Awful. ( )

I really enjoyed this book. The story was engaging and believable and I loved the inclusion of well-known historical figures. I appreciate when an author goes to the trouble to build the story around actual historical events and figures and provides a learning experience for the reader as well as an enjoyable read. This is the first of three novels by Rebecca Dean and I am looking forward to reading the next two. ( )

Different than the historical fiction I usually read, It was a bit more fluffy than I like my historical fiction, I prefer anya seaton type books, so maybe that it why. This withstanding I did like it as a light read with a good story, and it did lag a bit for me. So I guess my review would be ehhhh, I didn't love it I didn't hate it . I may try it again when I am more in the mood for this type book. ( )

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. ( )

The summary of the book provided by the publisher hints that it is mostly about Delia Chandler. The book is broken into five parts which focus on the perspective of different characters. The first perspective is Delia's, and her section of the book is the largest ( I believe) and lays the groundwork for the rest of the story. I found Delia to be a sympathetic character and I liked her immensely. In fact, I ended up liking most of the major characters with the exception of the few that the author made easy to dislike. Instead of summarizing the story (which I find that most book backs do well enough), I'll state my impression of the book.

I wouldn't recommend this as a book someone was going to read in the expectations of an historical representation of the time. This book is somewhat like Forrest Gump to me in that the main character goes through many world changing events and encounters many famous people. However, those historical encounters are more of a background in the piece. The two wars and the depression do help guide the story along as the characters respond to the world around them, but this book felt more like a piece of fiction than historical fiction because the historical events, places, and people were not the focus of the book and therefore you don't gain a new perspective or more knowledge of them. The only exception being that perhaps you may have a more favorable view or Wallis Simpson and Edward VIII.

The five sections were an interesting take on this story-telling. I understand that the purpose was so that the story could unfold more, but I'm not sure I would have chosen the same characters to focus on that the author did. The five sections were of Delia, her two daughters (Petra and Davina) each had a section, and then their two men (Darius and Jack) each had a section. Had she chosen to have just Delia and her daughters have a section, it would have made more sense to me. By having the two gentlemen at the end have their own section, it seems interesting that other main men in the story in relation to Delia didn't have a section from their point of view. The family drama that is built, then bursts out of control, and finally resolved seemed to be an attempt at a mystery angle in the book, as was the focus on how to reconcile different political beliefs and actions.

As a whole, the story was interesting and should be read for fun- expect a fictional tale with smatterings of historical references and some mild hints at mystery. If you planned on reading this as a strong historical tale, I'm afraid you'd likely be disappointed. Going into this book, I wasn't sure what category or genre to expect, and so I was able to enjoy it as a light read. I gave 5 stars because the author somehow made me sympathetic to spouses being unfaithful when I normally can't understand it being necessary. The book took me out of the present and gave me some fun hours of reading time, and that's exactly what I wanted! ( )

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. ( )

Highly enjoyable romantic saga set in England and Egypt from about 1910 to the Second World War. The story follows Delia Chandler, a young Virginian, who marries an english Viscount. She is then swept into a world of scandal and adultery where keeping up appearances counts for a lot. "Palace Circle" is a fun, light read that will probably appeal to fans of Penny Vincenzi style books. ( )

Jen Childs:
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.

I think the most obvious characteristic of Rebecca Dean's Palace Circle is the fact that it's light. It doesn't do much to evoke the misery of looming WWI, the destruction and fear that was wrought or the terror of WWII. Even the seething revolution in Egypt barely registers even on the more politically conscious Davina. So if you approach this looking for historical insight, I suggest you look elsewhere. Despite name-dropping Wallis Simpson and Winston Churchill, Palace Circle is far more a family melodrama set in the early 20th century than a historical novel.

I enjoyed watching the drama unfold, but it seemed that whenever I got thoroughly engrossed in one character's story, the narrative would switch to a different perspective. I would have rather seen only three 'parts' and gotten more about each of the main characters.

Ultimately, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this as a summer beach read, but I don't think it will stay with me.

