Jump to ratings and reviews
Rate this book

Calypso Chronicles #4

Dumping Princes

Rate this book
“Funny exposé of It-girl school life.” ELLE GIRL UK

“A deliciously naughty insider’s guide to the sensational secret life of Britain & Europe’s royal teens from the midnight feasts, incredibly close friendships & romances to the tabloid escapades and code language - thank goodness there is a dictionary of posh teen slang included.” BOOK CHIT CHAT

“A right royal read” THE MAYFAIR TIMES

It is sure to have fans of the previous novels rolling on the floor laughing their royal crowns off. SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL, USA

Set in a fictional Eton College (Eades) where Princes William and Harry attended & the nearby St Mary’s Ascot School (St Augustine’s) attended by Princess Caroline of Monaco and which the author’s daughter was a pupil, Dumping Princes is the fourth book in the Calypso Chronicles series.

After four years as the school misfit, Calypso Kelly has finally thrown off her label of American Freak and joined the in-crowd: the daughters and sons of Britain and Europe's Royals & Rock Stars.

In this bonkers world where everyone’s titled entitled or both, dorm raids, midnight feasts, illicit dashes to London nightclubs on the Sunningdale train and moonlit picnics in the infamous Pullers Woods that separates the two schools, the stakes are high.

While her friends spend their time posting YouTube clips and manipulating the media with social networking, Calypso has won the national fencing trails and managed to pull Prince Freddie himself.

When HRH (Freds) does the unthinkable and breaks up with Calypso, breaking the ancient lore that forbids any St Augustine’s girl from being dumped, it sets in motion a school-wide plan for a Royal Counter Dump. Can Calypso win Freddie back? And if she can will she be able to dump him?

All is fair in love and war . . . except, of course, if you’re in love with a prince.


Although entirely fictional, the Calypso Chronicle series give an accurate portrayal of the closed world of Royal teens, created feverish speculation and comparisons to actual royals and Aristocratic teens – specifically Prince William and Prince Harry – were inevitable. After a heated bidding war, Bloomsbury won the USA rights to the series at the Frankfurt Book Fair 2004.


For more on this series go to www.calypsochronicles.com

“Outrageously funny and a serious contender for the teen chick-lit throne.” — THE BOOKSELLER on Pulling Princes.

“Budding Anglophiles ….will soak up the flood of upper-class British culture in this book. Fans of Cecily von Ziegesar’s “Gossip Girl” series and Zoey Dean’s “A-List” series (both Little, Brown) should enjoy it”.– WASHINGTON COUNTY COOPERATIVE LIBRARY SERVICES

“Give this to fans of Princess Mia and Georgia Nicholson as well as to readers of O’Connell’s previous Pulling Princes (2004).” BOOKLIST, USA

“It is sure to have fans of the previous novels rolling on the floor laughing their royal crowns off.” SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL, USA

304 pages, Hardcover

First published September 29, 2006

9 people are currently reading
436 people want to read

About the author

Tyne O'Connell

29 books136 followers
Tyne O’Connell is a bestselling British author. Her 13 novels have been published to great acclaim by Headline UK, Bloomsbury USA & other international publishing houses.
http://edition.cnn.com/style/article/...
"An eccentric is not trying to define themselves, they're born seeking a different way," explains Tyne O'Connell, and if anyone should know, it's her. The Mayfair-based author and socialite seems to have been torn straight from the pages of an Evelyn Waugh novel; with her cut-glass accent, perma-fixed tiara and layers of pearls.
Despite recently being diagnosed with a brain tumor, O'Connell has continued to embrace the extraordinary.”
In 2015 HRH as patron of the historic Eccentrics Club awarded her the title of “Most Eccentric British Thinker” based on her research into the 17th C when Eccentricity became the quintessential aspects of the British character. Her extraordinary life has been featured in TV documentaries & feature-spreads in Vogue UK, Elle & most UK broadsheets. Cassandra Jardine in The Daily Telegraph UK wrote: “The Impossibly glamorous Tyne O’Connell’s real life is every bit as extraordinary as her fiction” ELLE UK.
Critics have described O’Connell as, “Enid Blyton of our time” comparing her bestselling boarding-school series, Pulling Princes to “an up to date Mallory Towers”. The first four books in the series are set in a fictionalised Eton College &St Mary’s Ascot near Windsor Castle and based on her three children’s experiences at boarding school & Oxford as well as her own extraordinary life in Mayfair.

