Princess Ben: Being a Wholly Truthful Account of Her Various Discoveries and Misadventures, Recounted to the Best of Her Recollection, in Four Parts (review)

With the sudden deaths of her parents and childless uncle, fifteen-year-old Princess Benevolence becomes heir to the throne, and despite the tutelage of her aunt, Queen Sophia, she is far from ready to rule the valley kingdom of Montagne. Callous, recalcitrant, and unabashedly gluttonous, Ben would rather sabotage dance lessons and sulk through formal dinners than acquiesce to attempts to make her suitable for marriage, a priority that earns her an uncomfortable imprisonment in the tallest tower until she can learn to behave herself and hopefully slim down. As fate would have it, she discovers a hidden chamber in the tower, along with a book of magic, and these lead to her escape from the Chateau and eventual capture by Drachensbett, the neighboring kingdom, which she believes is responsible for her parents' murder. Ben is not entirely convincing in her refusal to accept responsibility, and the book drags somewhat as it waits for her to discard her prejudices against Drachensbett and its handsome young prince. The writing is dryly formal ("To be sure, the curriculum through which I suffered could scarce inspire enthusiasm in even a conscientious princess"), a far cry from the down-home sensibility that characterized Murdock's earlier success in Dairy Queen (BCCB 9/06). Nevertheless, Ben is a memorable anti-princess, and readers will relish the fiery exchanges between her and Prince Florian; it's a rare fairy tale where the relationship between the happily-ever-after couple actually develops over time. Readers who don't mind losing the period atmosphere might better appreciate contemporary royal misfit Princess Mia from The Princess Diaries (BCCB 12/00, et al.), but Princess Ben is a spunky forebear.