I was delighted to see in today’s Daily Mail that Ysenda Maxtone Graham (whose excellent British Summer Time Begins is one of the best books of the year, and a deserved bestseller) has included The Crown in Crisis in her round-up of the best royal books. She calls it ‘a compelling countdown to the abdication’, and that ‘a cast of fascinating minor characters walk across the set of this fast-paced story’. Read the full piece here.

I was delighted that Crown in Crisis was well reviewed in the Critic magazine recently (‘judiciously weighed and ceaselessly entertaining’), and very much enjoyed a couple of appearances at virtual literary festivals, as well as an in-person one at the excellent Appledore festival in Devon in September.

However, to celebrate America having elected a President who is himself a history graduate, I’m now gearing up for the US publication of the book on January 21, 2021 – the day after the inauguration ceremony. Disappointingly it doesn’t look as if I’m going to be out in the country in person for publication, but my excellent press and marketing team are beginning to arrange some virtual events and I look forward to publicising them here nearer the time.

And the first reviews have come in from the trade press, which I’m delighted with, not least because Kirkus – the Bible of the industry – has given it a starred review and called it ‘an entertaining, multilayered study of the abdication crisis of 1936 and the many traitorous and sycophantic characters surrounding King Edward VIII…Larman captures the era’s delicious wit, spite, and malice.’ And Publisher’s Weekly were similarly kind, saying ‘even dedicated royal watchers will learn something new from this comprehensive account of one of the biggest scandals in the history of the British monarchy.’

I was also thrilled to see that the book appeared in The Chap magazine (which, full disclosure, I am the literary editor for, but I had no hand in Gustav Temple’s erudite and perceptive review). It described the book as ‘A suspense thriller about the abdication, complete with end-of-chapter cliff-hangers that leave you on the edge of your chaise longue…fresh and engaging…a thrilling, eloquent and witty tale.’ I am delighted.