# Her Royal Spyness

By Rhys Bowen · Royal Spyness, book 1

Profile: https://hahafiction.com/books/her-royal-spyness-0cfb03a1/

Lady Georgiana has a place in the royal succession and almost no money. She leaves Scotland to make a living in 1930s London, where work proves harder to find than family obligations. A Frenchman's body in her bathtub gives her another urgent problem: clearing her family of murder.

## What makes it funny?

Georgie's education has prepared her to curtsy and marry well. It hasn't prepared her to survive a cosmetics-counter job, which lasts five hours, or to explain why a royal relation is cleaning houses for money. Publishers Weekly highlights these mishaps and the eccentric relatives who complicate her new independence.

### The comedy at work

Bowen makes social rank a practical nuisance. Georgie has to earn her own living while protecting a name that makes ordinary employment awkward, so she keeps her housekeeping discreet even as the Queen gives her spying work.

### Try this if…

Historical cozy readers who enjoy social embarrassment alongside amateur detection have plenty to work with here. Readers in humorous-mystery discussions recommend the Royal Spyness series for its female sleuth; the first book establishes Georgie's attempt to live on her own terms.

### Good to know

The murder case shares space with a royal spying assignment and Georgie's attraction to an unsuitable minor royal. The comic struggles with money and family are part of the appeal alongside the investigation.

## What to expect

- Genre: Historical · Mystery
- On the shelf: Amateur sleuth · Cozy mystery · Historical mystery
- Kind of humor: Satire · Situational comedy
- Format: Novel
- Published: 2007

## Sources & further reading

- Book information: [Bibliographic listing](https://www.fantasticfiction.com/b/rhys-bowen/her-royal-spyness.htm)
- Author commentary: [Author series guide](https://rhysbowen.com/the-royal-spyness-series)
- Review: [Publishers Weekly review](https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-425-21567-8)
- Publisher: [Publisher](https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/299919/her-royal-spyness-by-rhys-bowen)
- Reader discussion: [Reader discussion](https://facebook.com/groups/TwoGirlsMustReads/permalink/1890740091725140)