Long Live the King: A Novel (Habits of the House)

by Fay Weldon

Paperback, 2014

Status

Available

Publication

St. Martin's Griffin (2014), Edition: Reprint, 368 pages

Description

A second installment in the trilogy by the award-winning author of the original Upstairs Downstairs follows the restoration of the Dilberne fortune and manor at the turn of the 20th century, when Lord Robert and Lady Isobel assist coronation plans for Edward VII, anticipate the birth of a grandchild and debate the future of an orphaned niece.

User reviews

LibraryThing member lauriebrown54
The year is 1901, King Edward VII is soon to have his official coronation, and the Dilberne family is in a kerfuffle. Arthur Dilberne is good friend of the King and so caught up in preparations for the coronation, as is his wife, Lady Isobel. Their daughter in law Minnie is pregnant, ready to do
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her duty by providing an heir, and daughter Rosina is still being a political agitator. Meanwhile, sixteen year old, suddenly orphaned Adela, niece to Lord Dilberne, tired of having her fate arranged by others, takes her life into her own hands and goes on an adventure. And three invitations to the coronation have become an object of much contention and confusion.

This trilogy (which began with last years Habits of the House) is sort of like Seinfeld: the show about nothing. Very little seems to take place, but everybody is practicing their own little schemes and things that seem small take on great importance. Nobody is really a villain; nobody is really a hero. They are just people- wealthy people, for the most part but not all- being people at a time when great changes were taking place. But the books are written so well that I can’t put them down, and I eagerly await the third book.
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LibraryThing member Readers_Respite
I simply could not summon the interest to finish this novel. I listened to the first of the series on audiobook with marginal interest (it wasn't a very good novel, but I listened for lack of any other audiobook at the time) and then picked up this sequel at the library. It's not unreadable, it's
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just that there are so many better novels currently more worthy of my valuable reading time. So off it goes back to the library for someone else who will enjoy it more.
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Language

Original language

English

Original publication date

2013-05-07

Physical description

368 p.; 5.5 inches

ISBN

1250049326 / 9781250049322

Local notes

fiction

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