Also available as an e‐book (ISBN 1 57607 580 X)
This book is an excellent biographical companion for those studying Victorian history or for anyone who is simply interested in Queen Victoria and her reign. It covers just about every aspect of Victoria’s official and private life, giving specific details on her children, friends, personal interests and concerns, the historical events that marked her era, and the prime ministers and various other persons whose lives impacted on her reign. When looking at many biographies written about Victoria, it is important to remember that details are often left out in order to impart the more important and broader themes of her life. This book fills some of these gaps by picking up on topics such as her interest in the paranormal and her love of animals.
There is plenty of information in this book to satisfy a fascination or passing interest with Queen Victoria or to include in an assignment about life in the nineteenth century. Arranged alphabetically, the entries give a glimpse into Victoria’s personal and political life, from the carefree beginning of a young impetuous princess to her years reigning over a great empire. The entries feature comprehensive cross‐references within the text and to related topics, enabling students at any level to conduct thorough, quality research. In addition, each entry includes references for further reading. Particular features are biographical entries on her family as well as her private secretaries and prime ministers. Also looked at are her personal interests, such as opera and dancing, and things she did not like such as smoking and women’s rights. As an added bonus it further features entries on issues about which she held very strong views, such as the fresh air that she believed was of great benefit to health. The queen “refused to entertain any idea that too much cold air was harmful”, even if it meant that her youngest daughter Beatrice suffered from crippling rheumatism!
Possibly the most interesting entries are those on Victorian archetypes and icons such as Christmas, the Albert Memorial and Jack the Ripper, to name a few. On the subject of the latter, the Queen was as fascinated as the general public by these grisly murders and went so far as to write “to Salisbury, alarmed at the continuing mismanagement of the investigation”. One wonders just how alarmed she would have been if she had ever known of today’s suspicions of her grandson, Albert Edward Victor, the Duke of Clarence, as the possible perpetrator.
While it is easy to look at Queen Victoria as one of the most written about women in history, this book is undoubtedly one of the better available. From its aesthetically pleasing layout to the varied topics covered, it can only be seen as an ideal research companion for any student or historian of the Victorian period, particularly where the focus is the life of the great Queen herself.
