The Countess of Prague by Stephen Weeks

Reviewed by Jeanne

Countess Beatrice von Falkenburg, half English and half Czech, is married to a man with titles and not much more.  His father gambled away the real assets except for some breweries, but now new industrial breweries are threatening even that modest income. They’re so impoverished that they have to rent a palace in Prague in an effort to keep up at least some appearances. Then comes a call from General Albrecht Schonburg-Hartenstein, aka Uncle Bertie.  He has a pretty puzzle for his niece to help solve, as she once solved the mystery of the missing silver spoons—in Uncle Bertie’s pocket. This particular puzzle involves a body found in the river but there’s contradictory evidence as to its identity, as the man it’s supposed to be is apparently alive and well.

Before long the young Countess is drawn into a case involving a Tontine, a British scientist, a theatre, various street urchins, and some heads of state.  

This is the first of a proposed ten book series, which made me hesitate about starting it.  I’m wary of books that are announced as first in a long series because there’s no guarantee the author will finish all of them or else that he’ll take years and years and years to do it.  Just ask any fan of Robert Jordan or George R.R. Martin.  However, I decided to throw caution to the winds and give it a try.

Beatrice—Trixie to her family—is a high-spirited young woman who is just bored enough and just clever enough and just inquisitive enough to take on her uncle’s challenge.  She ends up going undercover at points and learns quite a bit about life among the servants and even lower classes.  At the beginning of the story, she is fairly clueless about those outside of the Nobility but near the end she comes to realize that perhaps her early definition of “impoverished” needs revision.  I’ll admit I did some suspending of disbelief, but it was such a fun ride that it wasn’t difficult.

Most enjoyable to me were the descriptions of Prague itself.  The author currently lives there, and has done a good deal of research in order to recreate the atmosphere of the city in 1904, when the series begins.  The dress, mannerisms, transportation, all the details of daily upper class life form the backdrop to an intriguing mystery, part of which involves some historical figures. The prickly interactions between King Edward VII and his German nephew Wilhelm were especially entertaining. 

 Trixie even takes a trip to London to visit her brother, who is trying his hand at investing, possibly “the first von Morstejin to try to earn a living in more than two centuries.” She’s more than a little appalled to discover her brother’s living conditions.  His flat (not a house! Horrors!)  which includes a cooking machine that runs on electricity—but no servants.

The plot was clever, the setting was charming, and the Countess is delightful. If you enjoy historical mysteries, you might want to give The Countess of Prague a try. By the way, this one is a self-contained mystery, so there’s no pressure to commit to read the promised nine books to follow.