Is Sarah Ferguson’s debut novel based on herself? Historical romance Her Heart for a Compass delves into British royal life – but are there any steamy love scenes?
In authoring her debut novel, Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York took the “write what you know” philosophy to heart.
Her Heart for a Compass follows young noblewoman Lady Margaret Montagu Scott as she wrestles independence from her family, the aristocracy and patriarchal society.
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While the duchess’ protagonist is not an exact facsimile of herself, the similarities are striking. Both Ferguson and Lady Margaret (who is based on one of Ferguson’s ancestors) are redheads with polarising reputations. They have played the role of social pariah, been blacklisted by the aristocracy and – eventually – found redemption in living life their own way.
“I really did mind when all those terrible articles were written about me, and sometimes still are,” Ferguson recently told the UK’s Sunday Times. “I have a therapist and I rely on friendship, my family and my work to keep me focused on what’s important.”
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In the book’s historical note, Ferguson details what’s fact and what’s fiction. The locations, including Dalkeith Palace outside Edinburgh (where Margaret is banished after refusing her arranged marriage), are real. Many, the author says, can still be visited. Margaret, her parents and the man she marries were all real too, though Ferguson cautions that much of Margaret’s storyline is “entirely imagined”.
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Our one qualm, if you can call it that, is the novel’s billing as a historical romance. If we’re talking the Shakespearean notion of romance, where all’s well in the end, then sure, this is a romance. But readers expecting Bridgerton levels of sexual tension will be disappointed. Indeed, the man Margaret ends up with graces just a handful of the novel’s more than 500 pages. Key moments in their love story – falling for each other, loss and reconciliation – are over too quickly and without the gut-wrenching scenes you’d expect from a romance novel.
Yet, we say this as a clarification rather than a knock: Margaret’s story of courage and self-discovery stands strong on its own. Just like she does.
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- Victorian-era protagonist Lady Margaret is based on Fergie’s ancestor, and the real-life Queen Victoria and Scotland’s Dalkeith Palace make an appearance
- Bridgerton fans might be disappointed by the lack of sexual tension as the novel’s ‘romance’ is more Shakespearean – but it’s an excellent coming-of-age story