Denny S. Bryce’s Wild Women and the Blues was one of my favorite reads the year of its release, and The Other Princess is definitely going to end up on my list of 2023’s best stories. Fictionalizing the true-life account of an African princess gifted to Queen Victoria, who was raised in royal palaces and eventually became her goddaughter, it’s powerful and well written, filled with character and the stuff of life.

Aina, a Nigerian Yoruban princess, is given a mournful name by her regal mother. She was born with her umbilical cord around her neck, and thus is destined, according to cultural tradition, for a rough life. But she grows to be an energetic, confident child – which helps her when she is kidnapped at the age of five by a rival chieftain, who slaughters her entire family before her very eyes. At the age of seven, she’s rescued from captivity by Frederick E. Forbes, a member of the Royal Navy, who bargains for her freedom instead of allowing her to be executed by her captors. And instead of being further conscripted to the horrors of the slave trade, Aina is presented to Queen Victoria as a gift – as were many non-white children of royal extraction.

Aina is renamed Sarah Forbes Bonetta, after Forbes and the ship carrying her. She is baptized into the Anglican Church and taught English, and Forbes expects to adopt her. But Queen Victoria, fascinated by Aina’s mind, treats her like a toy and ornament, eventually taking her under her wing as her godchild. Aina is raised in the royal household, and soon surprises those who call her crude, racist insults by proving to be adept at languages and music. But she does not lose hold of her memories, her love of Africa, or the belief that her brother might still be alive. While under the queen’s rule, she makes friends with Princess Alice, who becomes a dear friend but is destined for a tragic, early end – as is Aina, though she doesn’t know it, of course. Because she is not used to the English climate, Aina is sent to be educated in Sierra Leone, but Victoria calls her home and requests she marry a captain of Yoruban extraction. Fate leads Aina to Lagos Colony, to her past and to her destiny.

Aina/Sarah struggles mightily with her duel identities – Aina sees Sarah as another – and the severe trauma she’s dealing with, and her anger is understandable and palpable throughout the book. Both make up a huge part of The Other Princess’ pull. Aina will experience motherhood and its difficulties. She’ll know great sorrows, but also great joys. And Bryce doesn’t shy away rom either, which are portrayed vividly.

There is romance here, but this is the story of Aina’s life, and her journey from strong child to self-actualized woman. She is incredibly memorable and beautifully captured, and this is both a fearless book, and a beautiful one. The Other Princess is one of the finest pieces of historical fiction released this year, and I highly recommend it.