More at my blog. ( )

Palace Circle, which I found to be pleasant but not striking or enduring, is hard for me to summarize. It starts by telling the story of Delia, a spirited 18-year-old American girl who quickly falls in love with and marries a much older, widowed English gentleman. About the only thing she gets out of the marriage is her title. Her husband begins their marriage in love with another woman and he has no plans of ending his affair. All he wanted from her was an heir. Despite her initial devestation, Delia blossoms socially in London and eventually finds the love she’s looking for when her husband’s connection to the Crown sends the family to Eygpt. This is a straight forward story line except it is then that the narration then shifts from Delia’s daughter Petra, to her daughter Davina, and then a man in each of their lives. This serves to tell much more about the politics of the years leading up to the second World War, but it felt disjointed to me. I also found the central secret to be unbelievable in that Delia had no clue how it was resolved. Overall, had the story been told by an omniscient narrator I would have enjoyed it more. ( )

If I were to rate this work as purely a work of historical fiction, I would perhaps rate it as 2.5*. But as a romance and light read, I'd have to say I did enjoy it, and it gets 3.5*. ( )

Better than I expected - a little predictable at parts, and somewhat superficial, but fun. The description of the book is a bit misleading though.

This book was not what I had expected but I did enjoy reading it. Do not expect anything epic along the lines of the Philppa Gregory books though.

Although it sounds like the story is going to focus on Delia it is really broken up into 5 parts. The first follows Delia and how she deals with her husband, his affair and adjusting to life in England. The other four parts follow her two daughters as they have to deal with their own romance problems and the the two men who are the objects of their affection. Delia was an interesting character with a mix of American straight forwardness yet she also showed signs of snobbiness when it came down to who she wanted her daughters interacting with. I found it a little disconcerting to see her attitude flitting back and forth between the two. I have to say I did have one good laugh when Delia talks about how horrid her name is so she chooses to name her eldest daughter, Petronella. I mean really? Petronella? I was thinking that it sounded like some brand of gas. Besides that it was a pleasant read, a little predictable, but enjoyable none the less. ( )

Delia Chandler is only eighteen wen she marries Viscount Ivor Conisborough, an older English Aristocrat. Believing that she is destined for great happiness with Ivor, the Southern belle moves across the ocean from Virginia to England, where she will begin a life of luxury. But when she arrives in England, she discovers a shocking secret about Ivor that changes her feelings for him dramatically. Although Delia isn't exactly happy in her marriage to Ivor, she learns to hob-nob with the best of English society and eventually bears her husband two beautiful daughters. Eventually, Ivor's government job requires him to relocate his family to Egypt. Although Delia isn't thrilled with the idea of moving away from her social set, she eventually finds her happiness traveling between the high societies of England and Egypt. While Delia lives the life of one of those in the Palace Circle, her daughters, Petra and Davina, take the stage. Both are determined and independent, like their mother, but their passions lie in different directions. Petra lives a life of refinement and clandestine romance in England, while Davina chooses Egypt as her home and begins to feel the call of social reform, training to become a nurse in the underprivileged sections of the city. Spanning two generations and thirty years, Palace Circle is a story of scandal, intrigue and unlikely romance among the elite and powerful.

This book has been compared to the offerings of Philippa Gregory, which I think is an unjust comparison. Gregrory's books are page-turning, drama-filled reads that I equate to literary junk food: things that are interesting to snack on, a guilty pleasure, if you will. This book, on the other hand, was filled with self-importance and tended to get weighed down in name dropping.

First of all, I found the story very abrupt. Things moved rapid fire and nothing was really deeply covered at all. It seemed like many years and events were compressed into a few pages, which made everything seem rushed and barely explained. I also found it difficult to relate to the characters. They all seemed rather haughty and elitist, and although I tried to overcome it, their plights and predicaments failed to move me. Somewhere around the middle of the story, the book morphed from historical fiction into an espionage novel, which I found a bit odd. Unfortunately the switch didn't enhance my enjoyment of the book at all; rather it just left me a little quizzical. Most of the plot points were very predictable, and the further I got into the main narrative, the more I discovered that the characters' revelations weren't all that shocking or ensnaring. In fact, I had figured out the main thrust of the intrigue very early on in the book, and the only thing left to amuse me was to read about the way in which it would unfold.

I also found it vaguely annoying that everything about this story was written with overwrought melodrama. Everything was dealt with in the most histrionic way possible, and it seemed these people lived only to have outbursts. The characters in this novel were largely one-dimensional and I had a hard time relating to them because there was just so little emotional development evident in their behavior. I also didn't like the fact that Delia seemed to operate solely on her naivety and gullibility. She was very insubstantial as the protagonist; very little seemed to be going on in her head. I found it very unbelievable for a person to be so enmeshed in such a worldly atmosphere and still behave so innocently, especially when further reading exposed the fact that she was just as duplicitous as those around her. The fact that the author commented on her beauty in her every mention also got old very quickly.

