The Stolen Queen by Fiona Davis is an enthralling Historical Fiction novel that explores women’s resilience as two women Charlotte and Annie, both from different generations and backgrounds, work together for the common goal of unearthing the truth about an antiquity stolen from The Met Museum during their annual Met Gala.
Synopsis
Charlotte is an accomplished assistant curator at the Met Museum and is indispensable to the head curator Frederick in helping organize the exhibitions and ensuring everything runs smoothly behind the scenes. Despite her tragic past as an intern archeologist in Egypt during the 30s, she’s successfully moved forward in her life. Until she comes face to face with her pace as The Met exhibits an antiquity known as the broad collar which to her knowledge is a stolen piece believed lost. This triggers her to begin questioning her past and whether things are all they seemed.
Annie is a young woman with a flair for high fashion. She lives with her mother and helps care for her financially at the cost of pursuing her dreams. When a chance encounter leads her to become the assistant to Vogue fashion editor Diane Vreeberg she leaps at the oppurtunity to assist her in preparing for The Met Gala.
These two ladies’ stories intersect on the fateful night of The Met Gala when due to disastrous events the popular Egyptian antiquity The Cerulean Queen is stolen with Annie taking the blame. Loaded with questions about the theft and the broad collar and a desperate Annie eager to clear her name Charlotte resolves to uncover the truth and head to the one place she swore to never return Egypt.
What awaits these women is an adventure and shocking revelations that will alter Charlotte’s future.
Content: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
This story was crafted with such intention and the themes surrounding women’s resilience throughout history especially in male-dominated spaces were explored well. You get a true feel for the sexism that was common during that time and how it impacted female archeologists.
Even following Charlotte’s time out of the field and working for The Met we still see sexism at play as she’s not in a lead position or role at the museum despite her knowledge, experience, and talent.
Another key theme in this story that was fascinating was the continual discussion regarding cultural patrimony and repatriation. We see Charlotte’s ambivalence on this topic as she teeters back and forth between believing local museums within the land of the antiquities’ origin should have more of a say and ownership of these items to preserve and celebrate their history in the way they best see fit. Yet, she also feels that it would be a loss if they’re hidden away, and not properly cared for, thereby not allowing others to experience this history for themselves.
While there was no true solution or stance taken regarding this ethical issue in the archeological community it was a very thought-provoking and enlightening topic to unpack.
Writing Style ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Fiona Davis’s writing style was easy to dive into. Some historical fictions discuss themes about feminism and women’s equality that quickly become preachy and too on the nose to create an enjoyable and reflective reading experience. I found the opposite to be true of this story. Davis was intentional with how she structured and built her story thoughtfully developing her characters, and interlacing these themes throughout the story in such a way that it read as dynamic and multi-layered. This allows you to see the various angles and nuances concerning the issues she was highlighting to be a common difficulty for women during these times and in this industry.
Her prose was straightforward yet eloquent creating an enjoyable reading experience in which the reader could clearly understand the ins and outs of archeology, art, history, and antiquities.
Readability 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
This story is compelling making it a propulsive read. While it does start slow in the beginning it doesn’t take long for it to pick up steam and take off. It’s full of mystery, and intrigue, and even has some adventurous elements interspersed within the storyline. I love that I was left guessing til the very end and enjoyed how everything came together.
Plot Development ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
The plot felt well structured with a steady pace. It took care to build up to pivotal moments to create the most emotional impact and impart an air of suspense to keep the reader on the edge of their seat. I appreciated how the main plot point didn’t get lost in the fray. Davis elegantly combined these two differing plot points satisfyingly. And, the conclusion was well-thought-out and developed. Perfect for the story and the characters involved.
Characters ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Charlotte was my favorite character. She was a strong female lead who wasn’t afraid to ruffle feathers to get to the truth. Also, her storyline was the most intriguing to me. I was sincerely rooting for this woman to have her moment to shine as she’d gone through so much loss and faced so many obstacles.
However, I have mixed feelings about Annie. While I empathized with her greatly, especially concerning the unhealthy relationship she had with her mother. I felt she was at times a bit much. I get that not having a good relationship with your mother can lead to unhealthy relationship dynamics with other women and feel positive this is much of Annie’s issue. I just kept experiencing second-hand embarrassment for her. I will admit that she was indispensable to Charlotte when they were in Egypt and her people-pleasing tendencies paid off on many occasions.
Would I Recommend It?
I highly recommend The Stolen Queen by Fiona Davis to readers who don’t mind stories with a slow start and enjoy Historical Fiction novels that feature a strong female lead, feminist themes, Egyptian history, love art, artifacts, and antiquities, and want a behind-the-scenes look at what curators at The Met Museum do apart from the famous Met Gala.
