VICTORIA: A LIFE PDF, EPUB, EBOOK A. N. Wilson | 656 pages | 04 Jun 2015 | ATLANTIC BOOKS | 9781848879584 | English | London, United Kingdom Victoria: A Life PDF Book Article Contents. Community Reviews. Refresh and try again. Dense and, to be honest, rather dull. I also think it's hard to argue on her mother's behalf too much, which is why this part seems somewhat skipped over. Open Preview See a Problem? And her years where she's being controlled by Albert. Load Next Page. Showing A solid, relatively new biography, backed by very good research and an understanding of the labyrinthine networks of European monarchies and oligarchies of the time. Praise for Victoria. The author seems to assume a lot of knowledge on the part of the reader, so he doesn't explain basic things. I would have liked more on Empress Eugenie. To many, Queen Victoria is a ruler shrouded in myth and mystique, an aging, stiff widow paraded as the figurehead to an all-male imperial enterprise. Only after , when her favorite, Disraeli, became prime minister for a second time, did Victoria gain a political second wind, emerging from seclusion to woo the newly enfranchised lower-middle class to his Tory party. It does make you see how her secretaries, who often had to make the copies for her, because her handwriting somewhat illegible, died all broken aged men before their time. She was unscathed by nine childbirths as she was by eight assassination attempts. Subscribe to the Biography newsletter to receive stories about the people who shaped our world and the stories that shaped their lives. I was quite touched by the enumeration of the objects Victoria wanted put in her coffin; it's clear from Wilson's study that it was people, not power, that really motivated this monarch, and she was just as interested in the common people--of whatever race--as in her own family. Feb 25, Jean rated it it was amazing Shelves: biography , european-history , history , non-fiction , audio-book. She spent many years with John Brown, Highland John, and may have been married to him, but if so the record or such an alliance has been destroyed. Instead, he deconstructs the incredibly varied aspects of her personality and her reign - showing her in her grief but also in her joviality, in her foolishness and her wit. However, with the help of the Conservative party's Benjamin Disraeli, prime minister in and again from to , the queen eventually reassumed a more public and influential role in the government. Not much is said about her great love of music - for instance there is mention of the Queen attending a concert by Jenny Lind without any mention of the great a Quite an interesting biography of Queen Victoria. Her life is a jumbled mess. The author states she never saw Napoleon III while he was in exile in England, but Eugenie seems to pop up with some frequency--and I found it adorable that Victoria, while hopelessly dowdy even as a young woman, didn't begrudge or was threatened by fashionable or beautiful women. When the inefficiency, and the sickness, and the sheer horror of the conflict became known, the public turned their wrath on the politicians. Mein guter treuer Brown. He was succeeded by Queen Elizabeth II in Nov 16, Phyllis Duncan rated it it was amazing. Welcome back. But this is a well-fleshed out biography otherwise and thoroughly edifying. Detailed but very "readable. Gracious confidences so frankly given. At times it was disjointed and jumped around a lot, so if you were not already familiar with the history of the period it could be difficult to follow. Her relationship with her heir, Bertie, was particularly fraught with unpleasantness. Also, pretty sexist woman. She was raised by her mother at Kensington Palace and had a lonely childhood until she became queen at the age of The book doesn't uncover all the mysteries Queen Victoria left behind, at certain points she is still a puzzle, and because her children did their best to censor and hide the more salacious p I got the ARC via Penguin's First to Read program. At various points in her reign, Victoria exercised some influence over foreign affairs, expressing her preference, but not pressing beyond the bounds of constitutional propriety. Educated at the Royal Palace by a governess, she had a gift for drawing and painting and developed a passion for journal writing. Between her letters and her journals, Victoria wrote 60 million words in her lifetime, the equivalent of volumes; one documentary said she exchanged 7, letters with her daughter Vicki, who exchanged 2, more letters with her granddaughter. In keeping with tradition, she spent the Christmas of at Osborne House on the Isle of Wight, where her health quickly declined to the point that she was unable to return to London. It is difficult to keep track of her children, their spouses, her grandchildren, etc. Victoria: A Life Writer They produced nine children, and his death left her prostrate. The queen, however, rejected important Victorian values and developments. Get exclusive access to content from our First Edition with your subscription. Albert was a strict Victorian husband treating Victoria often as a child and using severe methods to raise the children. Either she's presented as very weak and needing a man to control her or she's presented as a strong woman who was wild. She believed that she had a lonely childhood, but using her journals, the author shows that she grew up with the stepbrother and stepsister, the children of her mother's first marriage. Her reign was one of the longest in British history, and the Victorian Age was named after her. Queen Victoria served as monarch of Great Britain and Ireland from until her death in Scolder and scolded. Victoria ascended to the throne at age 18 on June 20, , and she served until her death at the age of 81 on January 22, A contributor to a number of British newspapers, he lives in London. And yet she was also minutely interested in the overseas conquests and conflicts that marked the Victorian expansion of Britain's power over the globe, as well as the political upheavals at home and there were many. There were advances in science Charles Darwin 's theory of evolution and technology the telegraph and popular press , with vast numbers of inventions; tremendous wealth and poverty; growth of great cities like Manchester, Leeds and Birmingham; increased literacy; and great civic works, often funded by industrial philanthropists. Oct 01, Louise Culmer rated it liked it. Wilson's Victoria is a towering achievement, a masterpiece of biography by a writer at the height of his powers. But errors like this I found popping up all over the book, and that always makes me wonder. If anything, this book seemed to be mostly centered around Victoria's relations with her prime ministers, than anything else. Be warned the book is long at 21 hours or about pages. Her destiny was thus interwoven with those of millions of people—not just in Europe but in the ever-expanding empire that Britain was becoming throughout the nineteenth century. Victoria knew how paradoxical it was for a queen to preach feminine submission. Just as paradoxically, at a time when the U. History books Monarchy reviews. Jan 29, Didi rated it did not like it. Her excellent young Munshi. The strongest impression I had at the end was the astonishingly high level of incompetence shared by many of the queen's acquaintances, advisors, children and government officials. This was the first A. It does make you see how her secretaries, who often had to make the copies for her, because her handwriting somewhat illegible, died all broken aged men before their time. Perhaps it is fitting since that seems to be the best way to describe Victoria herself. Oh so mundane! Nov 16, Phyllis Duncan rated it it was amazing. The first queen to give birth under anesthetic was as unscathed by nine childbirths as she was by eight assassination attempts. It was heavily researched and the author was clearly interested in the topic, but it read more as a history text that then told you what Victoria was doing while all this other stuff happened. And this book has a photo section! We strive for accuracy and fairness. The author himself loses track: "So while Ducky -- Affie's [Victoria's 2nd son] daughter Victoria Melita, went off for seven years of stultifying boredom in Darmstadt, her two sisters were now both bound for Russia. Victoria: A Life Reviews I loved how whenever she used the word "surprised" it really meant she was beyond pissed off. It draws heavily on diaries, letters, and other manuscript sources, as well as an impressive array of publications, many of them from the early twentieth century when memories of Victoria's times were still pretty fresh. Of course, anyone who gathered in the streets in to wave a flag as the queen passed by on her way to celebrate her diamond jubilee with a Te Deum on the steps of St Paul's was probably not thinking much about the Coburg project. This work is extensively researched and noted, and I especially liked the excerpts from Victoria's personal letters and diaries that were included. When Victoria became queen, the political role of the crown was by no means clear; nor was the permanence of the throne itself. She rarely appeared in public until the end of the s, and during this time Great Britain saw a major movement in favor of republican government and for the abolition of monarchic powers.