A Death In Diamonds by S .J. Bennett – A book recommendation
From time to time, we bring to your attention a book that has an unexpected link to Daphne du Maurier. It may include a reference to one of Daphne's books or characters. It could be a book inspired by Daphne, often having a storyline loosely linked to or based on one of Daphne's novels, often Rebecca. Or it could be that Daphne herself steps into the book as a character, as in Jeeves and the Feudal Spirit by P.G. Wodehouse (1954), in which the character Daphne Dolores Morehead is based on Daphne du Maurier. In the book we are talking about today, Daphne is a character, but as herself.
A Death in Diamonds by S.J. Bennett (2024) is the fourth and most recent novel in the series – Her Majesty the Queen Investigates. This series does precisely what it says. It takes as its main character our dear late Queen Elizabeth II, who, since her coronation, has been living an extraordinary double life. Away from the public eye, she has a brilliant knack for solving crimes. Most importantly, her staff and the public must not realise it, even though sometimes, it takes a Queen's eye to see connections where no one else can.
With this premise in mind, A Death in Diamonds takes place in 1957, so quite early in the Queen's reign. It is a great crime novel with lots of twists and turns, which keeps you turning the pages, but it is entertaining rather than scary. During the course of the book, the Queen agrees to give her Christmas broadcast on live television; previously, the broadcast had taken place on the wireless.
Concerned with the need to make the point that she is a modern Queen who has empathy with her people in Britain and across the Commonwealth, the Duke of Edinburgh suggests she asks Daphne du Maurier to help her write her Christmas message. So Daphne is invited to Balmoral during the summer break to talk to the Queen and see if she can help. Of course, Daphne's husband, Boy Browning, worked for the Duke of Edinburgh, and Daphne was a hugely successful and well-known author in the 1950s, so this is a clever plot twist.
The Daphne in this novel is perhaps not quite as we imagine her. She comes over as quite relaxed about spending time with the Queen at Balmoral, whereas we know from her own writing that the visits Daphne made to stay at Balmoral with her husband were quite a strain for her, and she was in no way relaxed during these visits.
However, this storyline is not pure fiction because she actually was asked to help the Queen with her first televised Christmas broadcast. This piece of information had been hinted at for a long time. However, in 2019, there was a major auction of du Maurier papers, at which several lots were purchased by the University of Exeter Special Collection's archive. Among the documents they acquired was a typescript draft speech written by Daphne for the Queen for her Christmas Broadcast in 1957. The Queen did not use the speech in its entirety, but some elements of the draft were incorporated into the Christmas message that the Queen broadcast on television on Christmas Day 1957.
So not only is this novel gripping and entertaining, but it includes some historical facts and our very own Daphne du Maurier.
I enthusiastically recommend this book to you, especially if you enjoy crime fiction with plenty of twists and turns to keep you guessing.
Ann Willmore, April 2025.