May RandomKIT Royal Names

6 May will see the coronation of Charles III, the first coronation of a British monarch in the lifetimes of most of us.

The late Queen's names were Elizabeth Alexandra Mary
The King's names are Charles Philip Arthur George
The Prince of Wales's names are William Arthur Philip Louis

Your challenge is to read a book whose author or main character has one of these names or a variant thereof (e.g. Lizzie, Carlos, Bill, Alexei, Georgina, Louisa).

Please add your reading to the wiki if you feel so inclined: https://wiki.librarything.com/index.php/2023_RandomKIT#May:_Royal_Names

My own possibilities for this are:

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
The Atrocity Archives by Charles Stross
Eight Detectives by Alex Pavesi

Oh, wonderful! Such a great idea. I might finally read "Mary and Elizabeth" by Emily Purdy, which was also published as The Tudor Throne. It also fits the royal topic.

But there are tons of other possibilities with these names!

Coincidentally, the next book for me in the Charles Lenox series by Charles Finch is called The Inheritance. I think I'll read that.

I've had Mary Ingalls on Her Own on my shelf for about 10 years. Time to dust it off!

Ooh excellent theme! I'll take this opportunity to finally read Disraeli: A Play, by Louis Napoleon Parker. Seems fitting too, given that Disraeli got on well with Queen Victoria.

Love this theme! I've got too many to choose from and will make up my mind in May.

I'll be reading The Clan Corporate by Charles Stross.

At this point, I'm not sure whether I will be reading a book featuring any of these names. However, I'll be reading a book concerning royalty since our book club's book is Lady in Waiting: My Extraordinary Life in the Shadow of the Crown by Anne Glenconner who was Princess Margaret's Lady in Waiting. Although Queen Elizabeth will be a character in the book, I'll need to see how big a part she plays.

I am leaning towards something by Georgette Heyer for this one. Also Georges Simenon is a possibility.

I am going to be reading Blue Horses by Mary Oliver.

Wonderful theme! And even better, I have a lot to choose from.

Oh, this is a fun one! I think Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont by Elizabeth Taylor will be one that I'll read.

Have to figure out how to choose. Not sure the easiest way to bring up what's on my tbr that will fit!

ETA: The easiest is to probably choose another book about royalty where one of the people is going to share a name, but we'll see.

The Siren Queen is the next one for me in a series about a woman in QEI's court. There are always a bunch of Marys in the court scenes.

I suspect I might also go down the Georgette Heyer route.

I might read At risk by Stella Rimington, which got enthusiastically recommended to me just today.
The main character is named Liz Carlyle

Love this theme! It is definitely time to catch up on my Charles Dickens readalong! Probably The Pickwick Papers.

I'm planning to read Return to Roar--one of the two main characters is named Arthur :)

I'll be reading Act of Oblivion by Robert Harris that imagines the search for two men involved in the killing of King Charles I.

I'd like to follow up with a Charles Paris mystery by Simon Brett.

I might read Fatal Rivalry by George Goodwin. I'm sure there are others a that will fit.
I'm feeling rather ambivalent about the coronation. Entirely coincidentally, I'm away that weekend, and I'm not regretting that the trip wasn't cancelled.

>21 Helenliz: Does that mean that you won't be pledging your allegiance to the king in a 'chorus of millions of voices'? I hope Charles won't be disappointed by the amount of homage from the people of Australia.

>22 pamelad: Not something I have to do, fortunately. Not an ardent republican, but I can't help thinking that we should have had the debate about what we want the monarchy to be. It's not like the family has exactly covered itself in glory in the last decade or so. Mind you, neither have any politicians, so I'm not sure what a realistic alternative would be. President Johnson? I'd rather eat Charles' crown, including all the crunchy bits.

All of which doesn't prevent anyone picking a good book for Paul's challenge. >:-)

I'm planning to listen to Fairy Tale by Stephen King. The main character is named Charlie.

Starting Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll for Louis and Charles

reading The Stone in the Skull by Elizabeth Bear

I finished A Crime in Holland by Georges Simenon.

COMPLETED Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

I have completed Blue Horses by Mary Oliver.

Perfect! I have several Louis L'Amour books that I'm planning on rereading and reviewing. There are no reviews by me on LT, it's been that long since I read them.

I've read A Suitable Vengeance and For the Sake of Elena byElizabeth George.