Further sections of the book focused on secondary characters that were even less interesting than the major players. Though I enjoyed the sections regarding Egypt a bit more, there was still not enough glue to hold this story together for me. I also felt that the absence of morals in the characters was extremely distasteful, and felt that as a plot point it failed miserably. The fact that almost every character was involved in some sort of extramarital relationship was not particularly inventive, and I wondered why it had to be the crux of this story.

There was no real bite to these characters or their story, everything was just average, and for me, reading four hundred plus pages of average really gets me discouraged. Though the second half of the book (which focused on Egypt) was a bit more entertaining, I found this book not much to my liking. Although this wasn't really the book for me I think if you are the type of person who likes your historical fiction heavy on the drama, this might make a nice read for you. ( )

Summary from publisher: 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.

My thoughts: The word that keeps coming to mind when I think of this novel is "fine". It's fine as a romance, fine as light historical fiction, even at the end fine as a pseudo-espionage thriller. It's just not remarkable good at being any of them, and I think that's where the author went wrong. Reading the novel, I found myself wanting more - more character development, more relationship exploration, more historical significance. I think if the author had focused more on any one of the elements, instead of trying to include absolutely everything, she would have had a more substantial, satisfying novel. Instead, what I read was a light, fluffy story that was enjoyable for an afternoon, but probably won't stick with me for much longer than it takes to write this review. ( )

I received this book from the Early Reviewers Program and was excited to read it because I had heard great things about it, but found it a very slow book to read.

As some reviewers mentioned, it was like two separate books. The first part was a light romance type read, similar to Penny Vincenzi and the second part ended up being a spy mystery. The spy mystery part I found really interesting and intriguing, but it unfortunately picked up just as the book ended.

The parts I liked the most were the details of British life in Egypt. They were so well done and painted a fascinating portrait of an Egypt I have never read about in any other historical novel. ( )

I really wanted to like this book, but ultimately I was just very disappointed. Divided into 5 sections, one for each of the main characters, the story remained superficial and the characters for the most part poorly developed. Though the narrative contains vast leaps forward in time, it still manages to drag.

The most interesting elements of the book were its historical glimpses of the Windsor court and of society in colonial Egypt - it was these settings which drew me to the book in the first place. I'm not sure of Dean's historical accuracy, though, as she seems to take quite a bit of license with a variety of famous names and places.

I suppose as a light-hearted period piece, Palace Circle succeeds, recounting one family's journey through time and war. I give it 2.5 stars - for me, this book just didn't deliver all that it had promised. ( )

This is a historical fiction set in the early 1900's through some of WWI. I did indeed like the historical time period but felt some of the characters were not fleshed out enough. We meet a young American girl named Delia. She marries an English Lord and finds out that there are customs she was not banking on in this new dream life she was about to start. The novel passes on over time to several other characters in the story but each only are presented only shortly. I think the story would have filled out more if there was more to each character but the time line and history I felt, were good. ( )

Summary from the publisher:

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.

This book didn’t capture me, I’ll start by saying that. The category of “historical fiction lite” applies perfectly here. There are historical characters, but only on the sidelines. The actual main characters fell flat for me, particularly Delia, who frustrated me with her frivolity and total inability to relate or talk to her daughters. The novel’s viewpoint rotates from Delia to Petronella to Davina, but I had the distinct feeling that the girl who was narrating seemed different from the girl who had been described before or after. Character changes over time, but it wasn’t convincing. Neither were the love stories, even though in retrospect it’s as though the entire novel is a rotating battle through romance. Obviously, I read romance, and shouldn’t have a problem with such a focus, but the book felt too shallow for me. This is the lead-up to World War II, after all! Maybe the high society didn’t feel it but everyone else did. The only concession to the times is one of the sisters’ charity work. Even the move to Egypt isn’t explored the way it might have been and feels very much like the British court all over again rather than a different culture. We are thrown a few bones in the way of revolution, but not many details or actions take place.

In the end, reading this book was little like watching a soap opera. The characters are caricatures, the situations are ridiculous, and none of it seems to reflect on real life events in anything but a shallow way. Moreover, literally everyone is having an affair, which may have been the case but was still repugnant to me. The book is enjoyable in a light, frothy way that doesn’t appeal to me. Had I approached it as a light read, in the vein of one of my romances, I may have been able to get more into it, but I tend to think of historical fiction as deeper, even when it focuses on a royal court. This was not, and it disappointed me.

http://chikune.com/blog/?p=791 ( )

Overall, I enjoyed this book. It was a readable story -- more of an overview of a family's life than anything heavily plot-based. I found the characters to be somewhat flat and at times the story was advanced too quickly when time should have been taken to flesh out the characters instead. The book ended far too abruptly and left me feeling as if the author had forgotten to include an epilogue.

