British writer Sue Townsend has already earned her place in popular culture with the character of Adrian Mole, whose diaries defined angst for the generation who grew up in Commonwealth countries when Margeret Thatcher ruled from 10 Downing Street. Fans will be pleased to learn that her latest novel, Queen Camilla, contains her trademark blend of political satire and popular culture, and reads like a mix between Animal Farm and Hello! magazine.In the follow-up to her bestselling novel, the Queen and I, Townsend returns to an alternative United Kingdom where the fictional Republican party is in power, elected on the promise that they would do away with the monarchy. Instead of following the grand royal tradition of fleeing the country in times of revolution, Queen Elizabeth and her brood kept their upper lips stiff, and adapted to life as commonors. Banished to an Exclusion Zone -- one of numerous areas in England demarcated by barbed wire and housing "the criminal, the anti-social, the inadequate, the feckless, the agitators, the disgraced professionals, the stupid, the drug-addicted and the morbidly obese," they are tagged on the ankle and are issued identity cards which are subject to spot check.It is to Townsend's credit that she does not take the easy way out by ridiculing the royal family via unflattering stereotypes. In fact, by appropriating the Windsors for her fiction, she does them a favour as their literary incarnations, while not totally admirable, are sympathetic and, yes, lovable. Queen Elizabeth II fairs the best out of the lot. Living alone in a council house with her two dogs, she patiently copes with the lack of dental care and rubbish disposal, and shudders at the thought of returning to the throne. Graceful under fire, she contributes most of the poignancy in the book in scenes such as her interactions with her senile husband in the Zone's under-staffed nursing home.Prince Charles, rather than the ridiculous buffoon of popular imagination, is portrayed as a sensitive, fastidious intellectual who quotes Shakespeare and dotes on his stubbornly unproductive chickens. Meanwhile, the much-maligned Camilla Parker-Bowles is one of the most compelling characters in the book. Banished to the Exclusion Zone only because she has married Prince Charles, she deals with situations with a droll sense of humour and some amount of scheming, and walks away with some of the best scenes in the book.At the other end of the power spectrum, the House of Commons does not escape Townsend's rapier. Her parody of modern-day political shenanigans is hilarious, if predictable. For example, the election battle between the Republicans and the New Conservatives, who want to reinstate the monarchy, ultimatly hinges on how well the Republicans can sell their "War on Dogs", an initiative by the Prime Minister to curb the dog population when he is kept awake by the incessant barking of the Chancellor's dog.Queen Camilla does have its rough parts -- Townsend's running conceit that dogs can understand human speech and communicate with each other gets tedious after a while. Also, surprisngly for a writer who has demonstrated how in tune she is with the teenage mind, her depictions of Prince William and Harry are one-dimensional and drag the narrative down. Other than that, this fantasy works best when bringing out the humanity of characters from all levels of society -- royals and dogs included.
Die Queen wurde abgeschafft - und zusammen mit ihren nächsten Verwandten in eine Exklusionszone gesteckt, ein Ort für alle, die der Gesellschaft nicht mehr dienlich sind, also z. B. Kriminelle...und Adlige. Dort lebt sie in einem kleinen Sozialbau und von staatlicher Stütze. Die Royals haben nun kaum genug, um sich und ihre geliebten Hunde über Wasser zu halten. Und so muss Charles auch im Ein-Pfund-Shop einkaufen gehen und Camilla Wurzelgemüse im Garten anbauen, die Queen auf durchgelegenen Bettlaken schlafen und William als Gerüstbauer arbeiten...So absurd das auch erstmal klingen mag, Sue Townsend schafft es, bissigen Humor so mit einer scharfen Prise Zynismus und ernster Politik-/Gesellschaftskritik zu verbinden, dass ich meine durch das Cover und die Kurzzusammenfassung gewachsene Erwartung, ein lustiges Buch in den Händen zu halten, sehr schnell relativieren musste. Hier und da war es schon zum Schmunzeln, oft aber auch nur oberflächlich, denn eigentlich gab es so viele überspitzt traurige, berührende, nachdenkliche Stellen.Ein interessantes Buch, das sich als etwas ganz anderes entpuppte als vorher angenommen, das die Royal Family einmal mit ganz anderen Augen sieht, das eine/n Leser/in mitleidig auf eine der reichsten und angesehensten Familien Europas schauen lässt, das über die Beeinflussbarkeit und Blindheit des Volkes nachdenken lässt und das nicht zuletzt Hundeliebhaber lesen sollten.
What do You think about Queen Camilla (2015)?
I found this quite an improvement on the Queen and I, which it follows. It is more about character and situation and less about making political points.In the near future, the monarchy has been abolished, and the royals are living in an exclusion zone filled with criminals, single mothers and the obese. Prince Charles likes living simply, but why won't his chickens lay any eggs (the reader knows but is never told, which is a nice touch)? A plot is afoot, however, to restore the monarchy - what will happen?One problem I had with this is how synpathetically absolutely everone regards the Queen in books and dramas. She is always aware and compassionate and practical, qualities thatmany of us simply haven't seen in her. Charles is the usual organic loon. Camilla is by far the best character, wonderfully human,and Townsend is one of the few writers who didn't view William as some sort of god, thank goodness.The wit and charm of all Townsend's writing is here,and the result is interesting, if not outstanding. I miss her and her writing, even when it isn't perfect. She never wrote a bad book, which is more than most prolific writers can say.
—Cathy Bryant
This is the sequel to "The Queen and I" by the author of the Adrian Mole books. In the first book the Republicans came to power in England and the entire Royal Family was banished to live out their lives on a Council estate. Very funny for anyone with even mild republican leanings!! In this book they are still there but of course Camilla has replaced Diana. Unfortunately this book is nowhere nearly as good as the first. In fact it was all i could do to plough my way through it. Give this one a miss!!!
—Julie
This quirky, biting satire begins with the Royal Family having been exiled to council housing in what is called an Exclusion Zone - a place where the slappers, the morbidly obese, the criminal and other undesirables are sent. The Queen cares for her ailing husband and despairs of her dysfunctional brood. The caricatures are vividly drawn here, and only Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles' long-suffering wife, Camilla, come off very well.I found something hilarious on almost every page - Sue Townsend has a wicked wit and, though I am a recent transplant to these shores and thus have probably missed some cultural references, I was nonetheless entranced by the storyline, and the foibles Miss Townsend gave her characters. Charles dithers, Camilla consoles, Anne swears a lot, Andrew's gotten chubby and chases girls with wild abandon, William is earnest and Harry's a thug. Throw some unexpected characters into the mix (along with some great cameos from the likes of Stephen Fry and Jeremy Paxman) and you've got a page-turner. Not "great literature," but I couldn't care less - life is too short to read books that enrich without entertaining. There were some scenes that were movingly written, and one that had me crying uncontrollably - that Townsend can inspire such a range of emotion is very telling and a compliment to her literary skills.Another, interesting, surprising aspect was the integral participation of the community's pet dogs, and the stunning plot twist that they pull off - dumb animals, indeed!I only gave the book four stars instead of five because of some rather glaring editorial errors that leapt off the page at me and took me out of the story. A good proofreader/editor would have solved that problem and made this a five-star novel. This was so funny, and I now want to find Miss Townsend's "Number 10." Royal-watchers, humour fans, dog lovers - you name it - there's something here for just about everyone, as long as they have a funny bone. I did have to consult my husband on some of the references, but for the most part I got the jokes and found them to be great fun. Some portions were also deeply moving. I didn't think it would be a satirical novel that would give me impetus to feel a bit of sympathy for Camilla.
—Graceann