I read an Alex Verus novel

Chosen by Benedict Jacka

I'm not sure whether or not I will read anything containing any of the 3 names. However, I have read a book featuring British royalty since I read Lady in Waiting: My Extraordinary Life in the Shadow of the Crown, an autobiography by Anne Glenconner. Ms. Glenconner was a childhood friend and then Lady in Waiting for many years to Princess Margaret. Queen Elizabeth is mentioned a few times, but is not a main character. (Of course the author has the same first name as Queen Elizabeth's only daughter.)

I'm aware that this does not meet the criteria for this challenge, and will not be counting it.

I had a graphic novel picked out, but it appears my library doesn't have it, so I'll need to choose something else.

Both of my current reads fit this category. I just finished How To Survive A Garden Gnome Attack by Chuck Sambuchino - Chuck is a nickname for Charles.
I am also reading Things I Wish I Told My Mother by Susan Patterson, Susan DiLallo, and James Patterson about Dr. Elizabeth Ormson and her daughter Laurie.

Just finished At risk, an espionage story by stella Rimington, the former Head of MI5.
The main character is MI5 Intelligence Officer, Liz Carlyle, a nickname for Elizabeth, who is tracking a pair of potential terrorists suspected of planning an attack on a target in the Norfolk area. The Queens estate at Sandringham is even mentioned as a potential target early on.

I read Act of Oblivion by Robert Harris who is one of my favourite authors.

The Indemnity and Oblivion Act of Parliament 1660, the first year of the Restoration, was a pardon for crimes committed during the Civil War and the subsequent Commonwealth period with certain exceptions. Charles II made an exception for the men who signed his father Charles I's death warrant. The vengeful Richard Naylor (the only fictional character) is tasked with finding 13 regicides still at large. Two of those have fled to New England where Puritans are sympathetic, while their families who are left to live incognito in London face the Plague, the Great Fire, and constant vigilance. Harris takes the reader on a fantastic manhunt rich in detail in the vastness of New England as we follow not only the families of the regicides but the hunted men and their hunter. Well researched and well written.

This could have been used in the Historical Fiction challenge for an era I am unfamiliar with, but a story about the first King Charles was one I couldn't pass up for this month's RandomKIT.

I started with the audiobook version but it was tricky to follow the many characters, so I quickly switched to print.

>33 sallylou61: I think this should count for the challenge.

I read Royal Mistress about Edward IV's final mistress (ELIZABETH) Jane Shore. Her actual first name was Elizabeth, but since that was also the Queen's first name, she went by Jane.

Starting An Act of Detection by Charlie Cochrane

I read my next Alex Cross book London Bridges by James Patterson. Alex is a variation of Alexandra.

I read The Listerdale Mystery by Agatha Christie. In one of the short stories, the main characters are George & Elizabeth, which hits the spot.

I read 18 Seconds by George D. Shuman for this one.

I read Speak, Okinawa by Elizabeth Miki Brina.

Elizabeth C. Bunce is the author of my first book read in May, How to Get Away With Myrtle.

COMPLETED An Act of Detection and The Case of the Grey Assassin, both by Charlie Cochrane

Finished Fatal Rivalry by George Goodwin.
Despite involving the Kings of England & Scotland (Henry & James) it's the author's name that causes this to quality.

The June theme is "Walls" and its thread is here: https://www.librarything.com/topic/350805 (hosted by Tess_W)

I have finished Leonora by Maria Edgeworth.

And I have also finished Vera by Elizabeth von Arnim.

I just read Keeper of Enchanted Rooms by Charlie N. Holmberg (Charlie --> Charles). It's a cozy take on the haunted house genre, and I quite enjoyed it!

>51 christina_reads: I enjoyed that one too!

I finished The Speed of Dark by Elizabeth Moon. A bit unsure how I feel about the ending, but the book as a whole was good.

I finished a reread of Louis L'Amour's Silver Canyon. I can't recall when I read it last, it's probably been decades. Anyway, it was an okay read, and after posting a review I have put in the rehoming box.

Finished Return to Roar by Jenny McLachlan, and loved it just as much as the first book in the series. Full review written, and meanwhile, one of the main character's names is Arthur.

I read Powder and Patch by Georgette Heyer. The original title of this novel is The Transformation of Philip Jettan, and Philip is the main character's name.

It's a memoir, so the author, William, fits both a "main character" and author.