That said, I will be interested to see what else Rebecca Dean comes out with, as her style is reminiscent of Barbara Taylor Bradford and Colleen MacCullough. ( )

In the early part of the 20th century, there was a lovely young girl in Virginia who was courted by British nobility. Convinced she loved Ivor, Delia agreed to marry him and traveled with him to England, only to find that he married her only because he found her pleasant enough and wanted an heir - something that was not provided to him by his first wife - and that he was deeply in love with the wife of a friend.

“Palace Circle” is primarily set in the lead up to World War II through the first part of the war, first in London, then in Cairo. The story is told with a series of third person limited omniscient narrators. Luckily the point of view does not jump around from chapter to chapter, or even within chapters, but goes through five chronological sections, beginning with Delia, followed by each of her two daughters as well as two young men. The plot revolves around Delia’s family, high society life, and life in British-occupied Egypt. There wasn’t necessarily a grand sweeping narrative, it was more the somewhat romantic (but thankfully no blantent sex scenes) story of a family navigating these different settings.

You cannot hear slightest mention of this book without hearing the statement by Nora Robers that “If you like Philippa Gregory, you will love this book!” Honestly, I requested this from LibraryThing Early Reviewers in spite of this statement, because I’m iffy on Gregory and have no interest in Roberts whatsoever, so wasn’t crazy about the fact that she’s so prominently displayed on the cover. A slightly more accurate statement would probably have been that if you like Gregory you will like this book. I could definitely see the comparison, although thankfully Dean didn’t feel Gregory’s need to include the actual sex scenes. “Palace Circle” was like some of Gregory’s ‘okay, not great’ writing. It wasn’t super engaging like “The Other Boleyn Girl” or maddening and boring like “The Other Queen.” Instead it was fairly interesting and kept me reading like “The Boleyn Inheritence.”

In my opinion, this is fairly representative of the ‘fluffy’ part of the historical fiction genre. I was entertained, but not super engaged. I didn’t feel that I learned much, which was a bit disappointing, but I never wished I could just finish already and read something else either. It was probably lucky that I read some fairly negative reviews for this book before I started it, because I initially had high expectations and those reviews tempered them greatly. If I had expected great things from this book I’d be sorely disappointed, but I expected (at most) a decent read, so I was pleased. I wouldn’t go searching out any of Dean’s other work, but I would read it if it was around.

If you feel like a fluffy read, go ahead and give this a try, but don’t expect much depth. ( )

Often, it is said never to judge a book by its cover. Unfortunately, this book is a lesson in listening to such wise words of wisdom. It’s a bit dangerous to compare an author to anyone well established in the field, and perhaps Rebecca Dean will be unfairly judged because of inclinations to compare her with Philippa Gregory. Dean’s style is so different, that although her characters might be just as believable, her story lacks the punch needed to draw a reader in and keep their interest for nearly 400 pages.

Readers are immediately introduced to Delia Conisborough, newly married and off to England from her native Virginia. It’s very easy to become attached to Delia, and I found myself frustrated when I realized that her section came to an end, giving way to her daughter Petra several years later. My disappointment grew when I realized that Delia was never again a narrator in this novel. No other character is developed nearly as much as she was in the beginning of the novel, and it is a great detriment to the story that she becomes a character who, while still important, is no longer central to the plot of the novel.

The cover (as well as many publishing blurbs) also promises a story of a world untouched by WWII, full of glamour and romance. While there is surely glamour and romance, it would be a mistake to begin this novel with the belief that politics and war are not heavy players in the plot. Many major political events occur within the novel, and I could see how they would be confusing to those who had not studied early 20th century English and Egyptian history.

The plot concerning platonic, familial, and romantic relationships is a good idea, but because Delia is the only character I felt connected to, I found myself not caring much for the other points of view persented in the novel. Many of their narrations contained predictable plot twists, which was a disappointment in and of itself. Worst of all is that the novel ends under the narration of someone who was never completely introduced or understod as a main character, and because of this, loose ends are tied together in a rushed manner. This narrator, Jack, tells us what he believes will happen now that the “mystery” of the novel has been solved, and readers are left wondering if this man who has been out of the picture for so long could actually give an accurate appraisal of the novel’s end.

