KING'S RANSOM
Jan Beazely & Thom Lemmons
WaterBrook Press
ISBN 1-57856-778-5
September 21, 2004
Inspirational
In the midst of the chaos and carnage of World War II, the tiny kingdom of Bulgaria finds itself swept up in Hitler's attempt to dominate Russia. King Boris III is faced with the unimaginable task of trying to comply with the demands of the fanatical dictator, while at the same time keeping his Jewish subjects safe from the Final Solution. The monarch seems to be balancing these conflicting activities until Daria Richetti, governess to the royal children and friend to Queen Giovanna, is kidnapped and palace officials are unable to find her.
KING'S RANSOM is a beautifully-written testament to faith, honor, and courage. Most of the characters are real historical figures, and nearly all the events portrayed are based on fact. Only Daria Richetti is a completely fictional character, but that adds to the book's strength, for Daria is a place-holder, a character who represents many such people in situations replayed many times in real life. For numerous people in the years leading up to and encompassing World War II, Jews were a mere abstraction. It was easy to distance oneself from their plight because many people didn't know anyone who was Jewish. Even a person as compassionate as King Boris could tolerate the actions taken against the Jews as long as they were distant, nameless shadow-figures. Only when someone as close to the royal family as Daria was involved did such matters become personal and immediate, and then people were forced to take a stand for or against the Jews. In King Boris's case, he could no longer turn a blind eye to the persecution of the Jews, but instead found the courage to stand up to Hitler and live up to the tenets of his faith.
Because the events of KING'S RANSOM are based on a true story, the book is even more compelling than a completely fictional account would have been. Readers are drawn into secret meetings between the King and the Fuehrer, and are given a bird's-eye view of the microminutiae of war. "Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown," a Shakespearean character once observed, and KING'S RANSOM is full testament to that concept. King Boris struggles to preserve the life of his country, but ultimately realizes that the true battle is for his country's soul. At that level, everything becomes clear, and his decision is made for him.
The tiny kingdom of Bulgaria is a microcosm for events that happened all over the world in the war years. Some people seized power and let their clandestine authority go to their heads. Others turned a blind eye and a deaf ear to the atrocities around them. Still others used their resources, limited though they might be, to offer resistance covert and obvious. Readers will be moved by their peek into the private chambers of the royal palace, touched by the devotion of a palace guard for the royal governess, inspired by the righteous wrath of the kingdom's holy men, captivated by a secretary's unlikely love for an evil genius, and outraged by the cruelty of blind followers toward their innocent victims. There's something for everyone in this page-turner, and Beazely and Lemmons never let the momentum falter. KING'S RANSOM is a story of righteousness and redemption, highly recommended to anyone who wonders what he or she might do when the right thing is not the easy thing.
