I read this book as an ARC released to me by Netgalley in return for an honest review - and I'm not certain why it has taken me so long to actually write that review, because I certainly remember my experience of reading this novel with fondness and an emotional lump in my throat.

The story is an imagining of what might have been the truth about the life of 'Eddy', who is actually Prince Albert Victor, the grandson of Queen Victoria. In reality there were rumours that Eddy was homosexual and in 'The Prince of Mirrors' Alan Robert Clark writes as though this were a proven historical truth, treating us to a sensitively written account of forbidden love, which is quite heart-breaking to read.

While we will probably never know for sure if this is in any way close to the truth, it hardly matters as the social and legal ramifications of such 'deviance' during that time is a matter of record and many people will have lived with that, even if Eddy didn't. That is the real tragedy of a fictionalised story like this.

I remember clearly that I found this novel enthralling at the time of reading. I also remember being emotionally involved and rather tearful, which for me is a sign of a well crafted tale! So to me, this unsung gem definitely deserves to be recommended to anyone who enjoys historical, and/or LGBTQ+ themed reading. I'll be putting this novel on my 'to re-read' pile and looking to see if there are any more by this author,

This was an interesting take on Prince Albert Victor who is usually overlooked by history. In this story, the relationship between Prince Albert and his tutor is examined.

I loved to read such a display of diversity in historical fiction. While I sometimes felt lost and the plot moving a bit too slow, there were still parts of it that I enjoyed immensely

*Thank you to Netgalley and publisher for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review..*

The Prince of Mirrors is a heartbreaking tale of love and mental illness set in a historical setting.

From the blurb I expected to adore this book but sadly I didn’t. I think my issues come mainly with my Bordem throughout. I slogged through 60% before I had to skim read until the end.

I wanted to adore the characters and while my heart broke for Jem, I hated Eddie. Which also soured my enjoyment.

Overall- This book had so much potential but it just didn’t meet it.

This is beautiful piece of historical fiction which blends facts with imagination and looks at Prince Albert, the German Prince and love of Queen Victoria's life. It explores duty and demands of a royal life and what happens when one learns to let go a little.

I was a little disappointed with this one, I expected amazing things from the synopsis but ended up finding the book just boring, I felt like it had potential, and maybe it just wasn't for me, but I found it very confusing.

Prince Albert Victor, known as Eddy, is next in line to the throne after his father, Bertie. But his grandmother is Queen Victoria and she’s not going anywhere yet. His father considers Eddy an unsuitable candidate for future glory and Eddy himself is not all that keen. Sent away to sea, tutored rigorously, shoehorned into Cambridge, Eddy tries his best. Not that his best is ever good enough. His younger brother, Georgie, though no intellectual, has far more go about – him which is just as well since Albert Edward is the king that never was.

Though his life is short it is filled with rumours and speculation. Did he attend the house in Cleveland Street where the girls are all Mary-Anns? Does he enjoy rough trade? Is he in fact Jack the Ripper? The Ripper nonsense does not feature largely in this book – this novel is a largely benevolent portrait of a young, dreamy and inadequate prince.

Eddy drifts through his life incapable of the concentration required for serious study and not sufficiently interested to apply himself. He is an outsider – required to pretend to be a normal student, which he isn’t, and expected to act like an heir to the throne, which is beyond him. When Jem Stephen is hired as his personal tutor though, Eddy’s life perks up. Jem is the ace face. Handsome, clever, witty, sporty, big, blue eyed and poetic, he is all things to all men. Eddy is smitten. All he wants is Jem’s love, which Jem is willing to give – as long as things don’t get physical. Jem is perfectly happy to get physical with other young men, just not the prince.

Years go by. Jem suffers an accident which affects his brain. Eddy is required to choose a wife. Neither of these events will have happy consequences. Ultimately, Jem is confined to an asylum and Eddy contracts influenza. This is not a spoiler as the endings to their stories are already in the public domain. The way those endings are reached and the twists and turns along the way are the meat of this novel. Eddy is a sympathetic character – so privileged, yet having no real life of his own and no one in his own sphere who loves him for who he is. His father is either angry, despairing or distant, and even his mother would be disgusted by his true character if she knew it. Only Jem Stephen, a man now out of his reach, accepts the real Eddy.

