This was another fascinating historical fiction novel about a historical character that I knew nothing about - Aina Sarah Forbes Bonetta. She was an enslaved African princess by a ruthless African warlord who traded in slavery purely for money. Aina was rescued by an English Commander who convinced the warlord to make Aina a "gift" to Queen Victoria.
The story then starts anew with her learning English, leaving Africa via ship, changing her name, and becoming an official ward and unofficial goddaughter of the Queen. The story is about her very interesting life interwoven with the forced conversion to Christianity in Africa, racism, and the horrors of colonialism. What was most interesting to me is that not much has changed in England, Africa, or the United States in the intervening 100 years.
This is a powerful read about a fascinating woman who had a life well-lived.
OVERALL REVIEW: 4.5 stars
Writing: 4.0 stars
Denny S. Bryce has an easy writing style and covers a lot of material and time in one book about Aina/Sarah. She is descriptive and kept me spellbound. I think that she is about to break out and become a GREAT writer of the next level like Alice Hoffman.
I look forward to her next book to see her writing develop and richen!!
Character development: 4.5 stars
As this is a historical fiction novel, there are many characters! But the author handles it well so we understand the backstory of those that matter to the storyline only.
There are two main characters Aina/Sarah and Queen Victoria. They are formidable adversaries as well as having a unique guardian/ward relationship. For much of the book, Sarah is not in close contact with Queen Victoria who makes major life decisions for her without any input. It is sad that Queen Victoria supported, educated, and took care of Sarah, but seemed to do it out of duty and a "white savior complex". This was the same attitude that the Queen had towards Africa and all of her colonies. It was extremely difficult to read and then fully understand the consequences of her actions and beliefs.
The secondary characters are the royal family, the families that Sarah lived with in England, her African boarding school and schoolmates, and most importantly her family of origin in Africa. Yes, that is a lot of characters!
Storyline: 4.5 stars
The storyline is about surviving pain and grief regardless of the twists and turns that life gives you. Sarah was a survivor who lived through slavery to become the ward of Queen Victoria. She had a full and fulfilling life which we learn about as the story progresses.
The locations were Africa, England, Madeira, and the Atlantic Sea.
Memorable/Informative: 4.5 stars
This was a very difficult novel to read at times. The beginning was exceptionally horrific as it graphically describes the horrors and brutality of slavery. This will stay with me forever - slavery was never about "helping" people. It was to make money off of human beings regardless of what today's celebrities or politicians believe. It was and is pure evil!
Book cover: 4.5 stars
Beautiful!
Book title: 5.0 stars
Accurate and descriptive.
Gut feeling: 4.0 stars
I had no idea if I would like this book - the author and the subject matter were completely unknown to me. I was so happy that it was an excellent novel!
Suggestions:
A map of the areas where Sarah lived in Africa (and current place names) would be helpful.
Definite RECOMMEND
BOOK INFORMATION
The Other Princess by Denny S. Bryce
488 pages
NetGalley Kindle ARC
Release date of 10/03/2023
INFORMATIONAL LINKS
Happy reading,
Dorothea 💜
