What do you think?
Rate this book
The Princess Passes
A Romance of a Motor Car.
Print on Demand (Hardcover)
First published January 1, 1904
1 person is currently reading
17 people want to read
About the author
C.N. Williamson
319 books8 followersCharles Norris Williamson, 1859–1920, British writer and journalist
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
January 8, 2010
I was surprised to discover how much I enjoyed the perspective on automobiles at the turn of the century. The protagonist had never been in a car before, and his first ride was a fascinating look at the transition from horse and carriage driver. After he leaves his friends and car in the mountains, the love story that emerges is predictable and often awkward, but it was still an enjoyable read.
May 22, 2020
Beautifully told story of two strangers trying to get over being jilted. They each end up taking a long walking tour through the Alps, to get over their loss, and when they happen to meet up, they take an instant dislike to one another, which gradually grows into a warm friendship as they travel in together. Wonderful descriptions of the sights along the way. Clean romance. Great descriptions of a man’s first automobile ride.
March 7, 2023
This is a great travelogue, and a serious chunk of history. Published around 1900, the first part describes Lord Monty Lane, a man who loves horses, driving his first motor car, a Mercedes, thanks to a broken heart.
It describes the crossing from Switzerland into Italy across the Alps at a time when the Battle of Waterloo was not yet a hundred years old, and the name of Napoleon could still be invoked as a bogeyman by old grandmothers frightening wayward children into behaving themselves, or conversely, if you were driving into France from Italy, to naming your inn "Napoleon's Breakfast", because that was where the great man had stopped (with his army of 30,000 men) to eat his breakfast. Unfortunately it does not say where the 30,000 men had eaten their breakfasts.
After being jilted by a girl who preferred solid cash to a coronet, Monty has decided to take a walking tour through Europe accompanied only by a mule and a muleteer, but is unable to find a single mule or donkey, which is why his friends, driving through Europe on their honeymoon, take him in their Mercedes, an unwilling third, in search of a donkey. Their search is a long and scenic one, and one in which Lane learns to drive.
The second part is the romance of Monty and the girl Mercedes, also jilted recently. Some Goodreads reviewers have, I see, wondered whether this was a gay romance, in the 21st century meaning of the words, and this suspicion is heightened by the old, pre First World War meanings of words such as gay and queer, and the friendship of man and boy. But this is a simple boy-girl affair, very proper and conventional, conducted very unconventionally.
Altogether beautifully written, evoking the past as well a (to us) historic present, full of humour and a sense of the wonder of the scenes around them.
Gutenberg has a marvellous illustrated version, which gives you an idea of what the first Mercedes cars looked like, before their amalgamation with Benz motors.
The Williamsons were prolific and extremely popular pre first World War novelists. Alice Muriel was the more creative of the two, but tagged on her husband's initials as it had greater selling properties than a lady author's, whom the Empire builders of the day tended on principle to despise.
It describes the crossing from Switzerland into Italy across the Alps at a time when the Battle of Waterloo was not yet a hundred years old, and the name of Napoleon could still be invoked as a bogeyman by old grandmothers frightening wayward children into behaving themselves, or conversely, if you were driving into France from Italy, to naming your inn "Napoleon's Breakfast", because that was where the great man had stopped (with his army of 30,000 men) to eat his breakfast. Unfortunately it does not say where the 30,000 men had eaten their breakfasts.
After being jilted by a girl who preferred solid cash to a coronet, Monty has decided to take a walking tour through Europe accompanied only by a mule and a muleteer, but is unable to find a single mule or donkey, which is why his friends, driving through Europe on their honeymoon, take him in their Mercedes, an unwilling third, in search of a donkey. Their search is a long and scenic one, and one in which Lane learns to drive.
The second part is the romance of Monty and the girl Mercedes, also jilted recently. Some Goodreads reviewers have, I see, wondered whether this was a gay romance, in the 21st century meaning of the words, and this suspicion is heightened by the old, pre First World War meanings of words such as gay and queer, and the friendship of man and boy. But this is a simple boy-girl affair, very proper and conventional, conducted very unconventionally.
Altogether beautifully written, evoking the past as well a (to us) historic present, full of humour and a sense of the wonder of the scenes around them.
Gutenberg has a marvellous illustrated version, which gives you an idea of what the first Mercedes cars looked like, before their amalgamation with Benz motors.
The Williamsons were prolific and extremely popular pre first World War novelists. Alice Muriel was the more creative of the two, but tagged on her husband's initials as it had greater selling properties than a lady author's, whom the Empire builders of the day tended on principle to despise.
February 19, 2022
I absolutely loved this book!!!!
I won’t give away anything- except to say I was sad when it ended and o could have read book after book about these characters and their lives and adventures!
I won’t give away anything- except to say I was sad when it ended and o could have read book after book about these characters and their lives and adventures!
November 14, 2023
May I just say that this book has definitely defined my idea of love?
Because that is the truth, it's beautiful book from start to end
But I do wish it had the POV of princess, I anticipated it throughout the book, it never came until she explains herself in the last chapter, other than that tiny dissatisfaction I loved the book as it defined the friendship, nature and the struggles and arrangements of the narrators journey
Because that is the truth, it's beautiful book from start to end
But I do wish it had the POV of princess, I anticipated it throughout the book, it never came until she explains herself in the last chapter, other than that tiny dissatisfaction I loved the book as it defined the friendship, nature and the struggles and arrangements of the narrators journey
March 13, 2017
Not my favourite of the Williamsons' books, but an engaging read nevertheless.
January 30, 2016
This was the #9 best selling novel of 1905. I'm surprised I enjoyed this book. It's more akin to a "Chick Flick." The writing was not great but I really enjoyed the style. There was a lot of sarcastic humor. For most of the book I thought I might be reading a gay romance but I think that is colored by a 21st century culture reading a turn of the twentieth century story. I enjoyed reading the travelogue of the early 1900s, the early days of the automobile, and the lifestyles of the rich and famous. I had anticipated a twist coming at the end of the book, but even with anticipation the twist caught me off guard. For me the end was disappointing in its syrupy sweetness, but then I guess that's part of the romance genre.
March 28, 2015
A true oddity, the story updates the Shakespearean "mistaken sex" conceit (pre-dating later versions such as Tootsy) without offering any insights about how the arrogant, overtly macho hero feels about essentially falling in love with a young boy. There are some great depictions of the Alps and the early age of motoring though- so look at it like Top Gear in drag!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 27, 2014
The first part, concerning the early days of the automobile, was more interesting than the predictable romance in the middle. The ending, for me, became a detailed travel log and I skimmed through most of that.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews