SJ Bennett
SJ Bennett
 

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  • There isn’t one! Book 2 in the series was given the title A Three Dog Problem in the UK, and All The Queen’s Men in the USA and Canada.

  • In short, no. There are already so many books and screenplays about her, in fact and fiction, from A Question of Attribution and The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett (both very good) to Peter Morgan’s The Crown. The Queen rarely if ever intervened when anyone wrote about her, beyond saying that ‘recollections may vary’. I have tried to be as fair and accurate as I can. When the Queen is solving crimes, you can be fairly certain I made that bit up, but otherwise I’ve represented the real events and locations.

  • Yes they are! The first murder in The Windsor Knot takes place after a Dine and Sleep at Windsor Castle, when the Queen used to invite about 20 people from public life to have a private supper with her, stay the night and leave after breakfast. She entertained actresses and astronauts, but no Russian oligarchs as far as I know.

  • Not personally, though my parents met her and other members of the royal family several times, which gave me some of the ideas for these books. Back in the 1990s I did interview for Rozie’s job as Assistant Private Secretary, which involved travelling to Buckingham Palace and sitting in one of the offices I describe in A Three Dog Problem. Sadly, I didn’t get the job. However, I did get to invent someone who did it very well.

  • I can’t say for certain, but I’m pretty sure The Windsor Knot made its way to Windsor Castle during lockdown. Various people close to the royal family are fans. As you probably know, the family like to exchange light-hearted ‘comedy’ Christmas presents, and I’d love to think that one or more of these books ended up on the table at Sandringham, or in a royal stocking. Did it reach the royal bedside? If so, I imagine a huge amount of eye-rolling went on, but maybe the odd laugh, too.

  • My favourite writer at the moment is Kate Atkinson, whose latest book is Shrines of Gaiety. But I can recommend all sorts of writers in my favourite genres of crime, thriller, spy novels, comedy and royal biography. Click here for some suggestions.