Palace Circle

by Rebecca Dean

Palace intrigue, romance, and illicit affairs—Rebecca Dean has written a glorious novel that will sweep Philippa Gregory fans off their feet.

Delia Chandler, an eighteen-year-old Southern girl, marries Viscount Ivor Conisborough just before World War II, becoming part of the Windsor court. It’s every girl’s dream come true. But Delia is jolted from her pleasant life when she realizes, after the birth of her two daughters, that Ivor chose her only to bear an heir to his estate. Shortly thereafter, she begins an affair with her husband’s handsome, titled, and frequently scandalous best friend.

When Conisborough is appointed as an adviser to King Fuad of Egypt, Delia exchanges one palace circle for another, far different one. While she sees Egypt as a place of exile, her two daughters regard Egypt as their home. Only when war comes to Cairo—and Delia finally reveals the secret she has kept for so long—can she begin to heal the divisions separating her from those she loves.

Rebecca Dean’s irresistible combination of real events and masterful storytelling will keep readers fascinated until the very last page.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical, Romance, Egypt, British Literature, Historical Romance

410 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Margaret A. Hudson was born on 10 April 1943 in Bradford, Yorkshire, England, UK, of German extraction. She was daughter of Kathleen (Ramsden), an artist, and George Arthur Hudson, an architect. Married with Londoner Mike Pemberton, they have five grown children, today she lives with her husband and four small dogs in Whitstable, Kent. Apart from writing, her passions are tango, travel, English history and the English countryside.

Published since 1975, she is a bestselling romance writer as Margaret Pemberton, and under the pseudonyms Carris Carlisle, Maggie Hudson and Rebecca Dean. Having travelled extensively, her novels are set in different parts of the world. She was the fifteenth elected Chairman of the Romantic Novelists' Association (1989-1991), she has also served on the Crime Writers' Association Committee.

Reviews

[Natasa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an enjoyable, quick, light read. The historical background is well-captured. I felt that the characters lacked some depth and that 18-year-old Delia was not believable.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Young, beautiful and American Delia Chandler is married to an older English Viscount, and is transported to England’s court before World War I. In over her head, Delia must rise to the occasion to build a life for herself in England. Despite pressure to produce an heir, Delia gives birth to two beautiful daughters. As the story continues we are treated to the next generation’s perspective through World War II in England, Egypt and other parts of Europe.

In the similar vein of Philippa Gregory or Anya Seton, Dean’s style is vividly romantic. Though unlike her predecessors Dean’s debut marginalizes the historical figures of the time period. Though Winston Churchill and Wallis Simpson, for instance, figure in the story, they are at best supporting characters, and their stories are regulated to the sidelines. Dean instead effectively uses the historical figures and events to establish setting and mood without detracting to the arcs of her main characters—the lively Conisborough family and their suitors. The novel also raises some interesting points about the perils of infidelity as well as the effects and aftermaths of divorce.

The settings are exotic and the men are undeniably charismatic adding to the novel’s beach read charm. The book may appeal more to romance readers then those looking for a detailed and fact based account of the period—as a lot of the history is glossed over in favor of the character’s romantic dilemmas and development. Though some readers may find Dean’s tendency to jump years rather unexpectedly, it does stay true to the perspective of her narrators. The Palace Circle was a refreshingly easy read, and there is no denying that it is entertaining, sexy and fun.

For More information http://randomhouse.com/crown/rebeccadean.

[Belinda Vlasbaard · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 sterren - Nederlandse hardcover

Delia Chandler wordt verliefd op Lord Ivor Conisborough. Zij is totaal verliefd op hem maar ze merkt al snel dat hij voor een erfgenaam met haar getrouwd is. Het was in die tijd gebruikelijk om in de hogere kringen te trouwen voor naam en vermogen en daarna een maitresse te nemen. - "Het is hier gebruikelijk om een verstandshuwelijk te sluiten en pas daarna op zoek te gaan naar liefde. En dat geld voor echtgenotes, zodra ze een erfgenaam hebben voortgebracht tenminste, net zo goed als voor hun echtgenoten." -

Delia heeft een vriend gevonden in Jerome en heeft een prima leventje in London. Ze gaat bij haar ouders op bezoek waar ze brieven ontvangt van Jerome. - "Niets om ongerust over te zijn. Gewoon een van die kinderziekten waar volwassenen erg veel last van hebben. Wordt er in Virginia veel gesproken over het tumult op de Balkan" -

Minpunt is dat de eerste wereldoorlog woed en dat ook in haar kringen mensen verdwijnen naar het front. Delia bevalt van haar eerste dochter en niet lang daarna een tweede baby.

