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3.79 AVERAGE
3.79 AVERAGE
I loved this book. I have seen the PBS version of Victoria and find that this book compliments it. The book brought remindes of what I watched and gave some more detail.
Thank you to Headline Review and NetGalley for providing a copy of this book for me to review!
Victoria is a novelisation of Queen Victoria's ascension to the British throne in 1837. What you may or may not know, however, is that the author of this book is also the writer and creator of the ITV series (also titled Victoria) that coincides with it. I actually watched season 1 of the show first before reading the novel, so it's extremely difficult for me not to compare the two and to be honest, I much prefer the show to the novel. That's not to say it's a bad book, because it's not. It just lacked a few of the things that I adored from the show and even if I never watched the show, I still feel as though I would have the same issues with the book.
So here is what I will tell you (if you don't want to know anything about the show or the book's plot and don't already know the history of Queen Victoria, then perhaps don't read on) - The novel only reaches the point of Victoria's engagement, whereas the show continues farther than that until the birth of her first child. This, combined with the fact that Prince Albert only enters the novel 80% of the way through, was my main issue. If you're a massive romance fan like I am, then you'll probably be reading this wondering when the HECK Albert is finally going to show up and woo you and this is exactly what happened. I was waiting and waiting and waiting and then it only leads up until their engagement??? ARE YOU KIDDING ME??? THEIR RELATIONSHIP IS LITERALLY WHAT I'M HERE FOR!
Don't get me wrong, the first 80% of the novel is still important, as it follows Victoria's ascension and relationship with Lord Melbourne, but it dragged on for far too long and, in my opinion, should have only taken up 40-50% of the novel MAX, and the rest to be focussed on Victoria and Albert, their relationship, and how they rule together and start a family.
I would be fine with the novel how it is if it were the first in a series, but Daisy Goodwin has stated that her next novel will follow an entirely different main character and it will take place after Prince Albert dies SO THE WHOLE REASON I WANTED TO READ THESE BOOKS IS COMPLETELY OUT OF THE PICTURE. WHAT THE HECK.
I did love seeing Victoria ruling by herself, standing up to all of her enemies and coming into her own, but Albert was such a HUGE part of her life and I really, REALLY wanted to read about them together, so I was super disappointed.
In terms of the content, it's pretty historically accurate for the amount of information available and Daisy Goodwin relied on a hefty biography of Victoria's life so she knew what she was talking about, even if some aspects were embellished for the sake of TV drama.
So yes, I recommend this book if you want to know more about the Queen's early reigning years, but I don't recommend it if you're purely here for her and Prince Albert's relationship. I would definitely recommend the TV show over the novel in any case. The acting is superb, the costumes and settings were incredible and PRINCE ALBERT IS IN MORE THAN HALF OF IT, SO THERE'S THAT. He comes in at the end of episode 3 and there's 8 episodes in total in the first season, so get on that!
Overall I gave it a 3 out of 5 stars!
Victoria is a novelisation of Queen Victoria's ascension to the British throne in 1837. What you may or may not know, however, is that the author of this book is also the writer and creator of the ITV series (also titled Victoria) that coincides with it. I actually watched season 1 of the show first before reading the novel, so it's extremely difficult for me not to compare the two and to be honest, I much prefer the show to the novel. That's not to say it's a bad book, because it's not. It just lacked a few of the things that I adored from the show and even if I never watched the show, I still feel as though I would have the same issues with the book.
So here is what I will tell you (if you don't want to know anything about the show or the book's plot and don't already know the history of Queen Victoria, then perhaps don't read on) - The novel only reaches the point of Victoria's engagement, whereas the show continues farther than that until the birth of her first child. This, combined with the fact that Prince Albert only enters the novel 80% of the way through, was my main issue. If you're a massive romance fan like I am, then you'll probably be reading this wondering when the HECK Albert is finally going to show up and woo you and this is exactly what happened. I was waiting and waiting and waiting and then it only leads up until their engagement??? ARE YOU KIDDING ME??? THEIR RELATIONSHIP IS LITERALLY WHAT I'M HERE FOR!
Don't get me wrong, the first 80% of the novel is still important, as it follows Victoria's ascension and relationship with Lord Melbourne, but it dragged on for far too long and, in my opinion, should have only taken up 40-50% of the novel MAX, and the rest to be focussed on Victoria and Albert, their relationship, and how they rule together and start a family.
I would be fine with the novel how it is if it were the first in a series, but Daisy Goodwin has stated that her next novel will follow an entirely different main character and it will take place after Prince Albert dies SO THE WHOLE REASON I WANTED TO READ THESE BOOKS IS COMPLETELY OUT OF THE PICTURE. WHAT THE HECK.
I did love seeing Victoria ruling by herself, standing up to all of her enemies and coming into her own, but Albert was such a HUGE part of her life and I really, REALLY wanted to read about them together, so I was super disappointed.
In terms of the content, it's pretty historically accurate for the amount of information available and Daisy Goodwin relied on a hefty biography of Victoria's life so she knew what she was talking about, even if some aspects were embellished for the sake of TV drama.
So yes, I recommend this book if you want to know more about the Queen's early reigning years, but I don't recommend it if you're purely here for her and Prince Albert's relationship. I would definitely recommend the TV show over the novel in any case. The acting is superb, the costumes and settings were incredible and PRINCE ALBERT IS IN MORE THAN HALF OF IT, SO THERE'S THAT. He comes in at the end of episode 3 and there's 8 episodes in total in the first season, so get on that!
Overall I gave it a 3 out of 5 stars!
Really liked this book and this author. Love the opportunity to learn a little history while indulging in a bit of fictionalized accounting!
Great book to read on the tails of the royal wedding of Harry and Megan. It was informative but not very entertaining. Marrying your first cousin is exceptable?!?
The audio book was very good! This very closely resembled the tv show season 1. The only difference is that in the show you get the "downstairs" staff story lines which I'm glad of. #VictoriaNovel #DaisyGoodwin
1. This is written like a story, with dialogue, not like a biography.
2. It only covers from Victoria’s ascension to her proposal to Albert.
3. Up to the 70% mark, it is Victoria and Melbourne yearning for each other. They lock eyes, they sigh, he longs to wrap her hair around his finger, her skin burns where they touch, she buries her face in his coat, etc.
This just felt like someone read the first third of the Queen Victoria Wikipedia page and wrote a fanfic. There’s really very little substance here. This might be good for a young adult reader interested in history but I really can’t recommend it.
2. It only covers from Victoria’s ascension to her proposal to Albert.
3. Up to the 70% mark, it is Victoria and Melbourne yearning for each other. They lock eyes, they sigh, he longs to wrap her hair around his finger, her skin burns where they touch, she buries her face in his coat, etc.
This just felt like someone read the first third of the Queen Victoria Wikipedia page and wrote a fanfic. There’s really very little substance here. This might be good for a young adult reader interested in history but I really can’t recommend it.
I really enjoyed this and now I’m looking forward to watching the series!
Loved this at first and loved Victoria but I felt the book was a little longer than it needed to be and I didn’t believe in the connection between her and Albert.
A 4,5 star reading.
It took me quite a while to read this book but it wasn’t its fault, I’ve been in a bit of a reading slump. But this book was amazing, one of those readings that when you finish, you wish you could forget the plot to start reading again for the first time.
Loved it!!!
It took me quite a while to read this book but it wasn’t its fault, I’ve been in a bit of a reading slump. But this book was amazing, one of those readings that when you finish, you wish you could forget the plot to start reading again for the first time.
Loved it!!!