the novel, both Cleo and Brodie are taken in by Serafina’s sister and brother-in-law, Lord and Lady Grayson, to go to England. Cleo will have a debut and be introduced to society there, and Brodie will have a chance to study at Oxford. It’s the beginning of huge changes for both young adults. While Cleo enjoys spending time in Paris getting a new wardrobe with Lady Grayson, Brodie pulls away and spends time with the other teenagers his age.
The importance of jewelry in this novel is made clear from the very first page. We meet Marguerite, a French courtesan whom Cleo eventually suspects is her mother, who is learning about jewels from her mentor. And her jewels, given by her ardent admirers, are only a prelude to those of another, much more famous—or rather infamous—woman, the Duchess of Windsor, Wallis Simpson. Unlike those two women, Cleo isn’t as interested in collecting jewelry as she is in designing fabulous pieces. She dreams of working at Cartier or another fine jewelry house.
But in the late 1930’s and years after, women weren’t accepted as jewelry designers, or much else, really. Cleo was expected to have her debut and get married. To conform with the expectations of society and the more narrow goals of her social set. Cleo is lucky that the Graysons are kind and loving. They indulge her when she wants to study jewelry design in Paris. Because of Serafina and the Graysons, Cleo is able to live without worrying about money or making a living. The only expectations asked of her are to dress beautifully, act appropriately in social settings, and make good connections. An eventual successful marriage is also something that is hoped for.
Cleo is determined to find out who her parents are. There were rumors that her father is the Prince of Wales, who for a short time becomes King Edward VIII before he abdicates the throne to marry the upstart American he has fallen in love with. Both of them are characters in the novel and Wells portrays how superficial and self-centered they were. The question of Cleo’s parentage is maintained almost to the end of the novel and Wells does a brilliant job keeping up the mystery.
The depictions of war and those who fought nobly are well done, and it’s a testament to Wells’ talent that she is able to juggle so many disparate pieces of the plot, including Marguerite’s backstory, in a cohesive fashion. The chapters are labeled with the dates and locations of the events, and sometime one chapter covers several years.
We follow Cleo as she matures and comes to realize what is important in life. No surprise that the Cleo we meet at the start of the novel is very different from the Cleo we say goodbye to at the end. She’s grown into a mature, successful woman and we are happy that she’s going to get her happy ever after. We’ve been treated to a very enjoyable journey alongside this remarkable young woman, and along the way we’ve met some important real-life historical figures including the scandalous Marguerite, who in addition to being the mistress of the Prince of Wales, married an Arabian prince. She eventually literally got away with murder. Is it possible that her connection to royalty helped her?
A perfect choice for lovers of historical fiction, especially those who enjoy reading about royalty and their foibles, this is a sweeping look at several decades in the last century, and some of the fascinating people who made history during that time.
Please note: This review was first posted on Bookreporter.com.