A Brief History of Monmoray by Michelle Cooper

This was an odd book.  The premise is that there is an island kingdom somewhere near Spain and France.  The kingdom used to be populated, but now the only ones living on the island are the mad king, his daughter and two nieces, a servant and one family of town people. The island has a castle, where the royal family lives, but it is run down and almost all of its furnishings have been sold to support the family. Even though there isn't really any thing to rule over, the main characters, the three princesses, Veronica, Henrieta and Sophia, cling desperately to their royal status. This is curious to Americans who have never had a royal class, or very much of any class system.  Why would you think you were special because you rule over 8 people and an empty rock of a kingdom?  I am not sure, but I think that was the writer's point.  She is from Australia, and was, I think, consciously poking fun at European nobility.

That said, it was a well written book. The characters and situation were interesting and complex.  It was a little slow starting, but once the German SS men arrived on the island, the plot gets very intense. It was in our children's section but it is not a children's book.  It hints at very mature themes, including homosexuality and incest. They are subtle, and a child reading the book would probably miss the inference, but they were there.(296 p)