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Queen Victoria's Granddaughters: 1860-1918
- Narrated by: Fleur Edwards
- Length: 13 hrs and 32 mins
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Queen Victoria's Granddaughters: 1860-1918
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Summary
On 6 July 1868, when told of the birth of her seventh granddaughter, Queen Victoria remarked that the news was "a very uninteresting thing for it seems to me to go on like the rabbits in Windsor Park". Her apathy was understandable - this was her 14th grandchild, and, though she had given birth to nine children, she had never been fond of babies, viewing them as "frog-like and rather disgusting...particularly when undressed".
The early years of her marriage had, she claimed, been ruined by frequent pregnancies, and large families were unnecessary for wealthy people since the children would grow up with nothing worthwhile to do. Nevertheless, her initial reaction to the birth of Princess Victoria of Wales belied the genuine concern that Queen Victoria felt for each of her 22 granddaughters. "As a rule," she wrote, "I like girls best," and she devoted a great deal of time to their well-being and happiness, showering them with affection she had seldom shown her own children.
By 1914, through a series of dynastic marriages, the queen's granddaughters included the empress of Russia; the queens of Spain, Greece, and Norway' and the crown princesses of Rumania and Sweden. As their brothers and cousins occupied the thrones of Germany, Britain, and Denmark, Prince Albert's dream of a peaceful Europe created through bonds of kinship seemed a real possibility. Yet in little more than a decade after Queen Victoria's death, the prince consort's dream would lie shattered in the carnage of the First World War. Royal cousins and even siblings would find themselves on opposing sides; two of them would die horrifically at the hands of revolutionaries, and several others would be ousted from their thrones. They had lived through the halcyon days of the European monarchies, but their lives, like the lives of millions of their people, would be changed forever by the catastrophe.
What listeners say about Queen Victoria's Granddaughters: 1860-1918
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Franklymydarling
- 26-04-17
A whole lot of Princesses
If you are a royal history lover this is a book for you. You'll learn more about minor European royalty and family ties. The granddaughter who became a saint, 2 who supposedly married gay men, and the dedication to hospital works and causes. But be warned the name listing of family members at the start of each chapter is about irritating at first, but you soon find you need the lists to keep up with whose who.
An interesting and engaging listen.
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8 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Campesque
- 29-04-19
Fascinating insight into the most complicated of families.
An engaging and interesting look into the lives of the female offspring of Queen Victoria's children. These girls were the product of European royal dynastic marriages, and were expected to follow suit - love, if it happened, was a happy byproduct of these political unions. It's hard not to pity these women.
Awful narration. It's a testament to the story that I didn't give up and send it back. Correct pronunciation is rather important.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Alison
- 18-07-17
Victoria's Granddaughters
What did you like best about Queen Victoria's Granddaughters: 1860-1918? What did you like least?
Interesting story - how can it not be? Let down by the dreadful narration.
Would you be willing to try another one of Fleur Edwards’s performances?
No. She seemed to manage the tough Prussian and German names really well and then spent a period of times pronouncing 'Cannes' as 'Cans'. It just threw me completely. And she also seemed to need to take breathy pauses in the wrong places. Not impressed at all. Great shame.
Any additional comments?
This will never fail to be interesting as a history - the way that Victoria knitted Europe together with her breeding programme, but I really feel it was let down by the narrator, and very badly so. Such a shame.
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5 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Hilary
- 01-01-18
Excellent content, bizarre narration
Clear and well written. The repetition of relevant genealogy at the beginning of each chapter was really helpful.
The only downside was the robotic style of the narration with some strange emphasis in some sentences and bizarre pronunciation of some words. Not enough to put me off listening, but not a narration I’d go out of my way to hear again.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Angelcritique
- 22-06-20
Interesting history
I've read Christina Croft's books before and found them well written. Some factual inaccuracies here but otherwise a comprehensive history. The narration is blighted by the mispronunciation of some commonplace words which is baffling, as well as names. Why narrators don't research the project beforehand I don't know. In the main I'm not bowled over.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Sally Douglas
- 08-06-22
Fascinating book marred by terrible narration
Fascinating and well-written account of the lives and fates of Queen Victoria’s many granddaughters. Their marriages throughout the royal families of Europe meant that most of the European monarchies had British blood in their line - and that these women were to experience not just marital happiness or unhappiness but war and revolution and the necessity to take sides against their own families.
The book itself was great, but the robotic narration, along with its weird mispronunciations of words (dowager, Ypres spring to mind straight away - doesn’t anyone ‘proof-listen’?) was dreadful. In fact, it’s an indicator of the quality of the writing and the fascinating subject matter, that I managed to finish the book.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- EM
- 19-07-17
Really intriguing
I found this book to be a captivating look in to this time period and in to the varied lives of these women.
The pivotal role in which Queen Victoria and her family played across the European royal houses and political climates of the time lead to many fascinating and dramatic stories, some times comic but often very traumatic, as seen through the eyes of her Granddaughters.
Great writing by the author and excellent read by the Narrator kept me gripped throughout, I loved it!
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6 people found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Julia
- 11-11-17
A moving story
Too complex a list of characters and this leads to a superficial analysis of their lives. Stylistically quite good.
However, the narration spoiled it for me. Several words were mispronounced - dowager, Ypres, for example - and the voice was monotonous and rather plaintive.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Jamie
- 19-07-17
Lovely listen
Really interesting account of the trials and tribulations of Queen Victoria's Granddaughters. Fascinating insights and stories too.
Lovely read by the narrator too, really helped to make the subject come alive. Spot on with the variety of strange pronunciations and names.
Would highly recommend.
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4 people found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Annie
- 06-03-21
Excellent book
Found this to be a really informative book about many royals you would not normally hear about. The tedious cast list announced at the beginning of each chapter should never have been included and insults the reader's ability to keep up with the flow. Some oddly pronounced words included.
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