Born into an Irish Catholic family, daughter of a retired spy, her favourite chore as a child was collecting eggs from the hens for sixpence writing & reading. She was told by teachers & family she would be an author from age eight. Her first bestselling book was Sex, Lies & Litigation, pub1996 Headline to rave reviews.
Shes spent all her life in Mayfair where she brought up two husbands & three children. The area is at the heart of her ancestry & many of her books. She writes about all things Mayfair for mayfaireccentrics.com, & elsewhere. Visit her at www.tyneoconnell.com & follow her on Instagram @tyneoconnell

O'Connell was educated by elderly Flemish Sacre-Coeur nuns (born in the 1870-80's) with the expectation that she would marry a diploma or Catholic aristocrat - perfectly equipping her for a world that hadn't existed since the 1930’s. It was an unusual Victorian style upbringing & by 17, she was accomplished in Le Cordon Blue, Croquet, Semaphore, Literature, Latin, Needlepoint, Flower Arrangement, Diamond Valuation, Deportment, Millinery & Embassy Dinner Seating. After school she returned

http://www.tyneoconnell.com
http://www.mayfaireccentrics.com
http://www.dandizette.com

Ratings & Reviews

What do you think?
Rate this book

Friends & Following

Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!

Community Reviews

5 stars
141 (24%)
4 stars
158 (27%)
3 stars
205 (35%)
2 stars
54 (9%)
1 star
20 (3%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews
Profile Image for Jen.
19 reviews
March 11, 2009
This was the 4th book to the Calypso series and truthfully I think the other books in the series were WAY better than this one. I hated the ending! read this book and you'll see why, or just read the title, you can guess pretty easily. Hopefully Tyne O'connel will make a 5th to the series. I was really confused at the end cuz I have NO IDEA what Calypso is gonna do and if things will remain the way they are!
Profile Image for Irene.
43 reviews
Read
August 23, 2009
Dumping Princes by Tyne O’ Connell is the fourth book in the amazing Calypso chronicles. Just like Pulling Princes, Stealing Princes, and Dueling Princes; Dumping Princes revolves around Calypso and her friends going through yet another adventurous school year. What was suppose to be the best school year since Calypso arrived to St. Augustine’s School for Ladies might actually turn out to be the worst. As if having an upcoming international fencing competition wasn’t already pressure enough, suddenly all of her friends decide to dump their boyfriends and is pressuring Calypso to do the same with Freddie, her boyfriend who she likes very much and also the crown prince of England. But by not dumping Freddie first may have been a big mistake because the very next day Freddie tells Calypso through text, “Soz and all that, but I think we should take a break…” (Pg.102). And now Calypso, her friends, and the entire St. Augustine’s School is supporting her and her plan to get vengeance against Freddie because never has there been a St. Augustine’s girl been dumped before, till now that is. So how will things turn out?
Dumping Princes is truly an amazing book and a great add to the Calypso chronicles. There was not a single moment in this book where it would get dull and make me want to skim through the pages. Every single sentence in this entertaining book is worth reading. This is one of the few books that are actually able to make me really laugh out loud. Like when Calypso says “...He could run one of those kissing booths at county fairs when he grew up and positively rake in the cash. Though I don't suppose parents send their sons to the most prestigious boarding school in the world to have them setting up kissing booths.”(Pg.135). Not only this, but its very well written and detailed so you, the reader, can clearly visualize what the characters look like and the setting around them.
I’d recommend this book to anyone who needs a good laugh and wants to find out how Calypso will overcome this next situation. And also to Tyne O’ Connell fans of course. So do you think Calypso will be able to get Freddie back? Will she even want to get him back? How will Calypso’s revenge plan turn out? And what happens when Calypso finds out she has an admirer? Don’t wait, find out today by getting your copy of Dumping Princes by Tyne O’ Connell today! But Of course if you haven’t read the other three books to this captivating series, I’d recommend starting from Pulling Princes, the first book.
Profile Image for Tyne O'Connell.
Author 29 books136 followers
February 26, 2014
A peep through the key hole of Britain's Elite boarding schools - Based on St Mary’s Ascot where many European royals attend, & Eton College where both Prince Harry & William were educated. These books are like being let in on the sensational secret life of Britain’s aristocracy.

After four years as the school misfit, Calypso Kelly has finally thrown off her label of American Freak and joined the in-crowd: the daughters and sons of British and Europe’s Royals & Rock Stars. In a mad world of dorm raids, midnight feasts and escapes to Pullers Woods that separates the two schools, the stakes are high. But while her friends spend their time posting YouTube clips and manipulating the media with social networking, Calypso has won the national fencing trails and managed to pull Prince Freddie himself.

When HRH (Freds) does the unthinkable and breaks up with Calypso, it sets in motion a school-wide plan for a Royal Counter Dump. Can Calypso win Freddie back just to break his heart?

All is fair in love and war . . . except, of course, if you’re in love with a prince.

