I did not previously know anything about the goddaughter of Queen Victoria. The story was set up in a way that I was able to learn several details about history, while following along to an enjoyable plotline.
I found the story to be overall clean content. Towards the end, there are marriage topics that are discussed in a sensible manner that are for older audiences.
I would recommend this book and its historical accuracy.
There were parts of Mary's life that were more enjoyable to read about than others, but this was just the nature of true life narrative.
I also enjoyed the element of "foster care"/caring for a family member who was not born into the immediate family that was present in the story. It was interesting to see how such topics are handled through the ages and nations.


Thank you to NetGalley for the chance to preview this book.

Based on the true story of an African Yoruba Princess, Sarah Forbes Bonetta (aka Aina), who at just 7 years old was rescued from enslavement only to be "gifted" to Queen Victoria.

Based on a true story, Princess started out strong but my interest soon waned because Aina's new life in England was monotonous and uninteresting. Despite the blurb stating that she was used as "an exotic trophy to be trotted out for the entertainment of the royal court... to showcase Victoria’s magnanimity," Aina barely had any interaction with the Queen, and she definitely wasn't treated like a beloved goddaughter.

Of course, my heart ached for the real life Aina when she was taken from Africa and "gifted" to the Queen (I was appalled that this happened especially while the Queen and England were supposedly opposed to slavery by this time period), and that she faced so many tragedies as a young child in Africa and then later, racism and oppression in England.

This book has generated many amazing reviews (currently 4.31), so my 3 star rating is in the minority. There was too much contradictory information and unbelievable twists for my taste. Additionally, I get that the story started out from the perspective of a 7 year old, but in my opinion, the writing style did not mature and grow along with the character. Lastly, Aina grew up with nothing of her own but yet, she acted like a haughty, spoiled brat much of the time.

Before writing this review, I scrolled through all of the 4 and 5 star ratings feeling like I had read a totally different book. I enjoyed learning about the existence of Aina's character but unfortunately, it did not quench my curiosity about her life.

Location: 1843-1880 Africa and England

I received an advance copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

This is one of the most wonderful books I have read in a long time! Vivid descriptions, wonderful characters, so complex and inspiring. There were parts that left me breathless, sometimes in tears, other times laughing out loud. I could not put this book down! This is a story everyone should read! I loved it! A real page turner and a must must read!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the complimentary copy of this book. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

If you watched the TV series Victoria (Season 2 Episode 9), then you may remember Sarah Forbes Bonetta. When she was very young, Aina, an African princess, witnessed the death of her entire family by slave traders. She would either be sold as a slave or sacrificed by the people who stole her. An Englishman present at the ceremony asks the king of the tribe for Aina and the king acquiesces. Through a turn of events, the man presents Aina to Queen Victoria, and she is renamed Sarah and raised in close proximity to Victoria and Albert’s children.

I found the story of Sarah’s life very interesting and enlightening. Even though this is historical fiction, the author did their research and provides an overview of the life of the young African princess and her experiences in seeing a white person for the first time, the abject racism she faces when she’s in Great Britain, and her relationship with Queen Victoria. There was layer upon layer of the complexities the young girl faced as she grew up as a princess, but a lesser one, too, because of her skin color.

This is the sort of historical fiction I really enjoy reading. It brings to light a part of Queen Victoria’s English life that has not been delved into that deeply and is not well known. The story is compelling and well written, and it makes me want to do my own research into the life of Queen Victoria’s Goddaughter. Well done!

The Other Princess by Denny S Bryce is the fictionalized autobiography of Sara Forbes Bonetta, the African goddaughter of Queen Victoria. She was given as a gift to Captain Frederick Forbes of HMS Bonetta. He requested her as she was about to be sacrificed. He didn’t believe in slavery, nor did the queen. She had been captured in an attack on her tribe, Egobado by the Kingdom of Dahomey. Her father, the king, and the rest of her family had been slaughtered. One brother had been away and eventually she rescued his necklace in the prison camp where she had been held. That forced her to give up her search. The Captain was to take her to England and on the long journey had her tutored in English and deportment. William, her tutor, fell overboard before they reached England where the Captain’s wife took her hand. She was eventually presented to the queen who opted that she stay in the Forbes’ home. She eventually married another Anglicized Yorubian and reportedly led a happy life with him, after moving to Africa.

This was an enlightening book, well written researched. It helped she had kept numerous journals full of her account of her life. It was so interesting that she lived a good life after being ripped from her culture and thrown into an entirely new one. Her early life was beyond tragic and certainly left scars. She saw most of her family beheaded. That she adjusted so well is a tribute to her strong spirit and marriage to a good husband. It was an enlightening read.

