The Lost Queen

by Norah Lofts

A novel based on the life of George III's sister, Princess Caroline-Matilda, whose marriage brought her to the throne and whose secret love brought her to disaster. This is a story of high romance and tragedy, a moving drama of human frailty set against the implacable demands of a royal crown. With careful attention to the historical record, Norah Lofts has recreated Caroline-Matilda's life in a tale that vividly evokes the stark contrasts of 18th century Denmark; the cruelty, poverty and oppression of existence under an absolute monarch sinking into madness; the royal court with its pomp and pageantry, and the hatreds and intrigues that swirled around the young, lovely figure who was, briefly, its queen.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Historical, Fiction, 18th Century, Denmark, Royalty, Romance

288 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1968

About the author

Norah Ethel Robinson Lofts Jorisch (27 August 1904–10 September 1983) was a 20th century best-selling British author. She wrote over fifty books specialising in historical fiction, but she also wrote non-fiction and short stories. Many of her novels, including her Suffolk Trilogy, follow the history of a specific house and the residents that lived in it.

Lofts was born in Shipdham, Norfolk in England. She also published using the pseudonyms Juliet Astley and Peter Curtis. Norah Lofts chose to release her murder-mystery novels under the pen name Peter Curtis because she did not want the readers of her historic fiction to pick up a murder-mystery novel and expect classic Norah Lofts historical fiction. However, the murders still show characteristic Norah Lofts elements. Most of her historical novels fall into two general categories: biographical novels about queens, among them Anne Boleyn, Isabella of Castile, and Catherine of Aragon; and novels set in East Anglia centered around the fictitious town of Baildon (patterned largely on Bury St. Edmunds). Her creation of this fictitious area of England is reminiscent of Thomas Hardy's creation of "Wessex"; and her use of recurring characters such that the protagonist of one novel appears as a secondary character in others is even more reminiscent of William Faulkner's work set in "Yoknapatawpha County," Mississippi. Norah Lofts' work set in East Anglia in the 1930s and 1940s shows great concern with the very poor in society and their inability to change their conditions. Her approach suggests an interest in the social reformism that became a feature of British post-war society.

Several of her novels were turned into films. Jassy was filmed as Jassy (1947) starring Margaret Lockwood and Dennis Price. You're Best Alone was filmed as Guilt is My Shadow (1950). The Devil's Own (also known as The Little Wax Doll and Catch As Catch Can) was filmed as The Witches (1966). The film 7 Women was directed by John Ford and based on the story Chinese Finale by Norah Lofts.

Reviews

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had been spying this book sitting on my ignored to be read bookcase while I happily read away on my Kindle. Having decided earlier this month to make a dent in my TBR bookcase, I pulled this book off it. It is the tragic story of Caroline Matilda, youngest sibling of King George III, and her marriage to the insane King Christian VII of Denmark. This tale was recently told in the Danish film A Royal Affair which was nominated for a Best Foreign Film Oscar. I've read another novel about this (The Visit of the Royal Physician by Per Olov Enquist) and a nonfiction on King George III's siblings (A Royal Affair: George III and His Scandalous Siblings by Stella Tillyard), so I knew the story. When I read royalty nonfiction, I like to focus on royal women. I have a soft spot for them since so many of them were marriage pawns and sent away to another country, many of them never to return to their homeland or see their families again. Caroline Matilda's story is no exception. At the age of 15, she is sent to Denmark to marry a first cousin she has never met and who is quite unstable mentally. I don't want to spoil the story, but the true plot unfolds in an epic tragedy. I thought I might be disappointed, but I wasn't as I appreciated that the novel was told with sympathy towards Caroline Matilda. I also wasn't "yelling" at the book for historical inaccuracies although I don't recall a side story towards the end of the novel and have to investigate that. George III was reluctant to marry off his six daughters. Three never did marry, one married at age 29 and two married late in life (age 48 and age 40) after George III was permanently insane and his eldest son and heir was the Regent. I bet what happened to Caroline Matilda was partially the cause.

[Alexia · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars.

While I struggled somewhat with the writing at the start,I really enjoyed this.
For me Caroline was a very naive and simple girl,she was not meant for the life of royalty.
I really wanted to grab her shoulders and shout at her to wake up to reality but at the end of the day she was a simple girl wishing for happiness.
I'm not going to talk about Struensee cause that man just gives me the ick every time I read about him.
King Christian VII was well written,at times I even felt sorry for him.
Frederick was one of my favorites in this and I wished we got more of him because the way he played all these people at court was hilarious.
In conclusion while this book did have some problems,it was a good reading experience and I'm happy that I could learn a little bit more about Caroline.

