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3.79 AVERAGE
3.79 AVERAGE
I confess, I watched the tv series first. I heard that the novel ends sooner than the tv series, so it was great going into the novel after finishing season 1 of Victoria, I could put faces to names and I read the lines in the actors voices.
Being an immense historical period drama lover, and an all round history buff, I'm fascinated by Queen Victoria so I loved reading this novel set during her younger years, from when she ascended to the throne at the age of 18.
This novel starts then, Alexandrina, or Drina, gets the news that she's suddenly Queen of England upon her Uncle's death. It's from here on in that her mother and her comrade want to control her, her MP's want to see her married, but Victoria as she now demands to be addressed (it's her middle name), will have none of it. She initially wants to avoid all drama of the opposite sex, and rule similarly to Elizabeth I.
Victoria's other uncle, Leopold, comes heavily into play, adamant that Victoria will marry his nephew, Albert. (Note: for my fellow history enthusiasts, we know that there love was one of the greatest), but I have to remind myself that this is historical fiction; although we don't really know what their first impressions were of one another, in this novel, Albert was initially put off by Victoria and her ways.
I absolutely love Daisy Goodwin's portrayal of the characters here. She presented Victoria in a sympathetic light, and I adore her character. I was majorly obsessing over Albert and Ernst too, I love their brotherly bond and banter and the both of them are just so dashing.
I love Lord M, he was and is such a dear. All throughout he constantly had Victoria's best interests at heart, and the blooming bond between them was divine. Initially Victoria feels like she's smitten with her Prime Minister, however he tells her that he mates for life, using a rather clever metaphor, and he's never recovered from his wife leaving him. It is this heartbreak and another tragic life lesson involving Lady Flora, that really puts Victoria on the path from young girl to reigning monarch. I loved the constant appearances of Victoria's dog, Dash, their relationship is so adorable and I love how he was the one constant presence in her life, and often his mood reflected hers, eg he barked at Albert when they first met.
I adored every page of this book, I could not put it down. It's absolutely going on my comfort reads list as well as all time favourites. The writing just effortlessly flowed and it was flawless.
Favourite quote:
"I find that happiness can always be recollected in tranquility, Ma'am."
I confess, I watched the tv series first. I heard that the novel ends sooner than the tv series, so it was great going into the novel after finishing season 1 of Victoria, I could put faces to names and I read the lines in the actors voices.
Being an immense historical period drama lover, and an all round history buff, I'm fascinated by Queen Victoria so I loved reading this novel set during her younger years, from when she ascended to the throne at the age of 18.
This novel starts then, Alexandrina, or Drina, gets the news that she's suddenly Queen of England upon her Uncle's death. It's from here on in that her mother and her comrade want to control her, her MP's want to see her married, but Victoria as she now demands to be addressed (it's her middle name), will have none of it. She initially wants to avoid all drama of the opposite sex, and rule similarly to Elizabeth I.
Victoria's other uncle, Leopold, comes heavily into play, adamant that Victoria will marry his nephew, Albert. (Note: for my fellow history enthusiasts, we know that there love was one of the greatest), but I have to remind myself that this is historical fiction; although we don't really know what their first impressions were of one another, in this novel, Albert was initially put off by Victoria and her ways.
I absolutely love Daisy Goodwin's portrayal of the characters here. She presented Victoria in a sympathetic light, and I adore her character. I was majorly obsessing over Albert and Ernst too, I love their brotherly bond and banter and the both of them are just so dashing.
I love Lord M, he was and is such a dear. All throughout he constantly had Victoria's best interests at heart, and the blooming bond between them was divine. Initially Victoria feels like she's smitten with her Prime Minister, however he tells her that he mates for life, using a rather clever metaphor, and he's never recovered from his wife leaving him. It is this heartbreak and another tragic life lesson involving Lady Flora, that really puts Victoria on the path from young girl to reigning monarch. I loved the constant appearances of Victoria's dog, Dash, their relationship is so adorable and I love how he was the one constant presence in her life, and often his mood reflected hers, eg he barked at Albert when they first met.
I adored every page of this book, I could not put it down. It's absolutely going on my comfort reads list as well as all time favourites. The writing just effortlessly flowed and it was flawless.
Favourite quote:
"I find that happiness can always be recollected in tranquility, Ma'am."