I was invited to read a free e-ARC of The Other Princess by William Morrow, through Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are mine. #Netgalley #WilliamMorrow #DennySBryce #TheOtherPrincess

This was a fascinating story. I had not heard anything about the history of Sarah Forbes Bonetta. I appreciate when an author does extensive research for a book. Being born the last child of an African king, she was given the name Aina, the name of her birthright. “Aina” meant born with her mother’s life cord around her neck, born to a difficult life, born to an existence of heartbreak and hardship. And that she had, for such a young child to go through the fear and horror that she experienced. It somehow made her stronger and more resilient. This is an extraordinary story of overcoming life’s trials and hardships, and making a life worth honoring and cherishing. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This is the kind of story I live for. The stories they never tell us about. Princess Ania, later known as Sarah Forbes Bonetta, story is one of resilience and perseverance. She endured so much from a young age and although she was "given" a life of luxury she never forgot her past and who she was. @dennysbryce did a brilliant job in bringing her incredible journey to life.

Princess Sarah Forbes Bonetta was born a princess. Her early life was not privileged but she was given a privileged life when she was given to Queen Victoria as a “gift.” The Other Princess starts with Sarah’s birth as a young daughter of a king to becoming the goddaughter of Queen Victoria.

I had no idea that Queen Victoria had a black goddaughter, one she took care of, looked out for, and made sure that her life was worth something. Being Queen, Victoria had the ability to make decisions for Sarah without being questioned. There were decisions she made that gave Sarah a step-up in life and there were some decisions made that had me question if she really had her best interests in mind.

The Other Princess had me wanting to learn more about Princess Sarah and her difficult life. I could not put the book down and while it is not always an easy read due to the life Sarah lived, it is a book that pulled me in, kept me turning pages, and had me not wanting to leave the story I was reading.

Sarah Forbes Bonetta, an abducted African princess, is gifted to Queen Victoria at age seven. Though an outsider, Sarah's intelligence and talents help her navigate English life. Yet she yearns for refuge from the horrors of her past. From West Africa to Windsor Castle, she grapples with the challenges and advantages of her new status, striving to live up to her royal Yoruba heritage despite racism and tragedy.

This sweeping story is immersive and compelling. It's beautifully written, the pace leisurely without lagging.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

I'm an avid lover of Historical Fiction, and love reading books to learn about historical figures who may have been overlooked by mainstream historians. Sarah Forbes Bonetta was a ward of Queen Victoria, rescued from slavery to the Dahomey tribe in Africa as a young child, after her family was slaughtered in front of her.

This book was well written, and interesting, but at the same time, it felt superficial, and Sarah doesn't really seem to grow or develop as a character, she maintains the same entitled and youthful demeanor all through out. The important events in her life seem to be glossed over and aren't well detailed or elaborated upon.

With that in mind, although the book read quickly and easily for me, I still felt unsatisfied with the book overall, for the reasons mentioned previously, hence the 3-star rating.

Thank you to BookClubGirl, William Morrow Books, and NetGalley for the electronic ARC of this novel for review.

I found Sarah's story involving, moving, and hard to put down. It was told in the first person and began at a critical moment when she was very young, so I was immediately sympathetic toward her. I felt her losses and disappointments as well as her frustration at being a pawn. Finally, I rejoiced in her personal growth and in her finding happiness.

I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys historical fiction. Thank you to NetGalley and Bookclub Girls for the early read.

Born into royalty, sold into slavery, then "gifted" into a mix of both, Sarah Bonetta Forbes, nee Aina, will fit into neither of her identities. As the goddaughter of Queen Victoria, Sarah's world will expand to include excursions into many differing cultures to find her true self and set a path for herself. Her life is not her own to live, yet she will struggle within the confines of the royal protocols and strictures.
A fictional account of the true life of Sarah Bonetta Forbes.

4.5 stars! This novel tells the story of Princess Aina (better known as Princess Sarah Forbes Bonetta), and how she went from being the youngest daughter of a king to the goddaughter of Queen Victoria of England. (How did I not know about this remarkable woman until now?) The story opens with Aina's birth and then walks the reader through what would be the first of so many losses and describes how, rescued on the brink of being sacrificed, she became the goddaughter of Queen Victoria. From West Africa to Windsor Castle to Sierra Leone, to St. James's Palace, and the Lagos Colony, Sarah juggles the power and pitfalls of a royal upbringing as she battles racism and systematic oppression on her way to living a life worthy of a Yoruba princess. Simply amazing!

*Special thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for this e-arc.*

I was immediately intrigued by the conceit of this book about Sarah Forbes Bonetta. I recall the mention of her in the tv show Victoria and was so excited to learn more about her. I definitely recommend for anyone likeminded!