[Lisa - (Aussie Girl) · Rating 2 out of 5]

After recently viewing the wonderful Danish Movie A Royal Affair I eagerly began searching for a historical fictional account about the scandalous love affair between Caroline Matilda, the Queen of Denmark and Dr Johan Struensee, Physician to her husband King Christian VII. I was amazed to find not a lot of books out there using their romance as the basis for a novel.

The Lost Queen written by Norah Lofts and first published in 1969 unfortunately suffers because of its writing style, common of the time. It reads like a very dry historical account, very slow and labourious to read and totally lacks the intense passion and involving story of the movie.

[Mela · Rating 4 out of 5]

I knew next to nothing about Denmark's history. So it was a fascinating book for me.

In many ways, the court world of Copenhaga in the second half of the XVIII century was very similar to the British royal court of that time. However, there were some little differences.

Of course, the most interesting was Johann Friedrich Struensee. In not much more than one year he started the reformation/reorganization of many important rights, e.g. abolition of torture, the abolition of unfree labor, and the abolition of the censorship of the press. It is sad that most of them were undone after his death.

So far I have read only four of Norah Lofts' books. She created complex, remarkable, true characters. Her Christian (the young, mentally ill, king of Denmark), Prince Frederick, Knut, and perhaps a few episodic characters were really well-written.

Lofts also touched on the question of royal marriages, the status of a king, upbringing, and a few others.

As a whole, it was a gripping story. Told in "a light language" that made the reading fast. I am not sure, why I don't feel it was a 5-star historical fiction.

[4-4.5 stars]

[Shala Avans · Rating 3 out of 5]

I became familiar with the historical figures in the book because of the movie, The Royal Affair. I love the movie and when I found out there was historical fiction surrounding these events, of course I wanted to read it. This book is not like I expected it to be. I was expecting the fast paced sort of romance that is typical of what is written today (I didn’t know that it was written in the 1960s). However, this story was more than just the relationship between Queen Caroline and Dr. Struensee. The subtitle calls this a tragedy of a royal marriage, and that’s exactly what it is. It explores the relationship with King Christian VII and how it fails before it even has a chance to start, the relationship between Caroline and Dr. Struensee and how those who were their enemies plotted their downfall. I don’t know how historically accurate the book is but it does differ from the movie in many ways. Regardless, I did enjoy the book and would probably read it again but it is slow and it doesn’t have the elements that I was wanting to get out of this story.

[Maryse · Rating 3 out of 5]

I hate tragic stories but for some reason, I'm drawn to them. I bought this book on sale because it had the word "Queen" on it and I'm a sucker for historical books about royals.

Compared to other historical books on royalty I've read, this is pretty good. The story is interesting, the pacing is good and the writing does not become stale. It implies a lot of things whose veracity I am not sure of, but it nevertheless makes for a more colorful, if not more romantic, story. But, like most books of this genre, it eventually leads to tragedy. For some reason, I was really saddened by the ending. This is one of the few books I've read where I really wish the ending could have been different. In fact, had she exercised her artistic license and changed the ending, I would have loved her for it. Life is harsh enough as it is.

But if you don't mind reading about someone else's sad life, then I suppose this one is for you.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the story of Queen Caroline of Denmark and her love affair with Doctor Struensee. Princess Caroline-Matilda was King George III's sister and married King Christian of Denmark. This historical novel is based on fact and brings to life eighteenth century Denmark. I love Norah Lofts as a writer and give this story an A+!

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good. Made me want to read more about this period in Denmark

[Vivi · Rating 3 out of 5]

My god this one was a depressing read. In the first half its a mixture of sympathy and disgust. Christian is portrayed as (possibly?) bisexual (but closer to homosexual on the sexuality spectrum) person, whom others have thrust upon him high expectations... while calling him stupid and starving him in his childhood and all sorts of abuses. He also lives with a likely case of schizophrenia and reading through his mental illness and struggle of having “two heads” in an 18th century society is horrible. And yet, (partly influenced by his disorder, and part bc of his love for Knut) he treats his wife as your standard abuser. Gaslighting, neglect, verbal abuse, forcing her to only speak Dutch, removing the people she got close to, separating her newborn children from her....ugh I just felt so sorry for the poor girl who didn’t deserve to be treated that way. Her confusion, loneliness and unhappiness was portrayed so well, but in such a wrenching way. Then when she finally experiences love that she should have deserved, she’s removed of it, and cast away by people who used her just like a pawn piece. Her lover is an interesting character, mortal and cowardly in the face of torture just like any normal person should be, but wholly devoted to progressive reforms in a society that wasn’t ready for it. Her loyal servants were all removed from her either by firing them, exile or tortured to death (Poor poor Alice 😭) Gosh it was hard af to read through his execution. And in the end, she dies right when she regains hope to see her children again.