Being an immense historical period drama lover, and an all round history buff, I'm fascinated by Queen Victoria so I loved reading this novel set during her younger years, from when she ascended to the throne at the age of 18.
This novel starts then, Alexandrina, or Drina, gets the news that she's suddenly Queen of England upon her Uncle's death. It's from here on in that her mother and her comrade want to control her, her MP's want to see her married, but Victoria as she now demands to be addressed (it's her middle name), will have none of it. She initially wants to avoid all drama of the opposite sex, and rule similarly to Elizabeth I.
Victoria's other uncle, Leopold, comes heavily into play, adamant that Victoria will marry his nephew, Albert. (Note: for my fellow history enthusiasts, we know that there love was one of the greatest), but I have to remind myself that this is historical fiction; although we don't really know what their first impressions were of one another, in this novel, Albert was initially put off by Victoria and her ways.
I absolutely love Daisy Goodwin's portrayal of the characters here. She presented Victoria in a sympathetic light, and I adore her character. I was majorly obsessing over Albert and Ernst too, I love their brotherly bond and banter and the both of them are just so dashing.
I love Lord M, he was and is such a dear. All throughout he constantly had Victoria's best interests at heart, and the blooming bond between them was divine. Initially Victoria feels like she's smitten with her Prime Minister, however he tells her that he mates for life, using a rather clever metaphor, and he's never recovered from his wife leaving him. It is this heartbreak and another tragic life lesson involving Lady Flora, that really puts Victoria on the path from young girl to reigning monarch. I loved the constant appearances of Victoria's dog, Dash, their relationship is so adorable and I love how he was the one constant presence in her life, and often his mood reflected hers, eg he barked at Albert when they first met.
I adored every page of this book, I could not put it down. It's absolutely going on my comfort reads list as well as all time favourites. The writing just effortlessly flowed and it was flawless.
Favourite quote:
"I find that happiness can always be recollected in tranquility, Ma'am."
I liked it alot. My only wish is that it had gone further than the show
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
Then I will give you these flowers to remind you of your mother.
The review contains spoilers!!!
Considering that this was not my first historical novel, I try not to be biased and jump right into the deep water, but I just can't because I have so many thoughts.
I would like to start by saying that compared to a normal person, I am much more knowledgeable about the life of Queen Victoria, but I obviously know significantly less than a historian.
Basically, this book didn't sit on my shelf for long, because now I'm burning with Victorian fever (thanks to the series, which I still haven't started, but what's is not lost that is delayed haha)
This time I'm really trying to separate reality/series/book.
———————————————————
The book started with the 16-year-old Victoria and ends with the 19-year-old queen. I really liked that the story spanned several years.
Victoria is a determined but lost, strong character but weak young girl, around whose neck an entire country has been torn. To be honest, she was really very, very lucky to be able to turn 18 before her uncle died. I really loved her character, I actually adored her because she was so realistic (even though it's based on a real person). I suffered with her, cried and laughed with her. It was amazing to see how she became a grown woman.
Melbourne, well, about it, I'd rather jump into a river than say I loved him, because I really couldn't love him. I know that in reality he was more of a father figure than a lover, but it is a fact and true that 18-year-old Victoria, cut off from everything, suddenly did not know the difference between love and trust, which is no wonder. I was happy for him that he didn't take advantage of the poor thing like many men would have done and that he held on to the memory of his dead wife and that he was able to let her go. That's why a small part of me respects him.
Albert, my dear prince. To be honest, I liked him a lot in the last 5 chapters and I was terribly waiting for him to finally appear. My soul literally cried when he made a splint for Dash (my beautiful only puppy), if I were Victoria I would have marry to him on the spot without question haha.
The others:
Victoria (Victoria's mother) is the Duchess of Kent. Basically, she was a dragon in real life, but thanks to Albert, she reconciled with her daughter. Here in the book, she started to open up to her on her own and throughout (even if she didn't show it) she deeply cared and loved her daughter. Honestly, a part of me really hurts that she was treated like a breeding mare, because she isn't, neither are any of the women.
Alexander, I'm trying not to cry because he couldn't be with Victoria, because he was the heir to the throne (even though the situation would have been difficult geographically in the first place haha) I loved that he turned to her with such respect and devotion that no one else had. I believe that in another life, in another world, they found each other again and lived happily, because if her love life hadn't worked out with Albert, it would certainly have happened with him.
