Book Review: The Queen's Spade by Sarah Raughley
A fascinating blend of history and revenge fantasy.
Once a princess of the Egbado Clan (in modern day Nigeria), Sally is essentially kidnapped to be an example of the “humanitarian” efforts of the British in this historical thriller that is loosely based on the real Sarah “Sally” Bonetta Forbes. Raised as Queen Victoria’s goddaughter with limited freedom and self-determination, Sally vows her revenge on every person who played a role in her humiliation and captivity in England. Including the Queen herself. Playing this game though is dangerous and with Queen Victoria suspicious, Sally needs to exact her plans before time runs out and she’s forced to marry.
The Queen’s Spade is a fascinating blend of history and revenge fantasy. While most of the people in the novel are real, the plot is not. The real: Sally was an orphan whose family was killed by the Dahomey army and who was rescued by the British from being enslaved in the Atlantic slave trade. She was taken to England where she was renamed and became a ward of Queen Victoria. She was sent to a school in Sierra Leone before going back to England, then eventually marrying Captain Davies, who is mentioned in the book. Beyond that the details are created by Raughley.
It is not difficult to imagine that life was not pleasant for Sally in England, faced with racism and being presented as an example of how the British could “civilize” Africans. The line between truth and fiction with the characters is sometimes hard to find (was Queen Victoria really that cruel? How was her interaction with Sally?) but Sally herself is given power in making decisions for herself.
Raughley not only examines the racism of the Victorian era but the classism, making for a powerful if sometimes uneven novel.
Thank you Harper Collins Children’s Books for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
Book Information
Title: The Queen’s Spade
Author: Sarah Raughley
Publisher: HarperCollins Children's Books
Publish date: January 14, 2025
Genre(s): historical fiction
Character description: main character is Black; minor characters have some diversity
Content warnings: death, mentions of sex/sexual assault, discussions of racism
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