I wish I could have liked this book more than I did. I enjoy historical fiction, especially in regards to English royalty and debutauntes, but I couldn’t bring myself to enjoy the plot as much as I would have liked. “More Delia!” my brain screamed, and this need for continuity was never fulfilled. The idea is wonderful, and the attempt at achieving it is admirable, but I think Dean has fallen a bit short of her mark. ( )

This book is a hard one to review, especially because I was so primed to enjoy it before I began. Unforunately, the more I read, the less I liked the Delia and the less I enjoyed the novel. Both Delia and the plot itself remained to superficial for me, and I found the vast leaps in time grating. The best part of the novel by far was the insights into the Windsor court and into the Egyptian colonial society of the time, but even those highlights were not enough to carry the narrative for me, especially as I'm not sure how historically accurate they were.

I was ultimately disappointed by Delia's decisions, and by her blind refusal to see how much her actions blighted the lives of those around her; honesty would have been by far the best policy for all of these characters. The narrative also moved incredibly slowly which made it even harder to sink into the story. I gave this one three stars, and believe it might make a decent vacation read. ( )

I had been eyeing this book at my local bookseller for a few weeks when I got the notification that I was receiving an Early Reviewers copy. Thank you LT and Broadway Book for saving me the purchase price.

I wanted to like this book, but at times I found it tedious reading. I never quite warmed up to any of the characters - just when I thought I was getting to know them, the story changed and it was someone else's turn in the spotlight. The best part of the book was the description of 1920s/1930s Cairo - it was a new era/locale for me to read about and I enjoyed that very much.

Overall, it wasn't a horrible read but at the same time I'm not sure I'd run out to purchase the next book by this author. I made it through, learned a little about the relationship between Britian and Egypt and will most likely go looking for some history books about this period to get the rest of the story. ( )

Summary: Delia is an young woman from Virginia who marries into the British aristocracy in the years before World War I. When she learns that married life is not all it's cracked up to be - particularly when your older husband has a long-term mistress that he's not about to give up - she seeks comfort in a younger social circle... and in the arms of one of her husband's friends. Their affair continues even after Delia's husband is posted to Cairo to maintain British/Egyptian relations during troubled political times. However, Delia's daughters must grow up under the shadow of their parents' infidelities, and the looming specter of another war on the horizon.

Review: The cover of my edition of Palace Circle gushes "If you like Philippa Gregory, you will love this book!" And while I can kind of see how the comparison gets drawn, the main difference lies in the fact that Philippa Gregory can create well-developed characters, tell an interesting story, and occasionally use a comma correctly. Palace Circle, on the other hand...

Early on in the book, the main character is warned that "marital fidelity among the British aristocracy is not a highly esteemed virtue," and that she should learn to accept it and not be constantly scandalized by it. Which is all well and good, except that most of the rest of the book seems to rely on the reader being constantly scandalized by the idea of marital infidelity. And, call me cynical if you like, but I'm not the sort to cry "Adultery?!? Oh my stars!" and drop into a swooning-but-still-slightly-titillated faint every few pages. There are some interesting aspects to this book (Egypt during the later days of British colonialism, Davina's work at the orphanage/hospital), but they're largely ignored in favor of the predictable "scandalous secrets" storyline. Rich and powerful people sleeping around and name-dropping other rich and powerful people (who are also sleeping around) does not a satisfactory novel make, but that's all that's really here for the first 60% of the book, before it takes a sharp left turn into a political espionage/war thriller.

...Which brings up my other main problem about the book: the structure. It's divided into five sections, each told from a different point of view (Delia, Petra, Davina, Darius, and Jack.) I've seen this kind of structure work before, but it's rare, and in this case, Dean doesn't really pull it off. It feels as though we're not really given enough time with any one character to get inside them, to understand (or care about) their problems and their motivations, or to get any sense of resolution, before we're whisked away to someone else's story. No one really gets any satisfying closure, and the main conflict that motivated the better part of the book is resolved by a secondary character on the second-to-last page of the book, so we're just left to assume that everything worked out okay. This sort of telling-but-not-showing style of writing plagued the rest of the novel as well, making what should have been a fun and fluffy read into a rather ponderous one. 2.5 out of 5 stars.

Recommendation: While the bare bones of this book sound appealing, I thought the execution was lacking. If you're looking for a light, non-taxing read, it would serve acceptably, but there's better fluffy historical fiction out there - like actual Philippa Gregory or Anna Godbersen's The Luxe series. ( )