De invloeden van de oorlog op het leventje van Dalia wordt mooi omschreven. Zoals eigenlijk het hele boek door. Om een mooie manier zijn feitelijke geschiedenis gegevens verweven in dit boek. Een boek Waarin mensen op alle mogelijke manieren hun liefde proberen te krijgen en te behouden.

De twee dochters van Dalia, Petra en Davina hebben in de loop van het verhaal ook zo hun rol in het verhaal van hun moeder en de geschiedenis rond de tweede wereld oorlog. Liefdes worden uit elkaar gerukt door miscommunicatie en de oorlogsomstandigheden. Zullen ze bij elkaar komen?

Pluspunten van het verhaal vindt ik: Ik hou van de drie lelies van dit verhaal Dalia, Petra en Davina. Je kunt je goed inleven in hun karakters en de invloed van allerlei wereldgebeurtenissen. Ook wordt het groot worden van de beide dochters mooi verweven in het verhaal. - "Waarom hebben alle mannen vuile nachthemden aan mama? vroeg Petra. "Moet papa ook in een nachthemd gaan lopen nu we in Egypte zijn?" -

Het verhaal is goed opgebouwd en daarom ook makkelijk weg te leggen en weer op te pakken. Geen terugbladeren naar gebeurtenissen om het verdere verhaal te begrijpen. Prachtige cover en duidelijke achterflap maken het boek compleet.

Recensie eerder geplaatst op hebban

[The Cats’ Mother · Rating 3 out of 5]

The blurb describes this as being like Philippa Gregory, which I completely disagree with. I suppose it does features upper class characters swept along by Royal politics, but to me this was much more reminiscent of Ken Follet's Century trilogy - different generations of a few families and their romantic affairs against the backdrop of the two World Wars, who run into each other by chance implausibly often, and interact with famous historical characters.

This had an unusual structure in that it's divided into five parts: first POV is of Delia, beautiful spirited American Southern Belle, who marries an English noble-man 20 years her senior for love, and rapidly discovers when she gets to London that he has no intention of giving up his mistress, and that she is just there to produce an heir. She makes friends with Prince Edward, and later with Wallis Simpson, and begins an affair of her own with her husband's best friend, Jerome. The next parts are about her daughter Petra and Davina, who have grown up in Cairo, and their romances, and then Darius, hypocritical son of an Egyptian government minister, and finally Jack, who is Jerome's son.

I enjoyed the first part of this the most, with the descriptions of the early 20th century London social scene, and then the family's move to Cairo, but then found it dragged a bit, especially the WW2 era storylines. The writing was decidedly average, and the characters not particularly well fleshed out. I learnt a bit about the British fascists of the 1930s, and why Egypt was so important in WW2, but then the history & politics took a back seat to the romantic intrigues and sexual hypocrisy of the mostly unlikeable characters (except Davina who rescues donkeys & horses!)

[Marie Burton · Rating 3 out of 5]

A novel of privileged Delia and her daughters, set against a supposedly magnificent backdrop of World War II in Britain though I was expecting perhaps a bit more 'history'. The war moved along speedily with friends and acquaintances going off to fight somewhere and some came back and some didn't. Just as fast as that and pretty much no true emotion.
Just as quick, her husband is transferred to Cairo and Delia's eldest skips a few years to 16 and is enjoying Egypt. That's all in the first 115 pages, which comprised "Part One: Delia; 1911-1930". Part Two is "Petra: 1930-1934". Now we are dealing with young Petra and her social life in Cairo, and who she thinks she loves and why. And then there are Parts 3, 4 & 5 focusing more on some of the other characters. This is Phillippa Gregory style and although it gets tiresome when it is done as a narration from characters going back and forth and back again, seperating it into parts works better then the former.