Written in the present tense, this book is easy to read, both funny and sad, and fascinating from an historical perspective. It is also a sensitive account of a young man who is incapable of conforming to the outwardly expressed mores of his circle and age. Of course, it is heavily fictionalised and we can never know the innermost truths of the matter, but this is certainly an enjoyable account of what might have gone on behind the scenes at Sandringham.

I have mixed feelings about this book. It gives an insight into the Victorian world of emphasis on doing one's duty and on the other hand the utter depravity of some of the upper/ ruling class. Too much sodomy for my liking. A tear jerker of an ending though.

An engaging and intriguing fictional look into a historical figure. It may not be everyone's cup of tea, but I'm sure there are plenty of historical fictions fans that would enjoy reading this.

This is a brilliantly written historical extrapolation of the rather mysterious and yet notorious Prince Albert Victor, grandson of Queen Victoria, second in line to the throne. Clark dives deeply into the episodes that appear to define the prince’s life—the poor student, the dullard, the naval cadet, the good brother, the voluptuary. The prince was also named in the Cleveland Street Scandal, a male brothel, and suspected of being Jack the Ripper (“The Final Solution” by Stephen Knight).

At the heart of the novel is his relationship with his tutor and lifelong friend James Kenneth Stephen. Their relationship shapes and helps to define both young men, “Jem” and “Eddy.” Clark deftly pulls together the disparate elements that are only a glimmer of who the real Albert Victor might have been, giving his story emotional depth and deeper context.

I found the novel emotionally satisfying, and it gave me a better picture of an era I don’t know much about. Beautiful cover, gorgeous writing.

“The young man’s suit is a poem to tailoring; his proud valet can recite every pocket, pleat and tuck of it…”

thank you NetGalley and Fairlight Books! Apologies for the lateness of this review...

Great story. Touching and fascinating. The writing really makes the story come alive. Good one!!!

Great story. Touching and fascinating. The writing really makes the story come alive. Good one!!!

Alan Robert Clark’s “The Prince of Mirrors” immediately catches the reader’s attention with his opening prose. Intrigue, emotion, angst – all wove completely through the prologue.

The following pages proved less interesting. While the chapters served to provide some rather disturbing background on the life of Eddy, it seemed the largest point was to depict great dysfunction within the royal family – and many of its members. The left a disquiet in this reviewer which was not pleasant in a book engaged for distraction. Further the constant shift between past and present tense in the prose made for uneven flow of the text.

The story details a private relationship between heir apparent Prince Albert Victor and his tutor Jem, Jem’s decent into mental illness and its impact on their relationship. Mostly it relates the terrible dysfunction of Queen Victoria’s immediate issue particularly through the turbulence between future King Edward VII and “Eddy”, Prince Albert Victor and how Eddy navigates the troubled waters that are his life.

A hearty recommendation is not forthcoming. The Prince of Mirrors, historically accurate to large degree, is not an enjoyable missive.

A thoroughly engaging read concerning Prince Eddy and his relationship with his Cambridge tutor, Jem Stephen. It explores the constraints of the monarchy with the morals of the day. A clever blend of fact and fiction, this had me captivated from the opening page. Recommended for lovers of historical fiction.

“You’ll be alright now?”

“I’ll be alright.”

My heart and soul has been crushed. What have you done to me, dear Author?

Such gift with words, a few lines, and a few scenes are enough to make your heart bleed. Part fiction and part fact, Prince of Mirrors paints an intimate portrait of the Prince life and all he went through, everyone he met and how it changed his life and perspective. All the relationships he had and their impact. A tale of shouldering heavy expectations, finding self-identity and living under the crushing rules of society.

I absolutely love that the author decided to chronicle the Prince’s life and not specifically write about the scandals and speculations. He made the Prince not THE prince but a human, a man, a soul living a difficult life. He told a story you cannot forget once you close the book, you can’t let it go and as if you come across the mention of Prince Albert ever again, you will remember this human and you will empathize and you will feel like you have been there all that time. I have never before much heard about Prince Albert and now he’s made into a man I can’t forget. Kudos to Mr. Clark for doing a marvelous job of depicting mental illness and LBGTQ+ representation.

