Royal Beauty Bright

by Ryan Byrnes

After an autistic man ends up in the trenches of World War I, a nun-turned-journalist dances with treason to care for him, and a candy store clerk posing as Santa Claus risks everything to bring him home.

Luther Baker is a kind-hearted autistic man with a savant's knack for making chocolate truffles. His entire life, he has worked in his family's sweet shop alongside his single mother—until he is illegally thrust into the horrors of World War I.

While in France, Luther meets Ethyl, an aspiring journalist who tries to expose his plight. As Christmas approaches, Luther sinks into despair and Ethyl is threatened with punishment.

Back home, Luther's brother Jim enlists with the British Army Postal Service. His job, delivering sacks of Christmas gifts to the frontline soldiers, is a cover for his plan to rescue Luther. The plan is made even more difficult by three refugee girls convinced that Jim, with his bag of gifts, is Santa Claus.

Jim and Ethyl finally cross paths with Luther on Christmas Day, 1914, when they witness one of the most uplifting spectacles of nonviolence in history, when thousands of soldiers broke orders and refused to fire on each other during the Christmas Truce of 1914.

Genres: Christmas, Historical Fiction, World War I

262 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 19, 2019

About the author

I was born to a military family that frequently relocated across the Midwest, turning the prairies of North Dakota, Ohio, and Illinois into a home. Between moves, my siblings and I invented ways to entertain ourselves. I quickly learned an affinity for literature – reading young adult novels and writing short stories. I was part of the Harry Potter generation.

By my freshman year of high school, my family had settled in St. Louis, where I wrote a young adult fantasy series. All I needed was readers, so I founded a company and self-published the four novels, marketing them locally. I preached the importance of writing to children at young author conferences, writer workshops, book signings, and one-on-one visits.

After completing the four young adult novels, I turned my attention to the professional publishing world as a college student. I interned for a publishing company. I worked as a freelancer. I studied creative writing in Ireland. In 2018, my historical fiction novel, Royal Beauty Bright, was acquired by Amphorae Publishing Group.

​Currently, I am working towards finishing college and planning out my next historical fiction novel.

​

Reviews

[Amy Bruno]

Royal Beauty Bright is a seriously impressive debut historical from Ryan Byrnes!

When I first heard of this book it reminded me of an old Garth Brooks song, 'Belleau Wood', which was the first time I had heard of the Christmas Truce of WWI. I can't even get through the first few lines of the song without breaking down crying. It's such a haunting song but beautiful.

Alternating between the Western Front on Christmas Eve & Christmas in 1914, and back to 1897, Royal Beauty Bright tells the story of a young Autistic man, Luther, who is tricked into signing up for the Army and is sent to the frontlines, and the people who band together (Rodney, Jim, and Ethyl) to help keep him safe and bring him home. And in the course of that their lives will be changed forever by war, and they will experience one of the greatest events of history - where German and British soldiers put down their guns and joined together as humans to celebrate Christmas.

I enjoyed how the author created multiple POV's to tell the complete story and I really enjoyed following Jim's storyline. Jim is Luther's brother and is trying to redeem himself in his mother's eyes by finding Luther. He signs up to join the Royal Engineers and help deliver packages and gifts to the troops. When he finds three young stowaway girls on the train they think he is Santa Claus and he helps them to try and find their families.

I absolutely loved Royal Beauty Bright! I was floored that this was a debut novel - the writing was fantastic, the pace flowed well, and the characters were great, especially Luther. I think the author tackled the Autism aspect with heart and intelligence. I can't wait to see what Byrnes writes next!

If you're looking for a historical novel with heart or eager to start your holiday reads, look no further than Royal Beauty Bright!

[Chelsie]

Two brother, one who is autistic and the other who left the family years ago are now in the midst of WWI. Luther, who is autistic was tricked into enlisting is in the forefront of a battle field. Jim, the older brother had no other choice but to return home, finds his mother in disarray and that Luther has been sent into battle. His mother's Christmas wish, for Jim to bring Luther home. Jim, although upset at his mother seeming to only be worried about Luther, sets out to find his brother. Luther meanwhile, is creating his own Christmas miracle on the battle field. Very good read, and I think the author did very well showing how someone with autism in the forefront of battle may have had to cope. I thoroughly enjoyed the writing and storyline. I look forward to reading more by this author, and am thankful to him, HFVBT and Blank Slate Press for the opportunity to read and review this novel.

[Carrie]

A holiday historical treat…complete with candy! Luther is an autistic man who is tricked into enlisting in WW1 and ends up at the front. His friends and family know he shouldn’t be there and several individuals figs home town, including his brother, tell the story of their combined history and how Luther comes to return home. Multiple time frames are add to tell the back story and multiple flesh person account make this a great read. It’s a lovely story of a 1914 Christmas miracle.

