Yep, I’ve written a cosy Christmas murder mystery but not as you know it. This particular story is set in an alternative history. One where the British Isles are under Napoleonic rule because we lost at Waterloo. The Gallicization of the country has continued apace but there are pockets of resistance, led by King George V (reduced to a vassal) and Winston Churchill, purveyor of fine meats.
The book started out as the beginning of a tale written for a competition some years back and, even though it didn’t get very far, the idea remained with me.
Farnborough Hill House (in Hampshire, England) was the home of the Dowager Empress Eugénie in reality, and she has become the host of a very bizarre country party on the instructions of her son, Emperor Louis-Napoléon:
In addition to Prince Eddie, Churchill and his wife, the numbers include an ennobled Duke Ulyanov (aka Lenin), Adolf Schicklgruber (an oik), Kaiser Wilhelm, and Franz Ferdinand. To add to the entertainment, leading lights of music hall were invited too: Marie Lloyd, Monte Saldo (muscle man) and Paulette Franck. There are mistakes and misunderstandings, the bad poetry of Prince Eddie, and some political shenanigans. I don’t think I’ve ever had so much fun writing!
‘December 1913. Since Great Britain’s defeat at Waterloo, the island nation has existed as an ‘arrondissemont’ of France. Dowager Empress Eugénie the mother of Emperor Louis-Napoléon, is hosting a country party at her Hampshire home, Farnborough Hill House. Invitations to her Christmas gatherings are coveted and this particular occasion consists of a mixture of aristocracy, businessmen and music hall artistes including the infamous Paulette.
Winston Churchill, purveyor of fine meats, and part of Britain’s underground resistance is also invited. His remit is to keep the errant Prince Eddie in check and shed some light on Paulette’s involvement in the scandal swirling around the murder of his friend, singer Harry Fragson. However, when the Empress decides to stage her own ‘murder mystery’ as part of the festivities, a real body in the library appears. Immediately, Paulette is suspected.
As snow sets in and isolates the house and its inhabitants, can Winston save her bacon and escape a roasting from both the Emperor and the nominal King, George V?’
Publication Date: 1st October. Pre-order here https://mybook.to/TwiggyVoo
Twiggy Voo? was a music hall song performed by Marie Lloyd, it is also one which one of the unfortunate murder victims was noted for. As the story descends into farce, this phrase becomes more pertinent, if you twig my meaning. Whilst I haven’t got Marie singing, here’s the melody and lyrics if you want to sing along!
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Stephanie Ellis 
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