All the characters had so much life in them from his brother, father, Jem, May, Helene, his mother, Dalton etc. Every time they interacted, you don’t even feel like this can hit but it does – it hits you hard. It will make you smile. It will you cry too. Oh, how it will make you cry.

Especially the relationship shared between the Golden boy, Jem Stephen and his student the Prince, Eddy. They have such a great love, they don’t even kiss yet what they share is so much more meaningful. This relationship breaks your heart to pieces and then unexpectedly starts to glue them only to tear it to pieces again. Oh, how they have made me cry. Their relationship was one of the best parts of the book.

I wish more people had read it and given it a chance. Such a good book and so beautifully written. I’ll never be able to capture in words the kind of journey this book takes you on.

P.S Many thanks to Net Galley and the Publisher to allow me access to the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I’m not sure how to review the book. I read the first page and the writing style was... well I am not sure but for some reason it put me off a little. I will try again at some point but at the moment it has been shelved.

There is a curious figure in the British monarchs' family tree: grandson of Queen Victoria and uncle to King George VI (whom you might know from "The Kings Speech"), himself father to Queen Elizabeth II: Prince Albert Victor, called "Eddy" - raised as the heir, but dead before he would ever sit on the throne. There are some major controversies surrounding his figure, the wildest of which is the idea that he could have been Jack the Ripper. This book, however, takes a look at a less scandalous (for today's minds) and more believable side of him - his (presumed) homosexuality.

The novel is sold as a romance story, but that fell short for me. His mentor and love interest is James "Jem" Kenneth Stephen, another real historical figure (who, by the way, was Virginia Woolf's cousin). But I will get to the two of them in a bit. At first, the good points of the novel: I liked the fact that Eddy was not heroic or particularly smart, and did not even want to become king. That was unexpected. I also liked the talk about the politics and complications of dating the heir to the throne of the British Empire. And Jem's mental health was also an important part of the novel.

But that is where my problems with it started: nothing is ever spelled out. I guessed anxiety, and it took until the afterword for the author to make explicit that he is actually bipolar. Same with many other things: it is not even made clear in the beginning why Eddy is so important. One could just as easily believe he is to inherit a large family business or maybe a small dukedom. It takes forever for the book to outwardly explain that he is to become THE king. So many things are just implied, and I don't even want to know how much I missed because of that. Which brings me to the love story. Yes, they write letters to each other which are pretty saucy considering the time, and Eddy being a prince, and homosexuality being illegal and all that. But other than that? Both sleep with other men, so that is not a problem. And the one sex scene between them is first of all really vague and does not go into detail, and secondly, it could just be a fever dream (or otherwise be real, but denied the entire time). In any case: I did not buy the romance between them, which was pretty disappointing for a book sold as a romance. I expected something a little different. But with that out of the way, it is still a great book!

You can give me any historical novel about an obscure member of any royal family and I will immediately want to read it, which is how I got my hands on this one. There is nothing more intriguing than the lives of those who disappear from history well before their time is up - especially those who were supposed to go onto great things, such as we see here. It's no surprise that Eddy dies at the end of it - it's historical fact, after all. Frankly, I think you would be doing yourself a bit of a disservice if you didn't know that before hand. If you didn't, this book ends rather abruptly and you'll be left offended and unfulfilled.

However, I did know that, so it gave me a bit of an insight and I could see foreshadowing where those who didn't would not. Before reading this I took a quick peek at Prince Albert Victor's Wikipedia page, which was largely very helpful. Because, if you hadn't noticed, there is no mention of the prince being anything other than heterosexual in the book summary. Thus, you would likely be a very shocked reader when all of a sudden he's in a quite intimate position with another man - and there are many of those scenes, that pop up often with very little warning at all. 

The first thing I noticed was that this book is split into two different perspectives - that of Prince Albert Victor, known as Eddy, and that of Jem Stephen, his tutor. Because it takes place over several years and across many different locations in the UK, you get a nice little timestamp to go with each new chapter. However, I wish that there was also a little subtitle that stated who's chapter we were about to read - sometimes it took nearly half a page before I realised I was imagining the wrong character. Especially since some of the secondary characters intermingled between the two.

