Coronation Year

A Novel

By: Jennifer Robson

Narrated by: Karen Cass, Susan Vinciotti Bonito, Vidish Athavale

Length: 10 hrs and 15 mins

Publisher's summary

The USA Today bestselling author of The Gown returns with another enthralling and royal-adjacent historical novel—as the lives of three very different residents of London’s historic Blue Lion hotel converge in a potentially explosive climax on the day of Queen Elizabeth’s Coronation.

It is Coronation Year, 1953, and a new queen is about to be crowned. The people of London are in a mood to celebrate, none more so than the residents of the Blue Lion hotel.

Edie Howard, owner and operator of the floundering Blue Lion, has found the miracle she needs: on Coronation Day, Queen Elizabeth in her gold coach will pass by the hotel’s front door, allowing Edie to charge a fortune for rooms and, barring disaster, save her beloved home from financial ruin. Edie’s luck might just be turning, all thanks to a young queen about her own age.

Stella Donati, a young Italian photographer and Holocaust survivor, has come to live at the Blue Lion while she takes up a coveted position at Picture Weekly magazine. London in celebration mode feels like a different world to her. As she learns the ins and outs of her new profession, Stella discovers a purpose and direction that honor her past and bring hope for her future.

James Geddes, a war hero and gifted artist, has struggled to make his mark in a world that disdains his Indian ancestry. At the Blue Lion, though, he is made to feel welcome and worthy. Yet even as his friendship with Edie deepens, he begins to suspect that something is badly amiss at his new home.

When anonymous threats focused on Coronation Day, the Blue Lion, and even the queen herself disrupt their mood of happy optimism, Edie and her friends must race to uncover the truth, save their home, and expose those who seek to erase the joy and promise of Coronation Year.

Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2023 Jennifer Robson (P)2023 HarperCollins Publishers

Enjoyable story

I think this novel and this audiobook version are top notch. The story got me involved in each character's life, and the narrators brought them to life!

I’ve been waiting for this.

Read it the minute it came out and not disappointed!! Totally not what I was expecting but very pleased. Was some what bittersweet with the passing of the Queen so recently. Highly recommend reading!

Improbable Story

I really enjoyed The Gown, and I hoped for something similar with Coronation Year. Spoiler Alert! It’s like the writer just gave up. Characters that had been relatively well developed suddenly launch into action against an improbable foe doing improbable things. I got 90% of the way through it and no longer cared if they all blew up. And what about the Queen? Her face is on the cover! Of course you can’t judge a book by the cover, but between the cover and the title, I’d hoped to get some kind of storyline including her? Perhaps it’s in the last ten percent? The first thing the sociopath wants to do after murdering everyone is redecorate?!

light story with touching themes

I enjoyed this story about a small hotel in 1953 London. Even though it was a light easy read it still had depth in the themes. I thought the narrator who voiced the Stella chapters was miscast. Her Stella voice was fine but every other voice needed work.

Loved the historical background…

but not so much the sappy romance and very implausible final third of the story. Narration by Karen Cass was perfect, but the other two narrators were only ok. Four ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️is a generous rating.

What a year!

Like The Gown, drawn into characters lives and the mystery as well as the special day. Well done by audio cast.

Very enjoyable!

This story had excellent character development and some interesting, yet unexpected, twists and turns. I liked it a lot!

Great story

A fantastic read. I loved incorporating some mystery into the story. I didn't give the author enough credit to accomplish all she did! Happily surprised..

Excellent historical fiction

The stories of the people who were in the area and affected by the Coronation, made the event more real. Queen Elizabeth was the monarch of Great Britain for much of my life; she had many challenges, publicly and personally. She was respected by many worldwide! It was fun to relive, vicariously, that period of history!

Outstanding!

What an excellent book! The characters were interesting and each had a story to tell. A different twist on an historical event!