When I read a good Historical Fiction novel, after I put it down I typically go and find a non-fiction book on that time period or a certain event in that time period. From this novel there really isn't anywhere to begin since the war went by at lightning speed, and the people mentioned such as Winston Churchill seemed to just be added for effect. I didn't have that desire to learn more. I hate to sound so critical of this author's debut, but these are just my opinions of course. And perhaps this is not intended to be a Historical Fiction novel.
The back of the book warns that it has a "fast-paced" plot. But it also said that it was unpredictable and I am not so sure I can agree with that. The premise for the novel was wonderful and made me want to read it; I would have preferred more insights into the various characters, and the reality of their current events which I would have expected to be more crucial. We never truly get the sense of the blurb that is on the cover about WWII darkening her world of glamour and grace. Delia always seemed to have anything she wanted being beautiful and rich. Whatever problems came her way did not seem to phase her in the least. With the suggested expanded material the author could've made this book into two novels instead. The fact that it doesn't drone on and on about anything doesn't make this book a bore, and the fact that it does indeed move swiftly may enhance it's readability to some. I think there will be some people who prefer more substance, and some others who would just enjoy a good read. If you would like a quick read, this is the book for you.
Overall, it's not bad, it's not awesome. So I'll give it 3.5 stars.

[Belinda · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 sterren. Nederlandse ingebonden versie.

Delia Chandler wordt verliefd op Lord Ivor Conisborough. Zij is totaal verliefd op hem maar ze merkt al snel dat hij voor een erfgenaam met haar getrouwd is. Het was in die tijd gebruikelijk om in de hogere kringen te trouwen voor naam en vermogen en daarna een maitresse te nemen. - "Het is hier gebruikelijk om een verstandshuwelijk te sluiten en pas daarna op zoek te gaan naar liefde. En dat geld voor echtgenotes, zodra ze een erfgenaam hebben voortgebracht tenminste, net zo goed als voor hun echtgenoten." - Delia heeft een vriend gevonden in Jerome en heeft een prima leventje in London. Ze gaat bij haar ouders op bezoek waar ze brieven ontvangt van Jerome. - "Niets om ongerust over te zijn. Gewoon een van die kinderziekten waar volwassenen erg veel last van hebben. Wordt er in Virginia veel gesproken over het tumult op de Balkan" - Minpunt is dat de eerste wereldoorlog woed en dat ook in haar kringen mensen verdwijnen naar het front. Delia bevalt van haar eerste dochter en niet lang daarna een tweede baby. De invloeden van de oorlog op het leventje van Dalia wordt mooi omschreven. Zoals eigenlijk het hele boek door. Om een mooie manier zijn feitelijke geschiedenis gegevens verweven in dit boek. Een boek Waarin mensen op alle mogelijke manieren hun liefde proberen te krijgen en te behouden. De twee dochters van Dalia, Petra en Davina hebben in de loop van het verhaal ook zo hun rol in het verhaal van hun moeder en de geschiedenis rond de tweede wereld oorlog. Liefdes worden uit elkaar gerukt door miscommunicatie en de oorlogsomstandigheden. Zullen ze bij elkaar komen?
Pluspunten van het verhaal vindt ik: Ik hou van de drie lelies van dit verhaal Dalia, Petra en Davina.
Je kunt je goed inleven in hun karakters en de invloed van allerlei wereldgebeurtenissen.
Ook wordt het groot worden van de beide dochters mooi verweven in het verhaal. - "Waarom hebben alle mannen vuile nachthemden aan mama? vroeg Petra. "Moet papa ook in een nachthemd gaan lopen nu we in Egypte zijn?" - Het verhaal is goed opgebouwd en daarom ook makkelijk weg te leggen en weer op te pakken. Geen terugbladeren naar gebeurtenissen om het verdere verhaal te begrijpen. Prachtige cover en duidelijke achterflap maken het boek compleet.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Early twentieth century is not usually the era I delve into when it comes to reading and everything, but this book sounded intriguing so I gave it a shot. Result: immensely glad I did so.

