Queens of London by Heather Webb is the story of Alice Diamond and her band of thieves in 1920’s London. Based on real folks, this is entertaining historical fiction with a cast of characters from a variety of backgrounds. Alice leads The Forty Elephants, a gang that actually existed going back to Victorian times. She is smart, hard, and ambitious, and when she comes up against Lilian, the first female cop at Scotland Yard, she has met her match. Throw in an Indian orphan who has run away from her mean uncle, and you have a great story. I loved it!
This is historical fiction at its most interesting. Alice Diamond is the leader of a group of women who steal for a living. The gang is known as The Forty Elephants, and both Diamond and her crew were real. They lived in the slums, but they stole from the wealthy areas of the city. Alice demands absolute loyalty from the women who work with her, and she is quick to unleash her wrath on anyone who crosses her.
She has come into the crosshairs of a female detective, based on the first female detective at Scotland Yard. Lilian Wyles has been given the lowest of assignments: watch for orphans on the streets, so they can be rounded up and sent to group homes, and stand guard at one of the city’s more famous department stores, Selfridges. Lilian is bored out of her mind, until two events happen during the same week that will change her destiny.
As she is out patrolling, she crosses paths with Hira, an 11-year-old who has run away from her stern uncle. When she learns that her Indian mother and soldier father have both died in distant India, she is devastated. Her uncle plans to send her off to a dismal boarding school in bleak northern England, and she quickly decides to run off to London. Life on the streets is harsh, and when Alice befriends her, Hira is glad for a roof over her head and food in her stomach, even if it means becoming part of the gang.
Lilian vows to rescue the little girl, even if she doesn’t want to be rescued. When Lilian learns that Alice is planning a major heist, she knows this is the case that can jump-start her career and prove that she is worthy of more difficult assignments.
This is a novel that is well-written, fast-paced, and rich with detail about life in 1925 London. We sympathize with the characters and the hard choices they have been forced to make: the Selfridges clerk who longs to be a dress designer, the gang-member who must choose between loyalty to her husband or her crew, and Alice, who foregoes love and stability for a life of crime. I enjoyed this book, and I give it four stars.
You can download the Kindle version of Queens of London or purchase the paperback on Amazon.
Simple Chicken Curry – Serve over rice
- For the base – 2-3 chicken breasts, cut into cubes onion, garlic, ginger
- Spices & seasoning – mild curry powder, ground coriander, cumin, paprika, cinnamon, salt and pepper
- For the sauce – tomato paste, stewed tomatoes, chicken stock, coconut milk
- Baby spinach – to add some colour in there; you can add other veggies, such as snap peas or green beans
- 1. Sear the chicken in a pan with a little oil.
- 2. Add ½ cup chopped onion and cook for 5 minutes to soften.
- 3. Add in 2 cloves garlic, ½ teaspoon ground ginger, 2 tablespoons curry powder, 1 tblsp. ground coriander, ½ teaspoon cumin, 1 teaspoon paprika, ½ teaspoon cinnamon, salt and pepper to taste. Stir and cook another minute
- 4. Add in 2 tblsp. tomato paste, small can chopped tomatoes, 1 cup each stock and coconut milk.
- 5. Simmer for 10 minutes – until the chicken is cooked through.
- 6. Remove from stove, stir in 2 cups spinach.
Did you like the book? The recipe? I’d love to know! Please leave a comment.
Thank you.
Pin this for later
Leave a Reply