“Funny exposé of It-girlschool life.” ELLE GIRL UK

“Briget Jones for the early teen set.”- WASHINGTON POST USA

“Budding Anglophiles ….will soak up the flood of upper-class British culture in this book. Fans of Cecily von Ziegesar’s “Gossip Girl” series and Zoey Dean’s “A-List” series (both Little, Brown) should enjoy it”.– WASHINGTON COUNTY COOPERATIVE LIBRARY SERVICES

Give this to fans of Princess Mia and Georgia Nicholson as well as to readers of O’Connell’s previous Pulling Princes (2004). BOOKLIST, USA

It is sure to have fans of the previous novels rolling on the floor laughing their royal crowns off. SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL, USA
31 reviews
December 19, 2008
I WANT THE NEXT BOOK TO COME OUT!!!!!NOW
Profile Image for Pinkgirllx.
14 reviews
December 16, 2025
i need to know: freddy or malcom?!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Erin.
147 reviews4 followers
November 10, 2008
I laughed my pants off the entire time. I think one of my favorite lines is "...He could run one of those kissing booths at county fairs when he grew up and positively rake in the cash. Though I don't suppose parents send their sons to the most prestigious boarding school in the world to have them setting up kissing booths."

I wasn't too impressed with the other's in the series (though I think each one gets better than the last). But this one is simply fabulous. Very funny.

One thing I love about this series is that Calypso is really well rounded. She is smart spends most of her time fencing, and though her innermost thoughts center around boys, really she doesn't waste too much time on them. A good message for teenagers.

Bad thing, way too much casual drinking and smoking. No wonder GB has a ultra high rate of under 10's being hospitalized for alcohol poisoning (see BBC news this week), as it is being pushed as normal teenage behavior.
16 reviews1 follower
August 29, 2011
The title of the book should be a dead give away as to what happens, but I was still hoping that Freds and Calypso might end up together after all. I guess the thing I found odd was that such a relationship developed between Calypso and Malcolm, that I almost totally forgot about Freds. I don't know about anyone else, but that was a big surprise to me! Good series though, and it ended on a decent enough note.
Profile Image for  Taylor .
40 reviews
October 19, 2008
It's so funny I love it so much. This reader thinks this book is a to read. if you like dramas, and funny friends, read this book. Boy drama, friend drama, this girl needx help and she still has everything undercontrol.She goes through so much, can you say counter dunp. anf thats all yo uwill get from me.
Tay,
Profile Image for bex clark.
49 reviews5 followers
May 11, 2008
This is probably my favorite of the entire series. No one _would_ dare look in a nun's sleeve!
Profile Image for Louisa.
8,843 reviews99 followers
July 7, 2012
Oh, another hilarious book, not as funny as Dueling Princes, but pretty darn close! Really enjoyed it, and I'm going to be sad to say goodbye to the characters!
Profile Image for Béatrice.
350 reviews
August 1, 2017
I liked it, but it was my least favourite of the calypso chronicles. I got less attached to the characters and I thought the story was a lot less interesting than the other books in this serie. But the book made me laugh a lot!
Profile Image for Inge.
1,545 reviews1 follower
December 2, 2016
It started like the other books, very predictable. Still it stays very easy to read and just funny.
I really like the fact that she thinks she isn't shallow at all and then she reflects and knows she is shallow. Like the real character of a snobby teenager. Who really wants to fit in more then anything else and are easily persuaded into thinking they are doing the right thing. She feels a lot of peer pressure through all of the books and she lets it cloud her judgement most of the times. In the beginning of this book she really makes a strong impression of what she wants. A shame it didn't put a line through the book.
I really want read what happens next because too badly the book ends on a cliffhanger. So I will have to read the next book.
I also would like to mention I have borrowed this book by the travelling library in a station of the NMBS in Mol. I would like to give them credit for this nice collection of books they have gathered there and I hope to borrow one again some time soon.
1,534 reviews5 followers
September 23, 2013
It is totally my fault for not liking this book. I can't say I didn't like it. It was okay, it was just too young for me. Which sounds a bit funny because I love reading teen and young adult novels. They tend to not be as embarrassingly graphic. However, this book was about a crazy 16 year old. It's weird to side more with the parents than with the heroine of the book. I guess that means I'm officially old. I think what made this too "young" for me was the vocabulary. If I had to hear the word "tre" one more time I was going to fling the book across the room. Unfortunately, this happens to me a lot when I attempt to find a book at the library that I know nothing about. I really have to read up on books, I'm not good at just picking one. Case and point with this book.
21 reviews
Read
June 14, 2010
In Dumpling princess by Tyne o' connell is about a girl who's parents are acting like she is marrying a boy when she is only fifteen and dating. Also her best friend star thinks her boyfriend is "arrogant, boring, and unworthy". Also she dumped kev who was her boyfriend's best friend. What is she do now, fred's parents think she was "sickly and sniffy" he later dumps her and she wants to get revenge to get back at him. Later fred writes a letter to her and says sorry, calypso cried and knew her strategic of doing the counter dumping scheme. Star knew she was wrong and after she read the letter she wanted fred and calypso together.
Profile Image for Melissa Carpenter.
258 reviews14 followers
June 26, 2012
I picked up this series because it was recommended for fans of Louise Rennison's Georgia Nicholson series, which is one of my favorites. In comparison to Rennison's series, this series was a bit of a let-down. As a stand alone series without that comparison, though, I probably would have liked it better. Oh well. The series lagged a bit in each book, and where 9/10 of the series is focused on a prince, the prince doesn't even have a part in its conclusion, which I thought was strange. I'm also confused by the ending of the series itself. Dumping Princes is the last book I can find in the series, but it doesn't quite feel resolved.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Clarabel.
3,851 reviews59 followers
February 22, 2013
Dernier tome d'une petite série sympathique et légère comme une bulle. Cela démarre sur les chapeaux de roue, avec un weekend en Ecosse, qui ne portera pas ses fruits, puisqu'une rupture sans élégance suivra quelque temps après. Nouvelles cartes à distribuer, entrée en lice d'un nouveau prétendant plus craquant, et d'autres petites aventures complètement loufoques. De bonnes scènes, donc, et un humour anglais servi à tous les étages, avec une galerie de personnages tous plus excentriques et déjantés (les parents, en tête !). Prévoir toutefois une fin très ouverte, mais qui risque d'en chagriner certaines.
24 reviews
April 6, 2016
Dumping Princes by Tyne O'Connell is part of one of my favorite book series that I have reread multiple times. The main character, Calypso, is a student at an all girls private school in London. This entire series doesn't really offer any particularly new concepts for many readers, yet the way the author narrates Calypso's struggle to fit in, find love, and stay sane in the midst of family issues, in an extremely interesting way. This is one of those books that are humorous, witty, romantic, realistic, and just overall fantastic. Dumping Princes is one of those books that I just can't put down and can read over and over again.
7 reviews1 follower
June 3, 2009
I just picked up this book at the library randomly and I HATED it. The plot was lame, and the view point was from a boy crazy teenager.I realize that I read it out of order, but I understood everything that was going on, the author did a good job on briefing what had happened in the past books. The vocabulary level was low, and had a lot of basic French words in it. (like oh la la, jolie and tres belle/chic) I just found this novel pretty boring and shallow.
Profile Image for Romie.
29 reviews16 followers
November 23, 2012