Dean weaves her fictional characters into the lives of real people of that era like David the Prince of Wales (the brief-reigning Edward VIII), but that aspect of the book is merely a sideshow. The characters carry their own story remarkably well. Delia's growth from the naive Virginia belle to a mature member of the British aristocracy is entertaining. I enjoyed how her marriage, despite its rocky beginnings, eventually smoothed out into an arrangement that both she and her husband could live with. Then the continuation of the book through the lives of Delia's daughters was too just as entertaining.

About the only thing that I didn't care for was the suspicion that Petra might have been the daughter of Delia and her lover. It could have been interesting, but the fact that it was cleared up in the last few pages with a bit of information that could have been given if Delia had just asked the simple question. Instead we're put through dramatic angst on Petra's behalf as she deals with the fact that she may have fooled around with her own half-brother. It was too neatly tied up.

Other than that, a pleasant, entertaining read.

[Jennifer · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ack! This book started out so well with so much promise. Wonderful setting, characters and situations were pretty good, albeit slightly predictable. Beautiful costumes, and interesting plot movement, that is... until... Delia learns that she must leave England and move with her famously wealthy and important to the Empire husband to Egypt. Delia just cannot abide by this. Her beautifully charmed and privileged life is crashing around her. Mind you she suffered very little during the war and has an "understanding" with her husband.

I just could not stand Delia after this point. She worked my nerves and I had no desire to finish this story. I tried too, but then her children came into the story, and they spoke, and then I was truly done. Her children were utterly ridiculous and worked my nerves just as much. I must admit I have never before come across a characters that made me instantly want to shut a book like Delia did with me in this story. I felt as though it was a 180 for her. Too childish and petty for someone in their late 30's to act. Therefore I was done with her and this book.

I did skim the remainder of the book and the plot points I discovered made me glad I didn't finish the book. In a word predictable.

[Rhlibrary]

This fine piece of historical fiction set just before WWII follows the life of Delia Chandler, an eighteen-year-old Virginian who marries an English Viscount and is whisked away to become part of the Windsor court. Initially a fish out of water, she easily adapts and has society wrapped around her little finger--she wins them over with her vivacious personality, flame-red hair, and her penchant for singing Dixie at the drop of a hat. But her victory soon pales when she realizes that her husband has married her simply to produce heirs and has no intention of leaving his mistress. Her life is thrown into turmoil yet again when her husband is appointed as an advisor to King Fuad of Egypt and she exchanges one palace circle for another, far different one. I found the chapters set in Egypt fascinating and a nice twist on the traditional British court story. And just as it seemed Delia's story was running its course, the author switched narrators and Delia's daughters and their love-interests took center stage. The multiple viewpoints added depth to the story and there were plenty of twists to keep me in suspense. Recommend to fans of Philippa Gregory, romance readers, book groups, and anyone looking for a solid historical yarn.

[hannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5/5.

Loved the subject matter and some of the characters -- Jack and Petra especially. But I saw every plot twist from a mile away. SPOILERS BEYOND THIS POINT....READ AT YOUR OWN RISK.

Unfortunately, the authors foreshadowing game is way too obvious. Jerome holding Petra in a fatherly manner meant that there was going to be a who's the daddy storyline. She continued to drop hints with Ivor saying Petra didn't look like him, etc. It was too obvious where the story was going...in fact, she couldn't make it more obvious if she tried.

Delia is easily my least favorite character in the novel. I didn't, at any point, feel sorry for her. And the author randomly throwing Delia's Southern accent in late in the novel (she's been away from Virginia for ages....by the time she's 40 that would've no doubt faded).

Jack and Petra were easily my favorite characters and I wish we would've spent more time with Petra and less with Delia. The romance with Jack would've been perfect, but the whole paternity storyline had to play out and kept the characters from speaking to one another for the entire second half of the book.

