A Royal Murder by Elliott Roosevelt

This novel written by Elliott Roosevelt (though ghost written by William Harrington), the son of President Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt and published in 1994, is part of a series of books in which Eleanor Roosevelt assists in the investigation of crimes. They are well written noir crime stories, committed within a deceptively genteel framework.

The plot is set in September 1940 when Eleanor Roosevelt visited the Bahamas Islands for five days. The purpose of the visit was two-fold: firstly, to meet the Royal Governor of the Bahamas and his wife, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor (the former King Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson) and thereby keep them out of the United States, due to their support of American isolationism, keeping the United States out of the Second World War, so a negotiated peace could be signed with Hitler’s Germany. The second reason arose out of the lending to Britain by the United States government of around 50 naval destroyers and in return, Britain leasing to the United States, naval and air bases in the Bahamas Islands. Those islands are known to have pro-German business interests and Mrs Roosevelt’s entourage given this context, will have intelligence officers included to assess whether the islands would be a risk to the United States military, were they present on the islands.

So, Eleanor Roosevelt travels to the Bahamas and a number of murders occur during the five-day visit. Mrs Roosevelt assisted by intelligence officers helps the Commissioner of Police to solve the web of crime.

The characters in the novel are well drawn, for example: Mrs Roosevelt shows empathy to the local population; the Duke of Windsor comes across as pompous, while Wallis Simpson appears frustrated with the Duke of Windsor and her situation in a backwater such as the Bahamas and a general lack of money.

This is a good series and the novel at 234 pages is recommended for those liking historical mysteries involving real lived characters.

Reviewed by Stuart McMartin
SMSA Member