List of books in the reading room of Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall

“The beautiful book by Kazuo Ishiguro explores several different themes: dignity, love, social constraints, the passage of time, the importance of jokes”, Camilla noted. “This book is a brilliant portrait of an aging English butler and his discolored island world in post-war Britain. A beautiful and evocative story of the life and love lost in one of the greatest country houses of the interwar period.

This is the second opus by Philip Pullman The Book of Dust trilogy. Located in the same world as Pullman’s Its Dark Matter, the fantasy series YA finds the heroine Lyra unraveling the mysteries. “I enjoyed every book that Philip Pullman wrote and followed Lyra through all of her trials,” Camille said. “This book is no exception, as we immerse ourselves in the mystical adventures of this fantasy. Storytelling at its best …”

Girl tells the poignant story of young women kidnapped by the terrorist organization Boko Haram in northeast Nigeria, and although Camilla has yet to publicly share her thoughts on the book, Girlthe author of, Edna O’Brien, has been called “one of the greatest living writers in the English language“by Michael Schaub of NPR.

“A wonderful book that gives the reader an understanding of life in post-revolution Moscow, through the eyes of a Russian aristocrat sentenced to life in the Metropol Hotel in Moscow”, said the duchess of A gentleman in Moscow. Set in the 1920s, this novel centers on a man sentenced to house arrest by the Kremlin. Author Amor Towles details the inner journey his protagonist faces as he spends his days in the hotel attic and struggles with what it means to live with purpose.

The Duchess of Cornwall called this novel, about a man trying to make a lost handbag “clever, funny” and “a masterpiece of Parisian perfection”.

To kick off the initiative at the end of December 2020, the Duchess has decided to highlight Charlie Mackesy’s film The boy, the mole, the fox and the horse. “Warm, funny, deeply moving and beautifully illustrated, this charming book makes you feel better about the world,” she wrote in his approval.

“Worth waiting for the astonishing conclusion of his brilliant Wolf Hall trilogy, depicting the final stages of the dramatic rise and fall of Thomas Cromwell to the court of Henry VIII”, Camilla writing.

Camilla also selected the bestseller Where the crayfish sing– a book about a lonely young woman living on the coast of North Carolina, who finds herself at the center of a murder investigation – in her first choice series. The royal is in good company: Reese Witherspoon also selected the novel for her book club and is currently working on its adaptation for the big screen.

The previously highlighted Duchess Restless in its very first list of reading recommendations, published last April during the UK’s first COVID-19 lockdown. “A war thriller featuring a resourceful woman in great danger … a great read,” she said of Boyd’s novel.

Another novel that Camilla had previously included in her “Lockdown Reading List”, The apprentice architect takes place in Istanbul at the height of the Ottoman Empire. The Duchess calls it “a magical and colorful tale”.