”...princesses were born not only to be exiles but to be brood mares.”

All in all what can I say but this was a sad ass depiction of 18th cent reality. The story is drenched in the sadness, naïveté and confusion of a woman paying an undeserved price for love and the shattering of an idealistic dream for a man believing in progressive change.

[ErinAlise · Rating 5 out of 5]

In 1766 Princess Caroline-Matilda travels from England to Denmark where she will meet her husband for the first time and become Queen of Denmark. At just fifteen Caroline is anxious about the marriage and though many others are aware, she is unfortunately kept in the dark that her future husband King Christian VII suffers from mental illness. When Caroline first meets her husband to be he seems delighted with his new wife, exclaiming how pretty she is and wanting others to acknowledge his good fortune. But after the marriage things quickly start to spiral and she realizes something is very wrong. Christian’s insanity not only drives him to cruelty but also to many other displays of immoral behavior.
Count Knut who is thought of as His Majesty’s dearest friend, seeks out the help of a doctor who is rumored to have rather unorthodox ways of healing. Doctor Johan Strunsee quickly establishes himself as somewhat a miracle, with his help the King is more calm and even appears to be slightly normal. During this time Caroline gives birth to a son and when Christian threatens to take her son away after just one year she turns to Strunsee for his assistance. Grateful for his help she realizes that there may be something more to this relationship and after a chance encounter they soon fall in love.
This is a story how a Queen took a chance on love and even though she lost, the memories that she gained gave her a lifetime of happiness. Very much enjoyed this book and recommend for any history lovers or anyone who enjoys the drama of romance.

[Wal Lajoia]

For my historical romance girlies, this isn’t it. The romance is really not the focus and we don’t get enough of it. For my historical fiction peeps, honestly, there’s probably a better version of this piece of history somewhere else.

This book is just fine.

Be warned that it is not well edited though. At first I thought it was using unconventional spellings intentionally to communicate historical lexicon. It’s not. It consistently mixes up the spelling of a main character’s surname.

Maybe a controversial take, but after Queen Charlotte I think this would be a great plot for a Bridgerton limited series adaptation.

[Katy M · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was not terrible. i don't think it was particularly historically accurate,but I've read worse in that regard. I didn't find Carolien or Struensee to be sympathetic characters. Caroline maybe slightly moreso. Knut who played a prominent role in the first half of the book just kind of drops out of sight never to be seen or heard from again, making me wonder what the point of his character was.

I feel like Frederick was the only real likeable character.

[Susan K. Cole · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not her best

This story is written in Lofts ' typical style of several characters telling parts of it from their own point of view. Unfortunately it doesn't come together as well as in her better-known books such as The Lute Player. It reads as chaotic and disjointed. The heroine Caroline of Denmark, is not particularly interesting or sympathetic. A pedestrian effort.

[Paula Galvan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love historical fiction when it is accurate but also interesting and The Lost Queen did not disappoint.
The story of Princess Caroline, sister of King George III, who became the Queen of Denmark is a sad one. A victim of an arranged royal marriage to King Christen VII of Denmark, who was already showing signs of insanity at the age of 18, Caroline was only 15 when she was shipped off by her family to a cold, backward country where she didn't even know the language. She was immediately ostracized and mistreated by her deranged boy-husband and, only by a miracle, managed to produce an heir to the throne. She was a trooper though and made the best of her situation until her son was taken from her at the tender age of 3 months to be raised by her husband's step-mother. She fell in love with the only person that showed her any kindness, the King's physician, Dr. Johann Struensee, who also convinced the King to return her son to her. Unfortunately, Johann, although he claimed to be in love with her, was using Caroline for his own political gain. By keeping the mad King subdued, he passed several new policies into Denmark law that, although for the good of the country, were not welcomed by the wealthy aristocrats. In the end, he was beheaded and Princess Caroline, branded an adulteress, was exiled. She died of a mysterious illness at the age of 30.

[Yasmin Foster · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars for the story, 1 star of the Torc/ Tempus Publishing (2008) edition

First things First: I need to address the 2008 Paperback Torc edition:
Good Lord, the 2008 Paperback Torc edition has so many typos! I, at first, was laying the blame on the author, thinking that this was just some self-publishing amateur that couldn’t be bothered to proof-read her work, and the Daily Telegraph praise was either a lie or that reviewer was very forgiving – but (nope) Nora Lofts has been dead since 1983, was a bestseller in her time, and this book was originally published in 1969. As luck would have it I found a first edition at a boot sale for 25p, and purchasing that and comparing the two editions it's clear the fault lies entirely with Torc. For goodness sake, Chapter two beginnings with a misspelling of the country (“Denamark” – really?!) and a clearly missing ‘and’ on the blurb, not to mention characters names are spelt differently from time-to-time. The frequency did seem to lessen further in - unless I was becoming blind to it. Finally, it’s not just the typos, it’s also the layout that is messed up.

