If there’s one thing to be said about Mr. Kaggsy, it’s that he does know how to hunt me out obscure and entertaining books! 😀 I featured this particular volume in my birthday/Christmas round-up, and it’s a title and an author who are both new to me – “The Day they Kidnapped Queen Victoria” by H.K. Fleming.
The author himself seems completely obscure; the blurb in the book says he was born in the UK in 1901, emigrated to the USA and had experience in the American Government and newspaper world. However, a quick look online reveals absolutely nothing more, and the only evidence of any works by the man is the appearance of second-hand copies of this one plus one other title! This seems to suggest a less than illustrious writing career!! Nevertheless – onward and upward with the book itself.
First published in 1969, “The Day They Kidnapped Queen Victoria” travels back in time to the reign of the monarch in question; the widowed Victoria has been staying at her beloved Balmoral and is preparing to travel to Ayrshire to unveil yet another statue of her late husband, Prince Albert. Her errant son, Prince Edward (known to all and sundry as Bertie) is being dragged along rather unwillingly to take part; it’s quite clear that Victoria is less than happy about his wayward behaviour and dodgy contacts. However, as her train steams away, it’s discovered that the telegraph wires have been cut and that a plot is afoot. Enter a group of Fenian revolutionaries… They’ve soon hijacked and taken control of the train, with Victoria inside it; and things get worse when a truckload of explosive is installed alongside the queen’s carriage. Will the combined powers of Alfred Lord Tennyson, John Brown, Benjamin Disraeli, the eccentric cleric Charles Anderson and the might of the British forces be a match for the wily and fanatical revolutionaries? And where does a rather colourful character called ‘Skittles’ Walters fit in?
The concept of the book is intriguing, and it must be one of the earliest examples of the use of real historical characters in fiction; something which is quite common nowadays. And Fleming manages to create a very authentic atmosphere, with lots of humour and excitement; Victoria is portrayed as quite a tough character with hidden resources; and Skittles is great fun. The plot rattles along nicely with several moments of tension (although I suppose the modern reader is a little hampered by the knowledge that Victoria didn’t die in an exploding train, so some suspension of disbelief is necessary). The denouement is satisfying, if perhaps a little sudden and underplayed, but cleverly done by the various forces involved! Fleming writes well and the book was an enjoyable piece of escapism.

MediaJet (A Photograph of a Photographic Portrait,captured by me sometime in 2009), CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
However, I have to be honest and say I have a couple of reservations. First off, I know little about the Fenian movement, so can’t comment on how the revolutionaries are portrayed here. But bearing in mind how badly Ireland has been treated over the decades by England I might well find myself sympathising with the Fenians rather than the Victorians… (although I should say that I’m not a fan of violence.)
My other reservation is from a reader’s point of view. The book ends in quite a satisfactory manner; however, the author felt it necessary to put in a final paragraph which is totally unecessary and might well be considered to spoil the story completely! There are few reviews of this book online, but those I’ve seen have felt exactly the same – so I whilst I can recommend this as a fun and escapist read, I would say you might not want to read that last part! Kudos, however, to Mr. Kaggsy for finding me such an obscure and interesting book; but I do wish Fleming had had an editor to advise him about the ending!!!
Jan 22, 2021 @ 08:52:47
That jacket alone made it worth buying!
Jan 22, 2021 @ 10:05:14
I know!! Priceless and very much of the Penguin books of the time!!
Jan 22, 2021 @ 09:24:01
It’s great when someone buys you a book they think you might enjoy. I love books that are no longer in print -2nd hand book shops are a haven to me. I wish I”d saved all my books from my youth as they had super covers. I’ve never heard of this author but the novel sounds intriguing as an early example of historical fiction. It seems that Penguin thought the book worth publishing.
Jan 22, 2021 @ 09:59:26
It is – and Mr. Kaggsy does love to try and find something I haven’t come across before! I love second hand and obscure books – so many titles seem to have just disappeared into the ether, but as you say Penguin thought this was worth bringing out, and it’s a really entertaining romp!
Jan 22, 2021 @ 16:33:36
This does sound fun, all those characters together in one carriage! Shame about the end and odd – I wonder why it’s there?
Jan 23, 2021 @ 12:34:17
It *was* most entertaining, and the real characters were very well done! As for the end – I know why I think it was done like that but I can’t say so without revealing too much. But at the time the book was written I suspect this kind of fiction using real characters was rare which probably influenced the element I’m not happy about.
Jan 22, 2021 @ 17:26:28
I can see how this would be great fun, that title alone makes you want to explore it. I think those reservations sound fair though, and the use of so many historical figures who are well documented can also be problematic. Still, how lovely to be gifted such an unusual little book.
Jan 23, 2021 @ 12:33:02
It’s very entertaining and though I knew the queen wouldn’t explode the book still handled the tension well, especially as there were subsidiary characters who might not get off so easily. It was fun and a very clever gift!
Jan 22, 2021 @ 19:28:14
What larks, even if you did have a few reservations with it in the end. Well done to Mr Kaggsy for tracking down such an interesting curio for you. It’s certainly unique!
Jan 23, 2021 @ 12:32:00
It really was a wonderful romp – most enjoyable and a pleasant distractions. Yes, very much a one-off and a successful find by Mr. K!
Jan 22, 2021 @ 21:53:28
As booklovers, we do love to receive books, but it does take a particular skill to get the right one to land in our stacks and tickle us with the arrival!
Jan 23, 2021 @ 12:31:07
It does! I always love to receive books and usually distribute wishlists just to be safe. But Mr. Kaggsy is known to go off piste with his shopping and he usualy comes up with interesting results!
Jan 23, 2021 @ 01:11:50
Kudos to Mr. K and his knack for coming up with good bookish gifts – loads of interesting books and one lovely chair to read them in!
Jan 23, 2021 @ 12:29:09
He *does* manage to track down some interesting titles – and I’d never heard of this one before! 😀
Jan 23, 2021 @ 17:00:30
Beautiful review, Kaggsy! I love these obscure early twentieth century books 😁 Can find them only in secondhand bookstores and can’t find anything about the author on the internet 😁 So nice to know that this story is gripping and fast-paced. Made me remember Arnold Bennett’s The Grand Babylon Hotel and Erskine Childers The Riddle of the Sands which are from the same era. Thanks for sharing your thoughts 😊 Will see whether I can get this one.
Jan 23, 2021 @ 17:01:14
Mr.Kaggsy is awesome for getting this treasure for you 😊
Jan 23, 2021 @ 17:40:36
He is – he’s a great book enabler!
Jan 23, 2021 @ 17:40:25
Thanks Vishy! I do love an obscure 20th century book – one of my favourite eras for writing. This was a great read and The Riddle of The Sands is another book I loved. Will be interested to see what you think of this if you get a copy! 😀
Jan 24, 2021 @ 12:41:37
What a fun read and I love that cover!
Jan 24, 2021 @ 13:15:20
It was a hoot, and the cover is wonderful – so of its era! ;D
Jan 26, 2021 @ 11:01:34
Wow! That is obscure! But it seems like a fun read thought I more intrigued about the last paragraph than the whole plot! lol
Jan 26, 2021 @ 11:43:09
LOL! It is obscure – but great fun. The last paragraph is unnecessary – I know why they did it, but it did undermine the rest of the book!
Feb 01, 2021 @ 21:48:45
It sounds very bizarre!
Feb 02, 2021 @ 11:18:12
It certainly was! Entertaining and very daft!