Emma, Harriet, etc. were and are important people, I really liked them (especially Emma). It's horrible what happened to Flora and it's really horrible what Victoria did to her (also in reality), but I understand her and why she did it, who wouldn't want to get rid of the enemy?
I would like to touch briefly on the Melbourne & Victoria relationship. I really don't support this as a love story and i never will, for me the well-known father-daughter relationship remains. But I was glad that they were there and supported each other, that they helped when the other was in deep, that they were there when the other needed it.
In summary, this was a great book with great characters, the only thing that bothered me was the plot; although I really loved it, it was very slow and sometimes (not often, but ) boring.
I would definitely recommend it to anyone who wants to learn more about Queen Victoria's life and early reign.
I have been so obsessed with the royal family and have started watching Victoria on Masterpiece theater.
The author, who is also the creator for the tv series, painted a beautiful picture of Victoria when she became queen at the age of 18. Isolated at Kensington for years until she became the sovereign, she had to learn quickly how to rule a country. Although she wasn't alone since she had her dashing prime minister, Lord Melbourne, to help her learn what her duties were and how to reign.
Goodwin writes about the first year of Queen Victoria's reign and the love between Lord Melbourne and the queen. Thought they loved each other very much, they vould never marry. Victoria was determined to be a virgin queen like Elizabeth I.
However, to her surprise, she falls in love with her cousin Albert from Coburg. Though unusual, she proposes marriage and the rest, they say, is history.
I loved how well this book was written and the history of the monarchy.
The author, who is also the creator for the tv series, painted a beautiful picture of Victoria when she became queen at the age of 18. Isolated at Kensington for years until she became the sovereign, she had to learn quickly how to rule a country. Although she wasn't alone since she had her dashing prime minister, Lord Melbourne, to help her learn what her duties were and how to reign.
Goodwin writes about the first year of Queen Victoria's reign and the love between Lord Melbourne and the queen. Thought they loved each other very much, they vould never marry. Victoria was determined to be a virgin queen like Elizabeth I.
However, to her surprise, she falls in love with her cousin Albert from Coburg. Though unusual, she proposes marriage and the rest, they say, is history.
I loved how well this book was written and the history of the monarchy.
emotional
informative
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I really enjoyed this book. I love historical fiction, especially stories about the Tudors, but I have never read anything about Victoria. I am so intrigued by her story now and want to read more about her. I cannot wait for this series to air in the US!
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
I am a huge fan of the historical Queen Victoria, and the British monarchy in general. I also loved the PBS drama starring Jenna Coleman and Tom Hughes. (And if we're being completely honest here, I lovveed the film "The Young Victoria" with Emily Blunt and Rupert Friend.) Do you get the point I love all things Victoria? So I was super excited to read this book, because of it being about Victoria, and because it was sort of following the same storyline as the Masterpiece show.
There's only one thing that disappoints me a little, being the lover of history that I am. In real life, Victoria had no romantic connection to Lord Melbourne, her Prime Minister. He was simply a father figure in her life, and guided her in the same way a friend would. I don't completely dislike their "relationship", if it can really even be called that, in this novel, but it wasn't my favorite thing. And that goes for the TV show, too. So believe me, I'm totally not hating, just pointing out the historical accuracy. ;)
Overall, this novel was fantastically written, and in my extensive knowledge of Queen Victoria (that was a joke) quite an accurate portrayal of her character as a young woman. The love story between her and Albert positively caused/causes me to swoon <3
So not that my opinion really matters, but I would definitely recommend this novel to any lover of history, romance, or just drama in general. :)
There's only one thing that disappoints me a little, being the lover of history that I am. In real life, Victoria had no romantic connection to Lord Melbourne, her Prime Minister. He was simply a father figure in her life, and guided her in the same way a friend would. I don't completely dislike their "relationship", if it can really even be called that, in this novel, but it wasn't my favorite thing. And that goes for the TV show, too. So believe me, I'm totally not hating, just pointing out the historical accuracy. ;)
Overall, this novel was fantastically written, and in my extensive knowledge of Queen Victoria (that was a joke) quite an accurate portrayal of her character as a young woman. The love story between her and Albert positively caused/causes me to swoon <3
So not that my opinion really matters, but I would definitely recommend this novel to any lover of history, romance, or just drama in general. :)