All in all....it was fine, I guess. I probably won't pick it up to read again, but it kept me interested for a holiday weekend.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actually should rank this as two stars so none of my friends on Goodreads pick it up! I was looking for a quick read that was relatively mindless for vacation and this was it! Story was sort of erratically progressed with babies born and wars started and ended in the beginning. However I eventually realized the stage was being set for the real story, the movement to independence in Egypt. However, before you jump to the conclusion that this is a good historical read, know that it is just a backdrop for a typical romantic novel. I did give it three stars because I thought it did a decent job for this purpose!

[Myersakrawiec · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun, easy read about a family whose diplomat father takes them to Egypt and whose high society mother involves them in the British royal family starting in the pre-WWI era. I enjoyed all the descriptions of high society and both the British royal family and the Egyptian royal family. I would have given this a 5, but the ending didn't hold up to the rest of the book. I also would have preferred the story be told by only a few characters, rather than a total of 5 parts each told by a different character. But I would say that this book was well worth the use of Access PA to obtain it!

[Katherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a relatively easy read historical fiction/ multi generational novel. I found it in my garage where it had been for several years, and finished it off during a week with the flu. The historical characters were fun to wikipedia to see if they matched their descriptions in the book, and having a different perspective on the second world war (most of the action being set in Cairo, Egypt) made for a different historical fiction experience than usual.

[Tracey · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was expecting this to be a historical fiction novel but it came across more as a factual one .
The book felt full of facts , names and little embellishment on the fictional side , no real story more a descriptive telling of life in royal court.

[Cheryll · Rating 3 out of 5]

An OK read - not a page turner. Glad I've finished it and can move on!

[Fatima · Rating 2 out of 5]

The ending didn't fit with this type of historical fiction. I enjoyed the context of the book, but found of the main conflicts a little too contrived when I saw how it eventually played out.

[Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun read, keeps you engaged.

[Jolieg G · Rating 3 out of 5]

Een aardig boek maar niet echt mijn genre.

[Cindy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I loved it until I realized most of the book then changes to be the story of her daughters and not her. I didn’t sign up for a second boring story. Didn’t finish it.

[Dorte]

Altid god

[Gillian McCabe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating story through the years: 1911 to 1942; particularly concerning Cairo during WW2.

[Kleiner · Rating 3 out of 5]

Palace Circle is a romantic saga that follows the Conisborough family from the early 1900s to World War II as the family lives in Virginia, England and Egypt.

Viscount Ivor Conisborough, a forty-year-old widower, marries Delia Chandler, an eighteen-year-old Virginian, to produce an heir, while Delia marries Ivor for love. Upon becoming a member of the Windsor court, Delia is swept into a world of adultery, and the endless effort to avoid scandal. Even though her marriage may not be what she expects, and desires, Delia falls in love with her privileged, and at time exotic, life. Despite being American, and Southern, she quickly becomes a fixture of English society. Eventually, she has two daughters, Petra and Davina.

Between the World Wars, Conisborough relocates his family to Cairo when he accepts a diplomatic mission as an advisor to Egypt’s royal family. Davina and Petra grow up and live as adults there. While in Cairo, the family is swept into WWII intrigue.

Palace Circle is the first of three romantic sagas. The first third of the book is from Delia’s perspective. This part of the book is slow, and reads as a list of social events and historical members of English society. The remainder of the book is told from the perspectives of Pertra, Davina, and their love interests. The multiple perspectives add much needed depth. However, overall, the characters are one-dimensional and the narration lacks the gripping emotion of the events of the era. Rather than a historical novel, Palace Circle is a family drama that could have taken place anywhere during any era since the focus is adultery and deception.

Palace Circle is a very light, summer read.