A Cat Named Darwin / William Jordan
4 stars

The author was not a cat person, but when he came across a stray (at a time when the author was feeling lonely), there seemed to be a connection. He brought the cat he later named Darwin (the author is a biologist) in and gave him food. There was a back and forth between inside and outside, then on or off the bed, etc. Darwin wormed his way into the author’s heart, but it wasn’t long before Darwin was diagnosed with FeLV (feline leukemia). Darwin only lasted another year before he died.

I loved Darwin and enjoyed the parts most that focused on him. The author brought in some philosophy of things he learned from Darwin and, though I’m not usually a fan of philosophy, I actually found this quite interesting. I did disagree with a lot of decisions the author made, especially as Darwin got more and more sick, but I still rated it as high as I did, primarily because of Darwin himself. The book hit close to home, as I have been dealing with a palliative cat for a few years now, myself (he’s now 20 and still mostly doing ok, but it’s tough).

I read Six Crimson Cranes by Elizabeth Lim, which felt extra-fitting for this category because the heroine is a princess.

I read two more books that ended up fitting here:
Unsouled by Will Wight
In Watermelon Sugar by Richard Brautigan, one of the characters is named Charley

Along with a few others, I read a Georgette Heyer novel for this KIT (Georgette --> George). The Unknown Ajax was a decent read, but not one of her best IMO.

Killers of the King: the men who dared to execute Charles I by Charles, Earl Spencer has just arrived and I doubt that I'll get to it before the end of this month, so my reading will probably not happen until June. After reading Robert Harris' engrossing fictional version, this was a natural follow-up.

ETA As well, just started Situation Tragedy a mystery featuring Charles Paris by Simon Brett.

I read Little Lindy is Kidnapped: How the Media Covered the Crime of the Century by Thomas Doherty. As the subtitle states, this book is primarily about the news coverage of the case rather than solving the case. Charles and Anne Morrow Lindbergh were a very popular couple, and the public followed the news closely. The different media, newspaper, radio, and news reels at theaters raced to cover the case. It's amazing to think that in the 1930s, only around 90 years ago, radio was the new technology. The name Charles appears for both Charles Lindberghs -- the popular (at that time) father and the kidnapped baby.

Starting Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

>62 Robertgreaves: - I just read that and loved it.

I've finished The Inheritance by Charles Finch.

I read A Cold Day in Paradise by Steve Hamilton, with the lead character being Alex McKnight.

Just finished Situation Tragedy: a Charles Paris mystery by Simon Brett.
An entertaining mystery featuring jobbing actor Charles Paris, this time in a new television series that might just offer a regular salary for a while. Brett offers a good reminder of television comedy rules in the seventies - such as always wearing kaftans and long hair to indicate bohemianism and fitting in as much innuendo as possible. He provides a clever insight into the superficial, frivolous world of television comedy with the accomanying puffed up egos of everyone involved. When Charles looks back on one of his parts it's often followed by a brief excerpt from a review, rarely complimentary.

This was a kindle version that had many typos. One character was called Dob in some places and Dab in others. The term sit-com was used but also sit-cam and then surprisingly sit-corn. Nevertheless, it was more entertaining than most sit-coms.

>65 VivienneR: Sit-corn!!!

I just finished The Duke's Counterfeit Wife by Louise Allen (Louise --> Louis), an enjoyable historical romance.

Royal Names this month:

Elizabeth:
The Adventures of Elizabeth in Rügen, Elizabeth von Arnim (1904) Title character & author
The Betsy-Tacy Treasury, Maud Hart Lovelace (1943) Title character

William:
Shakespeare: The World as Stage, Bill Bryson (2007) Subject & author

ETA:
Charles:
I'm just finishing up an audiobook re-read of:
Barnaby Rudge, Charles Dickens (1841) --historical fiction set during the London Gordon (anti-Catholic) riots of 1780.

>65 VivienneR: Ha, those sound like OCR errors! It is very vexing to find those, and so many! Like seriously, they didn't even have time to run a basic spellcheck?

I finished The Toll-Gate by Georgette Heyer.

Thank you, everybody, for joining in. I hope you had fun with this one

I still have one I'll report in a few days!

One last one for the month. My next Alex Cross novel, Mary, Mary by James Patterson has Alex (short for Alexandra) hunting the serial killer Mary Smith.