Title: The Queen’s Spade
Author: Saraph Raughley
Genres: Historical Fiction/Thriller
Pages: 416
Publisher: Harper Collins
Review Copy: ARC by publisher
Availability: Available Now
Summary: In this riveting historical thriller inspired by true-life events, Belladonna meets Bridgerton as revenge, romance, and twisted secrets take center stage in Victorian England’s royal court when Sally, a kidnapped African princess and goddaughter to Queen Victoria, plots her way to take down the monarchy that stole her from her homeland.
A young lady can take only so many injuries before humiliation and insult forge a vow of revenge. . . .
The year is 1862 and murderous desires are simmering in England. Nineteen-year-old Sarah Bonetta Forbes (Sally), once a princess of the Egbado Clan, desires one thing above all else: revenge against the British Crown and its system of colonial “humanitarianism,” which stole her dignity and transformed her into royal property. From military men to political leaders, she’s vowed to ruin all who’ve had a hand in her afflictions. The top of her list? Her godmother, Britain’s mighty monarch, Queen Victoria herself.
Taking down the Crown means entering into a twisted game of court politics and manipulating the Queen’s inner circle—even if that means aligning with a dangerous yet alluring crime lord in London’s underworld and exploiting the affections of Queen Victoria’s own son, Prince Albert, as a means to an end. But when Queen Victoria begins to suspect Sally’s true intentions, she plays the only card in Victorian society that could possibly cage Sally once again: marriage. Because if there’s one thing Sally desires more than revenge, it’s her freedom. With time running out and her wedding day looming, Sally’s vengeful game of cat and mouse turns deadly as she’s faced with the striking revelation that the price for vengeance isn’t just paid in blood. It means sacrificing your heart.
Review: This novel, this tale of revenge, came at the right time for me. January was a tough month, as you all know, so reading this revisionist history of Sarah Forbes Bonetta was the perfect escape. While I knew a bit about the real Sally, how she had been brought to England and was Queen Victoria’s goddaughter, when really she was more of a prop to showcase how “civility can change the savage”. To take Sarah’s story and give her the agency she might not have had in real life was refreshing.
The strength of Sarah Raughley’s novels are always her protagonists. I loved Iris from her Bones of Ruin Trilogy and expected to fall in love with Sarah/Sally – and I did. The novel begins with Sarah already engaged in her revenge plot against the people that hurt her, which allowed me to realize that Sally wasn’t one to play with. Sally is a young woman with a plan and that nothing will divert her from her plan. I was so in. It was known that Sarah/Sally was extremely smart and Raughley plays with that by showing how calculated Sally is with her revenge plot, in that each plan is created specifically for a specific person therefore all the plans are intricately designed, which makes the novel fun in that aspect. Sally has a list that she repeats, much like Arya from Game of Thrones, throughout the novel. Through flashbacks, Raughley also shows the trauma Sally endured at the hands of her “list”, even when she was a child, which shows how self aware she was at a young age and how she had to force herself to play along and endure until she was old enough to assert her independence. Teen Sally somewhat still plays along but she does begin to assert herself against the people in her social circle, and even Queen Victoria herself. The actual Queen is actually a very worthy adversary against Sally as she knows more than she lets on and figures out Sally’s plans, but rather than confronting Sally, she commands Sally to get married. That move by the Queen really pushes Sally and has her become creative in achieving her goal in a short amount of time. The wedding almost derails Sally’s plans but she pivots quickly, utilizing her connections and resources, to achieve at least one more goal. I absolutely loved that Sally was just amazing brilliant in her strategic thinking, her ability to manipulate people into doing what she wanted, all while pretending to be a meek girl. In other’s stories she would be the villain, but to me she is a hero. She is truly fighting for her happiness and, even when she is betrayed by one she thought was in her corner, she never wavers. She is a steadfast character with such depth that you can’t but help to root for her happy ending.
In a time when freedom is being threatened, a story about a young woman fighting for her freedom is just what is needed. Sally was alive in a time where women, of a certain social status, didn’t really have many options but had to find ways to express themselves in their own way. For Sally, this means being in control over her life, as she has not had control since she was a child. The fact that she plans and plans and never gives up shows us all that if we want true independence, true freedom, we must do what we can to fight for it.