Before Princess Margaret, before Duchess Meghan, there was Princess Louise: royal rebel. As the fourth daughter of the perpetually in-mourning Queen Victoria, Princess Louise's life is more a gilded prison than a fairy tale. Expected to sit quietly next to her mother with down-cast eyes, Louise vows to escape the stultifying royal court. Blessed with beauty, artistic talent, and a common touch, she creates a life outside the walled-in existence of the palace grounds by attending the National Art Training School-where she shockingly learns to sculpt nude models while falling passionately in love with famed sculptor Joseph Edgar Boehm. But even as Louise cultivates a life outside the palace, she is constantly reminded that even royal rebels must heed the call of duty-and for a princess that means marriage. Refusing to leave England, she agrees to a match with the Duke of Argyll, and although her heart belongs to another, she is determined to act out her public role perfectly, even if her private life teeters on the brink of scandal. But when a near fatal accident forces Louise back under her mother's iron rule, she realizes she must choose: give in to the grief of lost love or find the strength to fight for her unconventional life.

Named One of the Best Books of the Week by the New York Post! In a historical debut evoking the style of The Crown, the daughter of an impoverished noble is swept into the fame and notoriety of the royal family and Princess Margaret's fast-living friends when she is appointed as Margaret's second Lady-in-Waiting. Diana, Catherine, Meghan...glamorous Princess Margaret outdid them all. Springing into post-World War II society, and quite naughty and haughty, she lived in a whirlwind of fame and notoriety. Georgie Blalock captures the fascinating, fast-living princess and her "set" as seen through the eyes of one of her ladies-in-waiting. In dreary, post-war Britain, Princess Margaret captivates everyone with her cutting edge fashion sense and biting quips. The royal socialite, cigarette holder in one hand, cocktail in the other, sparkles in the company of her glittering entourage of wealthy young aristocrats known as the Margaret Set, but her outrageous lifestyle conflicts with her place as Queen Elizabeth's younger sister. Can she be a dutiful princess while still dazzling the world on her own terms? Post-war Britain isn't glamorous for The Honorable Vera Strathmore. While writing scandalous novels, she dreams of living and working in New York, and regaining the happiness she enjoyed before her fiance was killed in the war. A chance meeting with the Princess changes her life forever. Vera amuses the princess, and what-or who-Margaret wants, Margaret gets. Soon, Vera gains Margaret's confidence and the privileged position of second lady-in-waiting to the Princess. Thrust into the center of Margaret's social and royal life, Vera watches the princess's love affair with dashing Captain Peter Townsend unfurl. But while Margaret, as a member of the Royal Family, is not free to act on her desires, Vera soon wants the freedom to pursue her own dreams. As time and Princess Margaret's scandalous behavior progress, both women will be forced to choose between status, duty, and love...

Fans of The Kennedy Debutante and Next Year in Havana will love Georgie Blalock's new novel of a world on the cusp of change...set on the eve of World War II in the glittering world of English society and one of the last debutante seasons. They danced the night away, knowing their world was about to change forever. They were the debutantes of 1939, laughing on the outside, but knowing tragedy- and a war-was just around the corner. When Valerie de Vere Cole, the niece of Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, makes her deep curtsey to the King and Queen of England, she knows she's part of a world about to end. The daughter of a debt-ridden father and a neglectful mother, Valerie sees firsthand that war is imminent. Nevertheless, Valerie reinvents herself as a carefree and glittering young society woman, befriending other debutantes from England's aristocracy as well as the vivacious Eunice Kennedy, daughter of the U.S. Ambassador. Despite her social success, the world's troubles and Valerie's fear of loss and loneliness prove impossible to ignore. How will she navigate her new life when everything in her past has taught her that happiness and stability are as fragile as peace in our time? For the moment she will forget her cares in too much champagne and waltzes. Because very soon, Valerie knows that she must find the inner strength to stand strong and carry on through the challenges of life and love and war.