Freddy and Fredericka

- Authors
- Helprin, Mark
- Publisher
- Penguin Books
- Tags
- humour
- ISBN
- 9781101201176
- Date
- 2005-07-01T00:00:00+00:00
- Size
- 0.57 MB
- Lang
- en
Freddy is the Prince of Wales and Fredericka is his beautiful, golden-haired wife. Although he is learned and honorable, Freddy commits one gloriously absurd and funny gaffe after another, has frequent "who's on first" type miscommunications with people, and is massacred daily in the British press. Fredericka, though frivolous and empty-headed, is very beautiful and fond of wearing spectacular clothing with revealing necklines. Though viewed with suspicion by the royal family, she can do no wrong in the eyes of the people. The royal family, which bears more than a passing resemblance to a real royal family we are all familiar with, is run by a serene and much-loved queen. Because the misdeeds of the wayward heirs to the throne have caused a public relations fiasco, and because Freddy has not been able to pass the age-old secret test that is the sign of a monarch fit to reign, Freddy and Fredericka are sent, as part of a time-honored tradition, on a quest to colonize a strange and barbarous land.The pair is parachuted into Hoboken, New Jersey in the dark of night with new identities and no money. Their mission: to reconquer the United States. Together, the royals wander across the country where "every man is a king," hopping freight trains and sleeping outdoors, working at menial jobs -- where they discover the simple pleasure of living off of their earnings -- and falling deeply in love with each other and with America.
Undergoing personal transformations that are inspired by the vastness of possibility and the freedom that is at America's soul, Freddy and Fredericka recognize each other's great and small flaws and still love. In learning how to love, they gain the dignity and humility that is required of great monarchs, and good people.