[Jathan Fink]

I just finished reading Royal Beauty Bright, and I must say I thoroughly enjoyed this book. For such a young writer, Ryan Byrnes has penned a story that is by turns heartbreaking, humorous, inspiring, and compelling. I read a lot of fiction that takes place around the two world wars, yet I seldom encounter characters I enjoy meeting as much as I did Luther, Jim, and Rodney. I am still amazed that Byrnes wrote this book when he was a senior in high school! It is brilliant, heartfelt, and truly a joy to read.

Also, as I read the author's bio on his website only to discover that he is currently a college student, I couldn't help but chuckle and think how I wished he had been in all of those creative writing workshops I took in college. So often the writing made me want to stab my eyes out, but Byrnes has a natural talent that makes reading his work enjoyable and addictive. I think great things are in store for him, and I'm delighted I got the opportunity to discover his talent early on. I'm going to keep my eye on him!

[Stephanie]

The Baker family was not the typical family of Leamington Spa, England in the late 1800's. Mrs. Baker is a widow who runs her own sweets shop, her oldest son, Luther is different from other children. People say he is possessed or a lunatic, what we would now diagnose as autism. Luther's younger brother, Jim protects Luther furiously, but still takes the brunt of his mother's pain and frustration. One day as Jim and Luther are playing with Jim's best friend, Rodney, Luther pushes Rodney and hurts him badly. Rodney recovers but the incident leaves its mark. Years later, a war breaks out. Rodney is fighting on the Western Front and finds a new recruit in his regiment acting strangely. He is surprised to find that it is Luther Baker. Rodney is pressed to protect Luther by childhood friend Ethyl, who is serving as a nurse and trying to find a way to send Luther home. Meanwhile, Jim has taken a job with the British Army Postal Service with his own plan to smuggle Luther out. As Christmas approaches on the Front, Luther cooks up his own plan for survival.

Royal Beauty Bright is a heartwarming tale of compassion that revolves around the Christmas Truce of 1914. Alternating between 1897 and 1914, the timeline immersed me in the lives of Constance Baker, Luther, Jim, Rodney, and Ethyl. Though Luther was met with much adversity in his life, including being tricked into service, the love that Luther shares with his family and friends and they love they return shines brightly through. I loved that Luther excelled at chocolate making and that it paved the way for him to form relationships with other people as well. The depictions of life in the trenches on the Western Front were brutally realistic and showed the impact on the soldier's mental well being. Luther's insights during this time were often the most honest and truthful sentiments during the war, unhindered by what others might think of him. I loved when he told Rodney to write his mother: "Tell her people don't want to kill each other, but they don't know how to stop." As Christmas approaches on the front, I could tell that something had to give. I enjoyed reading the reactions of the men on both sides as they realized that they could take a break from the War and have fun, if only for a day.

This book was received for free in return for an honest review.

[Sam Erickson]

Delicately weaving different time frames and different characters, the novel leads up to the legend we've probably all heard about before: where a ceasefire on Christmas Day between British and German soldiers inexplicably happened. While a bit obvious that this was a first novel for the author (a few misspellings, but nothing too big), the plot and the characters were a big hit for me. The rare inclusions of Luther's point of view didn't feel awkward or forced, but felt natural. The interactions between Luther and his family, the rest of the village, and even the soldiers around him rang true with me. Byrnes did a good job with the novel.

[Melanie]

This is the first novel by Ryan Byrnes and I am glad I read it. As a lover of historical fiction this book did not disappoint. The story, told through the eyes of the characters and the community, is cleverly woven in the pages. Byrnes tells the story in a nonlinear fashion that is very engaging and moves the reader further into the story. I found myself wanting to read just one more chapter each time I picked up the book.
I enjoyed this book and each story told within that contributed to the main story line. Each character came to life to tell their story and ultimately the historic Christmas Truce of 1914. Looking forward to his next book!!!

[Megan]

This is a nice piece of historical fiction about an autistic man who is tricked into insisting in WW1 and thrust to the frontlines. It also centers on a true moment in history when German and Allied forces on the Western Front stopped fighting and celebrated Christmas 🎄🎁 There is also an enduring side story involving a character and 3 little stowaways who think he is Pére Noël 🎅🏼
I LOVED how the author used the characters to involve them in the event.
It doesn’t have many reviews on Goodreads or Amazon, and apparently the author was in high school when he wrote it. Impressive.
As someone who cares deeply for an autistic person in my life, and all the others I have met along they way, I was happy with how the author wrote the character of Luther. I have often wondered and worried about how life would have been for my little autistic love if she were to have been born at an earlier time…
I felt pain and worry for Luther too, and was cheering the group aiding his rescue on from the start.
The reason I gave this only 3 stars, which in my rating system is still considered a good book, is that I needed more. And I felt there was so much there. The backstory could have been developed into many more chapters and I would have enjoyed it.

[Jenny Q]

Author Guest Post + Giveaway @ Let Them Read Books!

[Sherry Hedges]

Great story. Thought the writing could be better.