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The cover image is immediately engrossing. The portrait of a woman, recognizable even from a profile view–a beautiful blonde princess–is obviously the late Diana, Princess of Wales. And as such, I was predisposed to dislike this novel. After all, I reasoned, the woman at the heart of it has been dead for over a decade. This book could have easily been just another unscrupulous attempt to make money off of the lightening-rod name of Diana. Ali, however, draws the reader into her imaginary alternate reality skillfully, and without a crass attempt at commercialization of the princess.
What if, the author wonders, Diana didn’t really die in 1997? What if she had faked her own death, and moved to the States to escape the relentless pressure of her high profile role? In Ali’s twist of the Diana legend, the princess–who thanks to plastic surgery, retains of her former appearance only her famous blue eyes–is known as Lydia. She has a boyfriend, a job, and a new social life far from her former life at Kensington Palace. But can Lydia ever truly find the peace she craves? Or will she always be looking over her shoulders, missing her sons, and afraid to trust anyone? While the plausibility of the real Diana actually abandoning her children is slim to none, the story is still engaging, allowing the reader to suspend reality and marinate in the possibility that the beloved “Queen of People’s Hearts” is not truly gone, after all.
5 out of 5.
