Valhalla by Alan Robert Clark is an interesting historical fiction featuring the formidable and memorable Mary of Teck. Queen Consort of the UK and British Dominions with George V, she is most remembered as the grandmother to the current Queen Elizabeth II.

This book tells the fictional story of Queen Mary and the trials, tribulations, and successes that occurred during her engagement of Prince Albert, his sudden death, her then marriage to the future King George V, and her life thereafter.

I have read several great biographies of Mary if Teck, so I knew quite a bit about her life. It is sad to see that a lot of people do not know too much about this fabulous, strong, sometimes distant, and sometimes misunderstood woman. There is so much more to her then one realizes. A rock, a strength, undaunted, and a source of wisdom is what I see when I read about her. To survive, flourish, succeed, and overcome all that she did is nothing short of impressive. She really seemed to bloom and come into her own after George V died. She is a fascinating woman and it is always great to read anything about her.

Obviously, the author took some liberties in some things to try to fit the subject matter into the narrative, however overall I was able to appreciate the story told. This is a companion book to the author’s previous work, The Prince of Mirrors, but I was easily able to read this as a stand-alone.

4/5 stars

Thank you NetGalley and Fairlight Books for this ARC and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.

I am posting this review to my GR account (link below) immediately and will post it to my Amazon and B&N accounts upon publication.