loved this book.

wonderful book well researched and well written.
Always knew parts of the story, but it really bought Victoria to life. Also never really knew what happened to all her children till now. Thank you A.N Wilson for the history lesson.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

An interesting listen

Very well written and read. Perhaps too many names to remember so a family tree might be a useful visual to have at hand.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Strangely riveting

The unfailingly marvellous A.N.Wilson delivers a magisterial survey of both the life and times of Victoria and a corrective to the “we are not amused” cliche that still prevails. He writes enormously sympathetically and even generously about Victoria - and followers of A.N. will know that he is more than capable of sharpening his quill to deadly effect if he so desires. At times the reader might want him to linger and dawdle, but honestly there’s so much ground to cover that restraint must have been the watchword. Clearly there was a tragic suppression of Victoria’s diaries and letters after her death, not least in matters of John Brown, dealt with tantalisingly here. Hats off to the narrator, who conveys the humour of Wilson’s prose and serves up no end of accents when required. I feel I now need to get the book so I can dip in and out at leisure. Recommended!

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Riveting and entertaining?

So much mythologising and fictionalising of Victoria’s life groans on the bookshelves and airwaves already, one has got to ask: do we really need another, can it say anything new? Well, incredibly, yes, because what the author has done here is take the reader (or listener) right into the heart of the woman, building up an extremely plausible psychology. When A N Wilson finally lays bare the his analysis of her, you say, “Ah, yes, so that’s why she did this ... “ (or failed to do that)!

I don’t think the author set out to do a ‘character analysis’ - at least not in any clinical way. But clearly after years with his subject he’s had to come to some inevitable conclusions. And he admits, “You don’t necessarily have to like a person to love them.” Many of her close entourage must have grappled with that dichotomy all their lives; the patterned carpets are strewn with carcasses.

Mercifully this book doesn’t spend too much time eulogising Albert. Credit where it’s due, but it is also pointed out that the man was turning into a grumpy old killjoy! Much more interesting are the relationships with Victoria’s prime ministers and aides, and the tactics some of them were forced to deploy to curb her temper and prejudices.

We see a foot-stamping, hot-headed little girl mature very little. It took a great deal of persuading from some of the greatest lights in the land to get her off her backside and doing a few simple things a monarch should do. She was idle and indolent, monumentally selfish and self-indulgent. The vast quantities of food that found their way into that 5 foot frame are also testament to that. Oh, and claret mixed with whisky, so much so that messages (usually furious ones) to Ministers were quite unintelligible.

Being emotionally incontinent Victoria spewed her every thought onto paper. MILLIONS of words, decade after decade, in journals and letters. Many haven’t survived the purges of PR savvy daughters, but enough have remained to enable us to see glimpses of the daily commentary of an inveterate gossip on matters of virtually no importance whatsoever mingled with earth-shattering affairs of State. Mr Wilson has done a very good job at explaining things like the Crimean War or the Boer War or the significance of the name ‘Empress’, all of which flummoxed me when doing History ‘O’ level; without over simplification and certainly with no obfuscation he brings some understanding to these often unpalatable matters. Thus that century of profound change marches before our eyes, accompanied by the ‘bell voiced’ (as her intonation was said to be) soundtrack of Queen Victoria’s asides, bitchings, jokes, gripes, irrelevancies, stubbornness - or a tipsy squiggle.

I think A N Wilson has ended up espousing the cause of loving someone you can’t quite bring yourself to like. He makes heroic efforts to explain certain character traits with empathy (e.g. menopause, depression - even the insecurity of the immigrant) and takes readers along this prickly journey.

Gareth Armstrong is a perfect coupling. He gets Victoria’s pitch just right, without going all squeaky or faux contralto. His Scotsmen sound as forthright as they’re meant to be, and his Germans fuss around, as I expect they would have.

No more silly TV for me! I’ve got what I wanted and have already started right back at the beginning again.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

26 people found this helpful

Myth buster history

This gives an insight into the myth of the widow of Windsor. A much more complex and far less benign person than folklore would have us believe. A very detailed history of the turbulent times as well as the personal history of Victoria. It makes you glad to call yourself an Elizabethan!

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful

A N Wilson excellent

I read a couple of biographies about Victoria and for the most part the authors allowed their political feelings to guide their pens. As usual A N Wilson is an author to trust and enjoy. The performance was exceptional. 5 stars. A book for people who want to know the person they are reading about and not the politics of the author.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Excellent and easily read overview

This is a very worthy overview of an amazing life. It is told with humour but also with admiration yet it’s not sycophantic. Humanised it’s subject but doesn’t shy away from flaws. A great book very well narrated. A slight overuse of accents while voicing some characters but the narrator gets away with it.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Inspiring and edifying

An excellent biography and reading of Queen Victoria addressing the many aspects of her life and reign.

Well read throughout.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

6 people found this helpful

Send her Victorious!

As we have come to expect from A.N. Wilson, this book is the product of both deep and wide scholarship. It is also beautifully read.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

A treat from start to finish

Nothing much more to add, it was a joyful insight, touched by tragedy. So much glorious detail. What an amazing job this author has done. Highly recommended.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!