A Beautiful Imagining, Though Could Do Without the Gary Stu

The voice the author creates for Lala, and the way the narrator tells it, with the details of Johnnie imagined (or re-imagined in the case of real events) is gorgeous and very competent.

The only two areas that jarred slightly were the foreshadowing slightly shoe-horned in there during the account of Johnnie’s birth and slightly after, and the incorporation of the groundsman, Chadwick Reever.

I can only surmise that “Chad” is an original character, as I can’t find any details about him in historical accounts. He is present from Lala’s first introduction to Sandringham until almost the end of the story, and indeed is referred to by Johnny in his dying words.

This irritated me slightly. As good a character as he is in his own right, he took (for me) a disproportionately prominent place in the plot and characterisations as Lala’s long-time love interest and eventual would-be husband (no spoilers).

Did she need such a lover? Or was he a speculation based on the author not being able to get her head around the notion of Lala - or anyone for that matter - never being romantically involved or even that interested? The way he is shoehorned in as a love interest was distracting due to creating this impression. It also detracted, for me, from the more historically accurate or at least historically-based aspects. And finally, it also strikes me as an exercise of writerly insecurity or even ego to feel they have to create an original character in such a context and then make them so central.

This is, broadly, what the trope of a a ‘Mary-Sue’ or ‘Gary-Stu’ character is is in a fan-fiction or historical re-imagining - an original character that takes an unjustifiably - and distractingly - prominent place in the plot and in the preoccupations of the historical characters or canon characters in the fandom. For many reasons other than this, Chad fits the bill for a Gary-Stu exactly, and nowhere is this more irritating than in what should have been the extremely intimate and undistracted scene of Johnny’s death.

For that, I am upset at the author, but for many, many other reasons, I enjoyed this and if the above type of trope doesn’t bother you, I highly recommend it as it provides a very comprehensive re-imagining of the whole of Lala’s time with George V’s children - especially Johnny (a rare treat as not many sensitive historical accounts or detailed fictional reimaginings of his life exist). It’s just a shame Chad is spotlighted so much as to be equally up there with him as the star of the show.

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Heartfelt ❤️

This book sends out waves of heartfelt love that the story you’ve watched on TV doesn’t give it justice. The film makes the royal family look unfeeling when this book shows completely different they loved Johnny lala the nanny was a beautiful soul I’m sure she’s with Johnny and Chad All together again 💐lovely story 😊

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1 person found this helpful

Extremely disappointing

I thought this was going to be about Edward VIII and the storybooks in 1919...

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