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow... the main thing I will say is that the description of the book should not even be read. I had no idea what I was in for. The description only encompasses the first part of the book. Actually less than the first part. By the middle of the book you hardly see the "main" character anymore. But somehow, somehow it works. Once you get over the shock of the pacing and huge storyline.
What starts out as a small heartfelt interesting tale in england turns into a sprawling epic story ending in egypt. And very very political/war -ish. I wondered why in the beginning it skips over SO much that I wanted to hear more about. Big stuff. It made me mad. Then as I realized all that the book was going to cover I understood. The only reason the book didn't get 5 stars is because of that fact. But just as you would get mad that they didn't cover something, the next pages would draw you in and make you completely forget about it. It was paced well, had great characters, was nail biting at times, made you want to cry at times.... there is just one word for it and that is epic. It was also great to read about real life people back then, (to wikipedia them after reading about them in that novel-way was so cool) and to see the story of egypt and england during world war II that us americans never hear about. It would make an amazing movie. It could easily be one of those huge oscar winning epics.

[Katie Hutchison Irion · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am still debating whether or not I should have given this three stars. I think 3.5 would have been great but I find myself still thinking about this book so maybe it does deserve four stars.
A sweeping story set over 30 years about a woman named Delia and her posterity. Delia is 18 at the start of the novel and the new wife of Lord Conisborough. She is a rowdy American and quickly falls into life as a rich aristocrat in London. The story is in parts and each parts highlights the life of a particular character all while still keeping your abreast of the others.
I liked this book. I found the characters to be enjoyable and the story, set during WWI to the start of WWII, to be quite interesting. A lot of the story is set in Cairo and I loved reading about its role in getting ready for WWII. I think my only complaint about this book is the brevity in which some incidents are just glossed over. Like one character is introduced to a certain male and in the next paragraph is marrying him. I guess the author had to fast forward through their lives at times to get everything in she wanted. I mean she does focus on five different characters and 30 years. So, I am reconciling myself to abruptness I felt at times.
Overall, I really enjoyed this. I mean I read all 425 pages in about two days and that is something with two kids. I MUST have really enjoyed it. That or I have no more TV shows to watch!

[Holly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked up this book on impulse at the library because I liked the cover and it boasted "If you like Philippa Gregory, you will love this book!" I can't say that I subscribe to that notion, considering I don't think this novel was quite like a Philippa Gregory novel at all, but overall it was an enjoyable read.

However, I almost didn't finish the book because the first part (from Delia's perspective) is terribly boring and very badly written. I had to force myself through Delia's section, as well as most of the earlier sections set in London, because it was so badly written. For me, the book was saved when the Conisborough family moved to Egypt. The stories that follow are so much more interesting that I seemed to forget about how much the writing bothered me in the beginning. Or maybe it just got better...

Looking back, it actually seems as if the beginning of the novel is completely irrelevant to the book as a whole.

I think the book would have been much more enjoyable if the entire first half was just cut right out. Delia's character annoyed me to no end, and to me, the best parts of the book were the parts set in Cairo. It is as if Dean finally decided to add the "historical" part of historical fiction in the middle of the book.

Although I was very disappointed with the first half of the book, the story line set in Cairo really drew me in. I'm very interested in British colonialism in Egypt and this was an interesting, light-hearted take on the matter.

[Sarah Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

This novel was good but not for the reasons I initially thought. First, the cover promises that "If you like Philippa Gregory, you will love this book!" False. I do like Philippa Gregory fairly well but other than a resemblance in genre, Dean's writing differed widely from Gregory. Second, the back cover of this book let me believe that Delia is the center of this story, when in fact the point of view changes throughout the novel.

This novel is composed of five parts in five points of view: Delia, her two daughters Petra and Davina, and their two love interests, Darius and Jack. Delia is an American who marries Viscount Ivor Conisborough at the age of 18 only to learn that he is in love with another woman and only married her to produce an heir. Delia has two daughters by Ivor and moves on to a grand love affair with Jerome Bazeljette.

I found Delia's point of view the least compelling and hardest section to get through. In fact, I nearly stopped reading the book until I finally made it through her section. I felt for her plight of being married to a man who didn't love her, but her overly stylized American slang and almost flippant personality got on my nerves. I found her daughters and the two men in their lives much more realistic and relatable voices.

A novel that started out rough but slowly improved. Ironically, Delia, who was used on the book cover to sell the book, was nearly the deal breaker for me.

