Victoria: A Life

Victoria: A Life

â€œ[A] shimmering and rather wonderful biography.â€ â€”The GuardianÂ (London)

When Queen Victoria died in 1901, she had ruled for nearly sixty-four years. She was the mother of nine and grandmother of forty-two and the matriarch of royal Europe through her childrenâ€™s marriages. To many, Queen Victoria is a ruler shrouded in myth and mystique, an aging, stiff widow paraded as the figurehead to an all-male imperial enterprise. But in truth, Britainâ€™s longest-reigning monarch was one of the most passionate, expressive, humorous, and unconventional women who ever lived, and the story of her life continues to fascinate.

A. N. Wilsonâ€™s exhaustively researched and definitive biography includes a wealth of new material from previously unseen sources to show us Queen Victoria as sheâ€™s never been seen before. Wilson explores the curious set of circumstances that led to Victoriaâ€™s coronation, her strange and isolated childhood, her passionate marriage to Prince Albert and his pivotal influence even after death, and her widowhood and subsequent intimate friendship with her Highland servant John Brown, all set against the backdrop of this momentous epoch in Britainâ€™s historyâ€”and the worldâ€™s.

Born at the very moment of the expansion of British political and commercial power across the globe, Victoria went on to chart a unique course for her country even as she became the matriarch of nearly every great dynasty of Europe. Her destiny was thus interwoven with those of millions of peopleâ€”not just in Europe but in the ever-expanding empire that Britain was becoming throughout the nineteenth century. The famed queen had a face that adorned postage stamps, banners, statues, and busts all over the known world.

Wilsonâ€™sÂ VictoriaÂ is a towering achievement, a masterpiece of biography by a writer at the height of his powers.

*VICTORIA, an eight part miniseries about Queen Victoria is coming to PBS in the Downton Abbey slot, premiering January 8th (trailer). The series stars Jenna Coleman (DR. WHO) as Queen Victoria, Rufus Sewell (PILLARS OF THE EARTH), and Tom Hughes (ABOUT TIME).*

From the Trade Paperback edition.
Country USA
Manufacturer Penguin Books
Binding Kindle Edition
ReleaseDate 2014-10-23
Format Kindle eBook

Country	USA
Manufacturer	Penguin Books
Binding	Kindle Edition
ReleaseDate	2014-10-23
Format	Kindle eBook

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