The writing is okay. Nothing special when it comes to historical novels, however. The dialogue seemed a bit too modern compared to the prose. It did make the life of a royal sound terribly dull - which I imagine at some points it is, but I have nearly always found royal life interesting, so if I say it sounded boring...well, it probably is. The characters themselves were okay. Jem seemed a bit full of himself at first which made it hard to like him. As for Eddy, I found that it was also difficult to get to know him as a person as the character exploration is really only skin deep. There isn't much plot line though, to be quite honest. Just an awful lot of intimate sex scenes which made me wonder if the author had done any research on what makes a good sex scene at all. Some of it was truly cringeworthy. It was interesting to see the relationship between the two characters though. There is never any confirmation that they have an attraction to each other, and all of a sudden Eddy is doing his best to make Jem jealous of the other men that float through his life. An interesting thing to note though is that even though Jem is Eddy's tutor, there isn't really any mention of their relationship outside of their attraction to each other. It's almost as if instead of showing the progression of their relationship, from all angles (not just the sexual fantasy ones), we only get to see the parts where they are lusting after one another. 

Which comes to my next observation. This isn't really a historical novel, or at least a historical novel that you would expect it to be. The plot line of the story isn't about Eddy and his relationship with his father, the queen, the kingdom, or his path to the throne. It could really be any old decade, or any old century. It is much more about the romance of the intimate relationship between these two men rather than their place in history. It's almost like it's coincidental that Eddy is the heir presumptive of the throne. It's because of this that I'm doing my best not to critique it quite so much as a historical story, because ultimately it is not. Also, it is way too smutty to even focus on any other aspect. 

I do feel for both of these characters though. Not only because they are both non-straight men in a world that isn't even close to accepting it, but also because they can't have a happy ending - and they know it. They don't even attempt to want it because they know it isn't even in the realm of possibility. Jem is well aware that his position and relationship to Eddy makes anything more than friendship impossible. Eddy knows that he is expected to ascend the throne one day, which means that he must marry and produce an heir, and soon, to avoid suspicion. They don't even try to be together, which is heartbreaking on its own. Eddy spends his time doing his very best to find a girl that he doesn't hate. He must settle for what he does not want, but willingly gives in anyway, because it's his duty to the crown. However, when it comes to May - the future Queen Mary - I do think that eventually, he would have come around to loving her. It's a bit clear early on that Eddy isn't so much homosexual as he is bisexual - or even pansexual, I would argue. Still, his heart lies with Jem and he can't have him. Jem's story is almost sadder - he gets sent to an asylum and it doesn't appear that he will live a happy life at all. In this particular book, he is portrayed as the sad gay man who must simply be satisfied with what he has, and will never have what will truly make him happy. He actually ends up dying within three weeks of Eddy's death because of his broken heart. I do think they were meant for each other, but society simply couldn't let them be.

I did start this book a little disappointed because it wasn't what I hoped it would be. But once I did start to clue in, my ideas changed about how I expected it to portray the story. In some parts, it is clear the author isn't exactly aiming for accuracy, but illustration in the actions of his characters. If you are looking for a great historical novel, I would suggest looking elsewhere. But if you are looking for a forbidden love that can never come to fruition, and the story of two men who are forced to go down separate paths of life, then I would suggest this. Because it doesn't matter what century this story lives in - at the end of the day, it's not about the line of accession or their untimely deaths - it's about two parallel lines that fate has forced apart.

This book is based on  the life of Prince Albert Victor (Eddy), the eldest son of King Edward VII and grandson of Queen Victoria. This fictional account presumes the rumours about his homosexuality were true. It sure makes for an interesting version of his life, whether there is some truth in it or not.

It took me a long while to get into this novel. For the first half the book I struggled to connect with Eddy or any of the other characters, but I found more of a connection with Eddy especially in the second half of the book. It is hard to pinpoint why, but maybe Eddy became more real to me as the events of his life unfolded. However, I really did not like the way Jem Stephen was written that much. I just did not really believe his story arc and I just did not find him that interesting. 

Overall, this novel was well written and engaging enough and I would happily read more from this author.

I was lucky enough to receive an eARC of this book from the publishers, via NetGalley, but all opinions, as always, remain my own.



