Just finished reading . . .

Palace Circle by Rebecca Dean (audio book)

6 out of 10

Well, I've just had a couple of long solitary car journeys in which I've been able to finish the 14 CDs which comprise this book. I picked it up from the library (I'm up to D in the alphabet), having no idea how trashy / serious it might be. I think it falls between the two. It is about the period of time, in British and Egyptian society (higher echelons) between 1911 and 1944.
It is mainly about relationships, affairs, generations, changing morals, the aristocracy, and how to behave in Royal Circles. All good fun, but 2 interesting overlaps with other parts of life arose.
1) the book covered the period when Edward VIIIth abdicated because of his love for Wallis Simpson - and we are all in a tizz because the film 'The King's Speech' was soooo good. The protagonist of my book was an American woman who had married into the English aristocracy, and she is a pal of Wallis. So I got two perspectives on the events of that time.
2) The protagonist and her high-ranking husband go and live in Cairo, to be part of British influence there, and continue to live there until the book ends in about 1944. We see the tensions between the Egyptian wish to get the British presence out of their own country, and the British and American desire to stay influential in Egypt because of the Suez Canal, and also, Egypt's position in the Middle-East. We also see the moves to overthrow the monarchy. I was listening to all this while, in parallel, the current events were happening in Egypt in Tahrir Square, leading to the overthrow of President Mubarak.

So, I'm glad that I read this book, because it helped me to understand Egypt's past a little.

But, it did go on for a long time (the book), and seemed to change its genre from romance, to historical to thriller. So, 6 out of 10 is what it gets.