I'll admit, I struggled with liking Sarah. I don't think it's at any fault of the author, who I believe wrote Sarah's character accurately and with great skill. I also appreciated how the writing style began simpler, aligning with Sarah's younger age, and grew in complexity as Sarah aged. Still, I wish I had connected with Sarah more and felt more vested in her story. For example, I would have loved if we experienced more moments with the royal family instead of being told she visited for an event. But I enjoyed the story overall and can see many readers loving the story of Queen Victoria's goddaughter.

Book Review: The Other Princess: a novel of Queen Victoria’s Goddaughter, Denny S. Bryce


The Other Princess chronicles the little-known life of Sarah Forbes Bonetta Davies. The novel opens with the difficult birth of a child. According to Yoruba tradition, a child is named for the circumstances of their birth, and that name defined their destiny. Her mother Kayin, the Yoruba Queen is deeply troubled at the thought of burdening the princess with the name, Aina, which portents a difficult life, a life of heartbreak and hardship. When Aina is five years old, the palace at Okeadon is attacked by the Agojie. The King and his family are slaughtered. Aina’s life is spared, but she is taken into captivity. Two years later, she is rescued from enslavement, is “gifted” to Queen Victoria and made her ward. Aina is given the Christian name Sarah and becomes something of an exotic trophy for the Queen. As the Queen’s goddaughter, Sarah is raised as an outsider with all the insiders privileges.

After reading The Other Princess, I was left with mixed feelings. I was pleased to be introduced to the rediscovered historical figure of Aina/Sarah and to learn a bit more about pre-colonial Africa. But I felt that the writing was rather superficial. In general, the cast of characters were rather two dimensional and at times I questioned the depiction of Sarah’s responses to living in a country that was not her own. Understandably, Aina/Sarah’s life may not be well documented, let alone her inner thoughts, but it is the gift of an excellent historical fiction writer to put flesh and blood into the lives of these historical figures and give us a credible window into their lived experiences. Nevertheless, readers who want a book about aristocratic women of color in the Victorian era might enjoy The Other Princess.


My thanks to the author, @WilliamMorrowBooks, and @NetGalley for the gift of this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a very interesting historical novel. The story spans both the the continent of Africa and England. Aina renamed Sarah is an African princess who finds herself as the goddaughter of the British Queen. The author does a wonderful job of exploring the issues of slavery and colonialism and how it affected each of the characters. It is an interesting and page turning story that readers will thoroughly enjoy.

I love learning about new people in history; especially women. This is a story about one girl who gets ripped from her home and country; first by a warring tribe who murders her whole family and then by the British navy. Is it really an opportunity if you never asked for it? Sarah was gifted something that she never really understood but she did something with it.

The Other Princess was an incredible historical fiction. I am just getting into the genre, and this book has ignited a love for it!

Poignant, thought-provoking and a part of history I knew very little about.

Would definitely recommend to historical fiction lovers!

Wow! What an incredible story. The author did a fantastic job of bringing Sarah Forbes Bonetta to life. What I really enjoyed was the personality given to Princess Sarah! She was not this meek or humble young woman that one would expect. She knew her title of princess and “queen’s ward” and accepted nothing less. There was a slight shift in personality when Princess Sarah became older after having married, moving back to Africa, and having children and I wish the author would have gone a little bit more in depth with that.

This is my first time reading this author, but I plan to read some of her other works. I would recommend this to fans of historical fiction. It’s worth the read.

I was very interested to read this novel about Sarah Forbes Bonetta. A few months ago I had listened to a podcast about her (History Chicks, episode 231, which also covered Dido Elizabeth Belle) and found Sarah to be a sympathetic and somewhat tragic character. This novel, while covering all the historical bases, seems to fall short of my expectations. The author is free, as all historical novelists do, to create an imaginary mindset for her. However I was disappointed that Sarah seemed to be so inwardly focussed and relatively shallow, even as she is our narrator. I think our author tried to show her character maturing, but I cannot say that she is fully successful in doing so. I enjoyed the scene in which she champions Mary Seacole, (also covered by the History Chicks), but the argument seemed a bit too protracted under the circumstances. I would have liked to have seen Sarah showing more compassion for others, even if the scope of activities she could actually do was limited. Otherwise, it was an interesting book and full of details of the times she lived in, both in Africa and Victorian England.
BTW if you, like me, like to go down all sorts of “rabbit holes” after reading historical fiction, I would recommend the resources that the History Chicks have put on their website for the episode cited, especially the paper done by a Brigham Young student, Megan Orr. It has lots of pictures that I didn’t see otherwise while googling her, including the sketch done by Captain Forbes shortly after she came into his care. https://thehistorychicks.com/episode-231-dido-elizabeth-belle-and-sarah-forbes-bonetta/