[Adriana · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm kind of really frustrated with this book. I wanted it to be like a Phillipa Gregory book, which the cover unjustly promised, but the only thing it had in common with a Phillipa Gregory books is that they're both historical fiction.

The storyline was fascinating but the writing was poor and unskilled. The historical backdrop was only superficially mentioned in passing ("in February, this happened...) to indicate that time was passing. At one point, like 16 years passes in a sentence and the sentence was, "sixteen years later..." There was a lot of telling, but no showing. What was told was a little predictable. The only character I really felt connected to was Jack and that's only because everyone in the book liked him so much, not that you're shown why, just told that they did.

There was no real insight to the English occupation of Egypt, which is a subject I knew nothing about and would have enjoyed knowing more about. The lack of insight is very disappointing considering one of the Reader's Guide questions in the back is "Prior to reading this book, how much did you know about English and Egyptian history during this period of time?" I still know not very much.

Despite the above, I did like it, particularly the last three sections, told from Davina's, Darius' and Jack's point of views.

[Coleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

8/9/09 - I think I'd probably term this as "light" historical fiction -- a fun summer read with enough family drama & intrigue to keep the reader interested. As other reviewers have mentioned, Rebecca Dean has chosen to tell the story from the point of view of 5 of the main characters (3 female, 2 male) in sequential order (rather than alternating back & forth), which I thought was an interesting way to tell the story. I initially wasn't sure that it would work, but I think it did. The book description leads the reader to believe that the story centers around the character of Delia, but her portion of the story is only the focus at the beginning, and then she becomes somewhat of a background character from that point on. While Delia did have some redeeming qualities, I found her rather superficial, & the once-in-a-while slips into southern U.S. slang just didn't seem to "fit" & annoyed me more than anything.

I enjoyed this story overall, but I think the comparison to Philippa Gregory is misleading. Rebecca Dean is not yet up to Gregory's caliber, or perhaps her writing style is just different than Gregory's & she shouldn't be compared to her at all, which is probably more likely the case. I find it interesting that the UK title for this book is "A Dangerous Desire", which leads one to believe it is more suited for the historical romance genre.

[Jenn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unexpectedly soap opera like but not in a bad way. I felt like the author struggled a little bit with the balance between the family and it's affairs and the political/historical happenings of the time period. Parts of the book also felt a bit rushed, but I should stress that this did not take away from my enjoyment of the story. My favorite part about this book was that by following this family from 1911 to 1941 you get to see the change in social ideas, behavior, and expectations in the English aristocracy. I've read books that take place in the older Regency and Victorian periods and books that take place in a more modern setting but I've never read anything that bridges that gap before. I also enjoyed seeing WWII from yet a different perspective. You don't typically think of it effecting Egypt but this book does a great job of illustrating that. I enjoyed all the characters although I felt the only ones that were properly developed were Delia, Jerome, and Petra. I felt like I didn't know the rest of them as much as I should have for the role they played in the story. I would definitely agree with the praise on the cover of the book if you are a historical fiction reader and like Philippa Gregory then you would enjoy this book!

[Britni · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you like books that have good character development, this book is not for you. Palace Circle was supposed to be, "A novel that will sweep Phillipa Gregory fans off their feet." As you can probably tell from my two reviews of Phillipa Gregory books, I like a good novel mixed with history, romance, and royal betrayal. Palace Circle had potential, but for me, it missed the mark on all three.

It's a book written about an 18-year old Southern beauty who is swept off her feet by an older English Vicount before World War II. She moves into the palace circle, finds out that affairs are the norm, and is moved with her husband to Egypt just as she finds someone to start her own with. And her story ends right there. The book could have been great if the author would have just followed Delia's story for the rest of the book but instead it is broken into three different "books." The first follows Delia (the Southern beauty), the second follows her oldest daughter, and the third follows the son of an Egyptian leader. A hundred pages is not long enough to develop any store well enough in my mind, or at least not in this book. After Delia's story was over, I lost all interest and just skimmed through to get to the end.