Review: QUEEN HIGH, C. J. Carey

• 
  this edition from my local library
  
• published by Quercus Books UK 2022
• ISBN 9-781529-412048
• 414 pages
• A GUARDIAN, TELEGRAPH AND FINANCIAL TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR
• Sequel to WIDOWLAND published 2021 

Synopsis (publisher)

BRITAIN, WITH THE WRONG QUEEN.

1955. Britain remains a Protectorate of Germany. The assassination of the Leader on British soil provoked violent retribution and intensified repression of British citizens, particularly women. Now, more than ever, the Protectorate is a place of surveillance and isolation – a land of spies.

The royal family has been usurped, and the widowed Queen Wallis reigns in their place. Yet some citizens hold out hope that Elizabeth may one day return.

Rose Ransom marvels that she’s even alive. A mere woman, her role in the Leader’s death has been miraculously overlooked. Her work now focuses on the outlawed subject of Poetry, a form of writing that transmits subversive meanings. Therefore all Poetry is banned and Rose is appointed a Poet Hunter.

President Eisenhower is to make a state visit to Britain and Rose is tasked with visiting Queen Wallis to brief her. She finds Wallis in a state of paranoia, desperate to return to her American homeland. She claims she has a secret document so explosive that it will blow the Protectorate apart – should she dare to reveal it.

My Take

Set in June 1955, two years after the Leader was assassinated. There is a lot to get your head around in this dystopian, feminist, pseudo-historical novel. Since the Battle of Britain, Britain has been a German Protectorate. Women outnumber men 6 to 1, and a caste system has been established where each woman is assigned a caste which determines her status and employment. 

For me this novel was a mixture of Fahrenheit 451, Brave New World, and 1984. Life is carefully regulated, and citizens, especially women, live under a repressive regime.

But things seem to be changing. President Eisenhower is coming for a state visit and there is talk of a new Pact with the United States. 

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel, but at the same time it was a challenging read. 

My rating: 4.4

About the author
C. J. Carey is a novelist, journalist and broadcaster. She has worked at the Sunday Times, the Daily Telegraph and the BBC, among others. She also writes novels under the name Jane Thynne and lives in London. Widowland is the first novel she has written as C. J. Carey. QUEEN HIGH is her second novel.