The Tin Princess

Exactly what I wanted to read.

Becky Winter is a capable polyglot with a romantic streak, who finds herself swept up in political intrigue after witnessing an explosion. Suddenly the sixteen-year-old Winter is tutor and interpreter to a secret cockney princess, headed from London to a tiny nation sandwiched between Austria and Germany accompanied by a dreamy prince, gruff ambassador and his icy wife, and a dashing detective. The novel’s plot twists and turns through Razkavia’s 19th-century-Bavarian-influenced countryside. Danger, secret identities, and nefarious schemes fill its pages right up to a genuinely thrilling conclusion.

Philip Pullman can always be relied upon to deliver richly detailed, wryly funny, smart historical show more fiction. I picked this up at the library because I was dying to read something I’d like, and feeling slightly melancholy that The Subtle Knife will never be a movie. I didn’t realize it was a continuation of a previous series, and I got good and thoroughly spoiled on the events of that series while devouring The Tin Princess. It’s a great book: several strong female characters with distinct personalities, men worth crushing on, a richly imagined fictional country, political strategy, and plenty of derring-do. What more could a reader ask for? There are even a couple of nice, not too-soppy romances (one sweet, the other rather steamy.) The only drawbacks were that Razkavia made me miss Germany terribly, and the blurb described Adelaide as “heartbreakingly beautiful” while the book described her as “not altogether pretty.” Really, publishing industry? Men can love women who aren’t supermodels. Promise. show less

Exactly what I wanted to read.

Becky Winter is a capable polyglot with a romantic streak, who finds herself swept up in political intrigue after witnessing an explosion. Suddenly the sixteen-year-old Winter is tutor and interpreter to a secret cockney princess, headed from London to a tiny nation sandwiched between Austria and Germany accompanied by a dreamy prince, gruff ambassador and his icy wife, and a dashing detective. The novel’s plot twists and turns through Razkavia’s 19th-century-Bavarian-influenced countryside. Danger, secret identities, and nefarious schemes fill its pages right up to a genuinely thrilling conclusion.

Philip Pullman can always be relied upon to deliver richly detailed, wryly funny, smart historical show more fiction. I picked this up at the library because I was dying to read something I’d like, and feeling slightly melancholy that The Subtle Knife will never be a movie. I didn’t realize it was a continuation of a previous series, and I got good and thoroughly spoiled on the events of that series while devouring The Tin Princess. It’s a great book: several strong female characters with distinct personalities, men worth crushing on, a richly imagined fictional country, political strategy, and plenty of derring-do. What more could a reader ask for? There are even a couple of nice, not too-soppy romances (one sweet, the other rather steamy.) The only drawbacks were that Razkavia made me miss Germany terribly, and the blurb described Adelaide as “heartbreakingly beautiful” while the book described her as “not altogether pretty.” Really, publishing industry? Men can love women who aren’t supermodels. Promise. show less

Probably liked this the best after (or tied with) The Ruby in the Smoke. It had the same heightened adventure feeling, and I loved the faux European setting. Adeline could rub me the wrong way but I loved when she was being her regal self the way no one else could be, and I adored Becky. I'd forgotten how wonderful Jim is but how frustratingly he and Fred became almost the same character (except he has none of Fred's most frustrating qualities). On the whole I loved the expansive setting this took place over, the dramatic air it held from start to finish. I wish Pullman had written more about these characters.

What a relief from density--a thumping good socialist yarn about evil 19th c. industrialists and royalists! I knew he wouldn't let me down.

Moderately successful attempt to go back to the milieu of Philip Pullman's Sally Lockhart trilogy. What I like about Pullman's books is their core of emotional toughness -- there are no easy choices, no safe paths. Jim Taylor, previously one of Sally's sidekicks, here the hero, is a gambler, a private detective, a writer of penny dreadfuls, interested in excitement, danger, and violence -- rather meaty stuff for YAs. The plot resembles The Prisoner of Zenda in its presentation of the political tribulations of an imaginary Mittel European country. Unfortunately, Sally is only present in cameos, and 16-year-old Becky, while fine in her way, is not a compelling substitute; and although entertaining, the character of Adelaide is not show more remotely plausible. show less

A strong but shallow effort by Philip Pullman. One thing that he's good at is endings, though, and the ending of this novel is more captivating than a good deal of what comes before. It is not up to his previous standard, but it's very much a nod to the Ruritanian school of fiction just as the first book in the series evoked a Holmesian world.

He has almost promised to continue the series, and I would certainly enjoy following it.

Summary: Jim Taylor has been searching for Adelaide, the young girl who he and Sally Lockhart rescued from the cruel Mrs. Holland, since she disappeared at the end of The Ruby in the Smoke. Now he's found her... just as she's about to become a Princess! She's been secretly married to the youngest son of Razkavia, a tiny country sandwiched between Germany and Austria. When the prince's older brother is assassinated, he and Adelaide must return to Razkavia, taking with them Jim, and Becky Winter, a bright young lady who will act as Adelaide's tutor. However, they arrive to a country in turmoil, for it seems there is a conspiracy afoot to steal the throne away from its rightful owner. Any internal instability carries with it the threat of show more invasion from one of Razkavia's powerful neighbors, and Becky, Jim, and Adelaide must do everything in their power to prevent that from happening.

Review: While this book is listed as the fourth book in the Sally Lockhart series, it's not really a direct sequel, and Sally herself only shows up for two brief chapters. While this does mean that this book would be readable without having read the preceeding three (Jim and Adelaide's history is explained well enough for this book to stand on its own), it was also somewhat disappointing: Sally was definitely the best part of the earlier books, and her absence was sorely missed.

Becky could have been a worthy successor to Sally. They're both bright, independent, resourseful, and unwilling to take "no" for an answer just because they're a woman. However, the book split its focus between Becky and Adelaide as its co-heroines, which was unfortunate, since Adelaide didn't work for me at all. I didn't buy her near-overnight transformation from a Cockney whore to a gifted diplomat, and I didn't find her nearly as charming as all of the other characters did, mostly because we're not really given any evidence of her skills or affability, but just expected to take them on faith. This also meant that the romantic storyline between Jim and Adelaide fell flat for me; I spent the whole book thinking that he'd have been much better off with Becky.

Other than that, however, I did mostly enjoy the story, especially towards the middle/end as both the conspiracy and the adventure started to pick up. In some parts, I think Pullman was relying on his readers being more conversant with pre-World War I European politics than I am, but I managed to muddle through well enough, and the main points of the plot were perfectly clear (eventually. It is supposed to be a conspiracy mystery, after all.) Overall, I'd put it about on par with The Ruby in the Smoke; it's got better pacing but less well-developed and compelling characters. The Tiger in the Well is still far and away my favorite, though. 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Recommendation: It's not really a must-read for anybody, but if Victorian mysteries are your thing, or you like conspiracies involving royal successions, then you'd probably find The Tin Princess to be an enjoyable read. show less