Series:
Queens of England
Book description courtesy of Goodreads
In this unforgettable novel of Queen Victoria, Jean Plaidy re-creates a remarkable life filled with romance, triumph, and tragedy.
At birth, Princess Victoria was fourth in line for the throne of England, the often-overlooked daughter of a prince who died shortly after her birth. She and her mother lived in genteel poverty for most of her childhood, exiled from court because of her mother’s dislike of her uncles, George IV and William IV. A strong, willful child, Victoria was determined not to be stifled by her powerful uncles or her unpopular, controlling mother. Then one morning, at the age of eighteen, Princess Victoria awoke to the news of her uncle William’s death. The almost-forgotten princess was now Queen of England. Even better, she was finally free of her mother’s iron hand and her uncles’ manipulations. Her first act as queen was to demand that she be given a room—and a bed—of her own.
Victoria’s marriage to her German cousin, Prince Albert, was a blissfully happy one that produced nine children. Albert was her constant companion and one of her most trusted advisors. Victoria’s grief after Prince Albert’s untimely death was so shattering that for the rest of her life—nearly forty years—she dressed only in black. She survived several assassination attempts, and during her reign England’s empire expanded around the globe until it touched every continent in the world.
Derided as a mere “girl queen” at her coronation, by the end of her sixty-four-year reign, Victoria embodied the glory of the British Empire. In this novel, written as a “memoir” by Victoria herself, she emerges as truthful, sentimental, and essentially human—both a lovable woman and a great queen.
My Thoughts
I read this series of books in my early twenties and later a publisher decided to take all the individual books Plaidy had written about Queen Victoria and condense them into one trade paperback. The dates on the books run from the early 70's and of course Plaidy was not alive to see this paperback published. It is in my opinion one of the best versions of her books and wonderful for anyone who loves learning about Queen Victoria, especially without the tediousness of a straight history book read. This one and the one about Queen Elizabeth I are probably my favorite so far of all her books. I am trying to read all of her books eventually, but this one just had to be re-read. When school starts and I'm super busy and tired I love to pick up books I've loved and can read again.
The Goodreads summary tells you all you need to know about the book, but I will add my two cents worth! This book follows historical accuracy in great detail (I have read soooo much about her so I can usually spot something that seems embellished) and her personal interactions with her husband, children, grandchildren, Prime Ministers, and relatives. I love how it is written like a diary and we really get to know her through her personal point of view. The early years were especially interesting to me, seeing how her Mother and others used her and controlled her until she came of age and bravely shut them out immediately. It must have taken a lot of courage at only eighteen years old to do this. A lot of material on her starts with her reign and so I appreciated how we get to see it all from her childhood on.
Plaidy does not paint her as a saint, she is very human, with faults we all have: selfishness, self-pitying sometimes, and needy. But we also come away amazed at her ability to lead from a young age on, and although extremely devoted to Albert, she did push back when necessary.
The book reads like a novel and I feel is wonderful for someone who knows absolutely nothing about her all the way to those of us who can practically recite her life story. You will get caught up in it and be unable to put it down.
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