What If the Queen Should Die?

by John-Paul Flintoff

A literary-historical-thriller, based on the true story of Britain's most tragic queen, and the people closest to her.

Windsor Castle, 1714. Queen Anne is dying, with no living offspring. Nobody knows who will succeed her. There are two likely successors: the half-brother she always refused to acknowledge, and the cousin who once turned her down in marriage. She hates them both. Courtiers, politicians and hangers-on ﹘ including the writers Daniel Defoe, Jonathan Swift and Alexander Pope ﹘ plot to get whatever they can from the queen while she lives, and to steer the succession to their own advantage. But nothing can be resolved until the queen has come to terms with her children's deaths ﹘ and repaired the terrible wrong she did many years before.

263 pages, Hardcover

First published March 24, 2016

Reviews

[Daniel Kukwa · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a pleasant little historical read, from an era I personally enjoy revisiting. However, it feels under-developed -- too many plot lines that feel sketched in, only converge at the end with any dramatic power (the ending, by the way, easily the most exciting part of the novel). In between, I can envisage a story where the Queen's final days are far more intimately examined, the life of Defoe is strung out for more tension and excitement, and the politics of the court & Parliament is examined much more deeply. What is here is perfectly enjoyable...but a longer, more detailed epic is hiding within these pages. It deserves a "Game of Thrones" length treatment to truly do it justice.