I like the 3 first books but this one, not so much. The ending was idk looks she's still got to figure things out, like it's not really an end. I think the plot was shallow, I really didn't get the prince's behaviour sometimes. The only thing I found positive about this book was Star's lines. She totally cracked me up, if she wasn't there I'd prolly not read the book til the end.
Profile Image for Book Chat.
21 reviews
February 16, 2014
Last (so far) in the Princes books from Tyne O'Connell. Hilarious antiques at a an all girls British boarding school where Calypso Kelly gets to date Prince Freddie, heir to the British throne.

Full of funny scenes, lots of romantic intrigue, anti-girlfriends, nuns, posh toffs, royals, body guards, and rockstars. Brilliant.
8 reviews
May 13, 2009
This was the final book in the Calypso Chronicles by Tyne O'Connell. I thought it was a good book, but not the best. At times I found it kind of boring and I felt the need to skip pages. But, it had a good plot after all.
Profile Image for Jules.
92 reviews3 followers
January 13, 2012
Infuriatingly good ending to the series, and though it made me question my sanity with such attachment to the characters, I do have to say O'Connell couldn't have ended such a brilliant series any other way.
Profile Image for Annie.
1,356 reviews5 followers
June 25, 2012
There was an element of "reality" in this book when it comes to the Calypso/Freddie relationship that makes this story bittersweet. However, setting the romance stuff aside, it's hard not to enjoy this series. It's extremely witty and amusing.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Viviana.
29 reviews
February 11, 2008
It was a nice way to spend an afternoon. I guess this is the last book of the series and I haven't read the other ones before it. But I thought it was funny. A little over dramatic with the fainting.
Profile Image for Stevie Fill.
1 review
June 28, 2008
I love this book ecause it s a classic example of a feel-good teen comedy romance that makes you want to read on.
547 reviews
May 31, 2011
Best one of the series. Calypso actually uses her brain a little this time. Not always, and not a lot, but at least you know she has one.
Profile Image for Kelley.
105 reviews2 followers
July 25, 2011
While it's not as good as its companions, it is still an enjoyable read and a wonderful end to the series!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews

Can't find what you're looking for?

Get help and learn more about the design.