Yet, despite all that…
It’s a story that grew on me as it went on, mostly because it took some getting used to, as it is written in the omniscient 3rd person (the ‘Godlike’ perspective where you dip in and out of multiple characters minds), a writing style that was more common back when this book was first published than it is today. At first, the number of minor characters that get an internal voice felt a bit cluttered, but those seemingly useless threads do weave together as the momentum picks up. It also packs a lot of story in those 280 pages and doesn’t fluff it with pointless scenes that we can instead interpret through the interactions of the characters; on that note, it’s tasteful in its descriptions, no ‘bodice-ripping’ sex scenes here, wasting paragraphs with titillating details – sometimes less is more.
All in all, it’s not the best historical fiction I’ve read, but it was still very readable, once the momentum picked up and I would recommend it to anyone who wants a quick, tasteful book: just get an earlier edition or the Kindle version, which, judging from the preview, hasn’t got the same problems as the Torc paperback.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this up a few years ago at a book sale, not really knowing anything about it, but a sucker for the stories of Royalty, particularly English.

I admit, I don't know much about this period of history. I know a little of George, but so little of Denmark in this period. The funny thing is that I'm actually reading about Denmark in another book, and for another purpose, and this book happened to coincide.

Overall I thought this was a very simple story, but a powerful one. Caroline is one of thousands of women across time who was at the whim of the man she married and those who played her like a piece on a chessboard. But there was a vibrancy and honestly in this story that I loved, tragic as it was.

There's also a really human look at politics which I found quite nice. Usually politics is good vs evil. He is the villain, but this book made an effort to show many sides and many opinions, and in the end I understood them all, even if I didn't agree with them.

[Carol Kennedy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This felt dated in style, but covered a period in history and a country that I am not familiar with. hence the choice. I hadn't realised it was a novel either, being a quick grab for holiday reading. I was pleasantly surprised that it was as readable and engaging as it was- I'm guessing there was historical accuracy, but it was certainly convincing. The writing was fluid and readable, the story tragic- an arranged marriage for a sheltered English Princess with a mentally unstable King ruled by court etiquette and other people's expectations.

[India · Rating 3 out of 5]

I honestly took a long to read this novel and it wasn't bad. I love fantasy and so this was a big leap for me since I don't love this genre. But since fantasy usually include royal families I thought why not give this one a go. So I honestly liked it, but also didn't love. This is a great book if you're into royal families and what went on inside them.

[Birte Lunau Nielsen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too many inaccuracies: for example the Royal Copenhagen was not founded until 1775 and the servs were not set free by Struensee, first in 1788..First of all the portrait of King Christian is totally wrong: he was not an idiot: he was well versed in French and read Voltaire and visited him in France.,but he was a schizofrenic.

[Lin · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the saddest books I've read in a long time. The "Lost Queen" was a very appropriate title - she never stood a chance - married at a very young age to a spoiled madman - she grabbed at love when she had a chance and this was used against her. No happy ending for anyone.

[Mary Susan Gorsha · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful story

Nora Lofts once again brings you to another time. It's hard to stop reading. She depicts the period flawlessly. You feel like you are there and you know the characters personally.

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story was very intriguing. The main aspect that stick out to me was the mentally disabled king and the queen who was forced into an undesirable marriage with him. The results of incest was rampant in royalty back then but it’s something that fiction novels seems to forget.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very SAD story. Even more sad when you realize it is a true story. So glad to live in this time period. Makes you wonder why we would ever want our little girls to pretend to be princesses. A terrible thing to be a pawn for the men of the family.

[JAnice Galloway · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent story telling in a historically accurate book. I felt at times it was a little slow but the details had to be correct. I enjoyed it but wouldn't want to read it again.

[Betty Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book once I was past the first or second chapters which weren’t well-written IMO. The style improved and it was a worthwhile read.

[Kayla · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rather enjoyable read. I picked this up from the library in the free books section. Clear, good story line. Classic old ear book about a Queen and some affairs and scandal and such.

[Melanie Williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

Norah Lofts deftly weaves a complex story that inexorably moves towards tragedy.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent story!
The characters are very well written and the story rattles along nicely.

[Marianne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! And I love an author who makes me feel like I am in the room... I am there.. experiencing all. I was sorry to had finished the book!

[Franziska Self Fisken · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easy to read, gripping, historical fiction about Caroline Matilda youngest sister of George III of England and her life between 1765-1775. Of particular interest is the character and role of Dr Struensee, German born philosopher and physician. https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_...