**This is a SPOILER FREE review**



The Prince of Mirrors is an historical fiction novel about Prince Albert Victor, or Eddy as he is more commonly known, the eldest grandson on Queen Victoria, and his relationship with his Cambridge tutor, a boy of a similar age called Jem Stephens.

I knew absolutely nothing of Prince Eddy, so Clark had a blank canvas on which he could paint his portrayal of this historical figure. I started to read quite a bit of historical fiction a while back, but I drifted into other genre’s and it’s been a good while since I’ve read any, which made this a real breath of fresh air, however, it’s not a perfect book.

Historical fiction, especially that which deals with real figures, I imagine, is a challenging thing to write. There’s a balance to be maintained between giving the reader a good story, and staying faithful to historical fact. One of the ways in which Clark seems to navigate this is to date each chapter, which is never a good thing for me, as a reader, because I am terrible at keeping track of the years. It also, in my opinion, meant that the story leant more toward an account of a life, that a narrative, and the narrative voice a little dry.

38194062Still, there are a small number of scenes that really stuck out to me.

There is a a scene while the two are at Cambridge together, which we experience with them, and then is reaccounted “years” later. The scene itself was sweet enough, showing, rather than telling us about the relationship between the two characters. However I did get the feeling that, through the repetition, the author wanted me to feel more than I actually did. It was as though he was saying, “look, look here, remember this scene, remember how touching and important it was.” While this clearly had a certain emphasis, the whole book felt as though Clark wanted us to feel a certain way, feel a sort of sympathy, which, of course, you empathise with these characters, but it isn’t get me to a point where I felt strong emotion.

The ending itself, which if you know your history you’ll know how the story must end (still, no spoilers if you are as ignorant as I was), still lacked the kind of feeling that would have knocked me for six. The final few paragraphs are delivered with a sort of detachment that would serve you well if you were feeling the sort of emotion that Clark expected, or at least wanted you to feel, but ended up coming off as ruched, as though he had written a long essay and had to tack on a conclusion. The potential was there but all in all the writing style was just far too clinical for me.

Another thing which felt a little messy was the narrative focus. It was as though Clark couldn’t decide wether to focus on Eddy or Jem, and so ended up with neither. While it’s true the vast majority was Eddy, but it would switch almost without rhyme or reason to his tutor. This could have been easily resolved with one last edit, and a more linear narrative, rather than having Jem’s childhood dumped on the reader chapters from the end. if we had seen these two men grow up side by side, it would have been a lot better to draw comparisons between the two, as it feels Clark is asking us to.

As you can see, I have a lot to say in regards to the negative aspects of this book, but I did really enjoy it, I would;t have given it four stars if I hadn’t. I just wanted more, I wanted Clark to make me feel more, make me want things for Jem and Eddy, and, unfortunately I just couldn’t. However you could tell that the author really cared for them, and was careful with them. There was a lot of character development, which, as a character driven book, worked very well. Unfortunately I just didn’t connect with Eddy and Jem on a personal level.

The best aspect of this book was the pacing, because, while there is a lack of physical action in the way you might expect, it always feels as though the plot is moving forward. It’s obviously that the focus is on Eddy and Jem as characters, and their development both together, and as individuals, is what kept me wanting to read more. I am, and have always been a fan of character driven novels, and that is exactly what this is; an excellent character study over a period of time.

🌟🌟🌟🌟

It’s clear that while the writing style was not for me, and another edit may have been beneficial, I enjoyed The Prince of Mirrors, and the opportunity to see LGBTQ+ rep in a sub-genre of fiction. However I believe this is a debut author, in which case I want to read more from him, I’m looking forward to what he brings in the future, and in the meantime I might just give this another read.

This ended up being very different from what I'd expected. From the blurb and the cover, I'd been expecting a character-driven romp through Victorian England. What I got was more of a series of vignettes. The timeline jumps quickly from one to the next and it was hard for be to get attached to the characters or the setting. And the relationship between Jem and the Prince, which was supposed to be at the heart of the story, felt flat and undeveloped.

It does however explore themes of LGBTQ and mental health--and it's always wonderful to see that in historical fiction. All in all, however, this was a bit of a disappointment.