Freddy and Fredericka

Freddy and Fredericka by Mark Helprin -- this turned in to one of the more pleasant surprises of the summer. The "book jacket summary" is that Freddy and Fredericka are the Prince and Princess of Wales -- he's got big ears and is quiet and scholarly, if a little goofy, while she's gorgeous in spite of her oversized nose, fashionable if a little spacey. Sound familiar? The pair get in to so much inadvertant trouble that Freddy's succession to the throne is called in to question. To determine if he's really king material, the two of them are sent on a quest -- they're parachuted in to New Jersey wearing nothing but rabbit fur bikinis and flight caps. There task is to conquer the United States and bring them back in to the fold of the British Empire.

As a premise, this one sounded a little suspect but, in spite of the books lenght (over 550 pages), I decided to give it a try. It had some great satirical possibilities and might be fun. Helprin has a good reputation as a "serious" writer -- in particular, a book called Winter's Tale.

The early parts of the book don't even try for satire. This is slapstick comedy at its best. It's hard to make slapstick work in print, but I found myself laughing hysterically at both throw aways and elaboarate scenarios. One example of each and then I'll leave to you. A throwaway -- of course, Freddy has to have had a torrid affair with an older woman. Here her name is Lady Boylinghotte. One elaborate and hysterical scene sends Prince Freddy chasing through a village after Fredericka's little dog. As part of this scene, he runs right through a wedding party in the village screaming the dogs name. The dog was named after Fredericka's oriental nutritionist (who died of malnutrition). The nutritionist and dog's name is Pha Kew.

In spite of all the laugh-out-loud funniness in this book, this, in the end turns out to be very different. Not to sound un-macho, but this book turns out to be just plain sweet. Its about self-sufficiency, nobility and, most of all, about love. Watching Freddy prove his worth to be king makes for a sensational and surprising read. You'll never think about Prince Charles the same again.