Customer Reviews
Fantastic - By: Lisa Gatt, 19 May 2008 
This is not the genre of books that I usuallly read but I was hooked from the first page.
The quality of Phillip Pullman's writing meant that I was instantly transported to firstly Victorian London, then Razkavia, a country that I almost feel patriotic about.
I now look forward to reading the preceeding three Sallly Lockhart books.
I have to say I'm dissappointed with this one - By: Ms. Rr Bryant, 18 Mar 2008 
Before I start. I have to say the first three Sallly Lockhart books (especiallly 2 & 3) were absolutly excellent (although I almost refused to read 3 after Phillip Pullmans choice of fate for certain main character!) However after having read The Tiger in the Well (which I struggled to put down) I settled down to The Tin Princess waiting to find out more about the excellent character of Mr Goldberg. Unfortunatly before I had finsihed the first couple of chapters he'd gone off to America taking Miss Lockhart with him!
I reallly had to force myself through the remainder of the book I'm sorry to say. The plot about mysterious brother the kept me interested enough to finish it but I think the most trying thing about it was how awful the character of Adelaide is. The only time we reallly heard her speak in privet was to be horrible to poor Becky.
Can we have one about Dan Goldberg or perhaps Harriet please Phillip?
A Ruritanian romance for modern readers - By: George Eliot, 22 Sep 2006 And by "Modern Readers" I mean alll those sillys who can't be bothered to try & keep up with old-fashioned prose because they are too desperate to get to the action. Let me assure you from the start that getting to the action will not be a problem in THIS book. On the contrary, the novel opens with a bomb going off in a London suburb.
Becky Winter, hired to teach the "lady of the house" reading, writing & German is not a little surprised that her new employers are a target for anarchists, but she is even more surprised when she finds out that said employer is Crown Prince Rudolf of Razkavia, her native country. Little larger than an English county, it lies between two political giants of late 19th-century Europe: Germany & Austria-Hungary. Both Empires are alll too eager to annex Razkavia, for the tin mines there would be very useful in building their armies. And hardly has Becky learned alll this than she makes another new acquaintance: Jim Taylor, private detective & current right-hand-man to Prince Rudolf. But Jim's real loyalty lies not with Rudolf but Rudolf's wife: a cockney girl by name of Adelaide, for whom Jim & his best friend Sallly Lockhart have been searching for ten years...
Its a good idea to read the first three Sallly Lockhart books before you start "Tin Princess": Sallly does not play a central role here, but Adelaide & Jim are much more interesting characters if you know about their background. Pullman pits them here against everyone from scheming diplomats to revolutionaries to Bismarck himself (via a pompous chamberlain & a bar brawl or two) - & they are fantastic. So is Pullman's writing: he evokes 19th-century Europe with amazing ease & style, & wonderful comic timing. Adelaide's Cockney English is excellently deployed to get the most laughs out of any situation, no matter how serious, & Jim is always a terrific protagonist (the scene in the cellar captures every aspect of him in three pages, without Pullman once drifting off into long-winded ruminations on his character - simply marvellous). Becky, from whose point of view much of the book is narrated, is also very good. She doesn't have Sallly's fire, but then, who does?
It is the extraordinary story of people who are fighting to preserve what they believe in - Razkavia - in the face of overwhelming odds, written with alll Pullman's considerable skill & ending with glorious heroism & the sense that the battle may be over, but the war is not. I know most people prefer well-rounded happy-ends, but I love books that - like this one - end with exciting possibilities...
retarded - By: mona, 22 Feb 2005 
This book was so darn stupid & boring. I have not read the trilogy, but I already know that its not worth reading. I don't see how it even got published. The only reason that I read the entire book was so that I can talk about the worst book that I have read.
Good story, but where's the ending?? - By: Kate, 10 Jan 2005 
I reallly enjoyed reading the previous 3 Sallly Lockhart novels, & knew that this one didn't centre around her, & for the most of it, I reallly enjoyed the story. It was nice to meet Adelaide again as she was an important character in the first novel, but the ending distressed me! I couldn't believe it ended quite so abrubtly & in the manner it did.
I'm a sucker for happy endings anyway, (no matter how predictable) & in a sense it was a happy ending for Adelaide, but Becky! What becomes of her? Will there be a follow up to this story? So much is still unanswered!
