Victoria

August 25, 2014
Wilson (The Elizabethans) chronicles the life of Victoria, England’s longest-reigning monarch, in all its personal and political complexities. The product of a race to produce an heir after the premature death of Princess Charlotte, the future King George IV’s only heir, in 1817, Victoria grows up caught between her German mother’s influence and that of the British royal family. Ascending the throne at 18 and “at the mercy of the major political interest groups,” her wedding to Prince Albert follows, with their progeny marrying into positions of conflicting interest across Europe. Wilson exhibits a knack for description, his subject in turns “instinctively indiscreet,” “an impenitent imperialist,” and most notably, “a difficult woman to like, but an easy woman to love”—Victoria referred to her eldest daughter’s pregnancy as “horrid news,” and told her son upon his sister’s death, “The good are always taken and the bad remain.” Wilson captures the quirks of Victoria’s various prime ministers and the “drunken, loud-mouthed Highlander” John Brown, the queen’s “constant companion” and object of endless scandalous conjecture. Victorian era politics receive meticulous attention bordering on tedium, including suffrage for a growing middle class; increasing public questions about the utility of monarchy; and the trials of colonialism in India, Ireland, and South Africa. More than a Victoria biography, Wilson skillfully weaves the vast narrative of the Victorian landscape, despite being laden with bureaucratic minutiae.

Starred review from September 1, 2014
A shimmering portrait of a tempestuous monarch. British novelist and biographer Wilson (The Potter's Hand, 2012, etc.) has written on a wide variety of major historical figures, from John Milton to Leo Tolstoy to C.S Lewis to Adolph Hitler. Here, he lends a lively expertise to his portrayal of the forthright, formidable, still-enigmatic sovereign. In 1837, 18-year-old Victoria, a rather "ignorant little child," acceded to the throne, delighted to be independent of her overbearing mother but hardly schooled in political and constitutional matters. Wilson gradually reveals the unfolding of her true self apart from her marriage to the beloved Albert, prince consort. The author examines her platonic yet significant relationships with succeeding prime ministers and her mysterious Scottish manservant, John Brown. Aside from didactic correspondence from her uncle, King Leopold of Belgium, Victoria was first taught about the affairs of a head of state by Lord Melbourne, who was also her first crush, until her marriage to Albert of Coburg, her German-speaking cousin whose solid Protestant intellectual ideals helped "establish monarchy as a workable modern political institution" in England. Their family of nine children, all of whom survived childhood and were used to cement familial ties to the neighboring monarchies, created a bulwark against the forces of revolution overtaking Europe. Yet Wilson also notes how the marriage caused Victoria to surrender "her own freedom and personality." She was not a happy mother, always scolding her children, and she was immensely volatile, especially after Albert's death, when she largely retired from court to her estates in Scotland or the Isle of Wight. In the company of Brown, she resisted her official public duties, preferring instead to write in her journals. During her long reign, Victoria had come to embody the experience of an entire age, overseeing great reform and the strengthening of ties between India and the British Empire. A robust, immensely entertaining portrait from a master biographer.

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Starred review from September 1, 2014
It's not that the longest-reigning monarch in British history has not been written about beforein fact, Queen Victoria has been written about abundantlyit's just that few if any previous biographers have viewed her as incisively and absorbingly as Wilson does in his lengthy but smoothly flowing treatment of the queen's long life. The considerable detail he brings to his greatly balanced portrait not only strengthens his estimation of the significance of the queen in British governmental history but also successfully conveys for the general reader all the nuances of character that Wilson so carefully shares. Certain important points arise, including the author's agreement with previous biographers that the queen was desolated by the premature death of her husband, Prince Albert. But he also avers, in contrast to many who have written before him, that despite her mental upset without the prince consort's steady hand, she never lost interest in the affairs of state. Wilson sees Victoria as a woman who battled demons and emerged from her various darknesses victorious as a functioning woman and monarch. As for the prince consort, a controversial figure, he maintains that Albert was the only member of the Royal Family in recent history, or perhaps ever, who deserves the name of genius. (Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)

September 15, 2014

Wilson (The Elizabethans) is convinced of the greatness of Queen Victoria (1819-1901), and his admiration for the long-reigning female monarch is evident in this comprehensive, highly accessible work. Although rooted in the complex political and international details of the era, the biography's focus remains squarely on Victoria, who, Wilson argues is fascinating because of her intricate inner life. Victoria escaped a melancholy and solitary childhood by writing and journaling, a practice she continued throughout her life and some of which she had the temerity to publish. Hence Wilson asserts she was, in certain ways, a modern royal who wanted the public to "feel her pain," most notably after the passing of her beloved consort Albert. Readers will revel in the details of her relationships with her children, grandchildren, private secretaries, successive prime ministers, and servants John Brown and Abdul Karim. While the author admits that the precise nature of her affairs, especially that with Brown, remain uncertain, he concludes that Victoria needed people who were solely special to her. Wilson is most successful in identifying and highlighting the monarch's paradoxes: the contrasts between the "little woman in a bonnet" and the queen who proudly controlled the British empire. VERDICT Highly recommended for readers fascinated by the lives of notable individuals and British royalty. [See Prepub Alert, 6/2/14.]--Marie M. Mullaney, Caldwell Coll., NJ

Copyright 2014 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from September 15, 2014

Wilson (The Elizabethans) is convinced of the greatness of Queen Victoria (1819-1901), and his admiration for the long-reigning female monarch is evident in this comprehensive, highly accessible work. Although rooted in the complex political and international details of the era, the biography's focus remains squarely on Victoria, who, Wilson argues is fascinating because of her intricate inner life. Victoria escaped a melancholy and solitary childhood by writing and journaling, a practice she continued throughout her life and some of which she had the temerity to publish. Hence Wilson asserts she was, in certain ways, a modern royal who wanted the public to "feel her pain," most notably after the passing of her beloved consort Albert. Readers will revel in the details of her relationships with her children, grandchildren, private secretaries, successive prime ministers, and servants John Brown and Abdul Karim. While the author admits that the precise nature of her affairs, especially that with Brown, remain uncertain, he concludes that Victoria needed people who were solely special to her. Wilson is most successful in identifying and highlighting the monarch's paradoxes: the contrasts between the "little woman in a bonnet" and the queen who proudly controlled the British empire. VERDICT Highly recommended for readers fascinated by the lives of notable individuals and British royalty. [See Prepub Alert, 6/2/14.]--Marie M. Mullaney, Caldwell Coll., NJ

Copyright 2014 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

June 15, 2014

Wilson is an authority on Victorian-era Great Britain (his The Victorians is much admired), and as a biographer he takes on the biggies, e.g., Jesus, Milton, and Tolstoy, so we can't be surprised to see this big biography of Queen Victoria. Wilson's main argument: despite appearances, she was deeply involved in affairs of state. Wilson limns Victoria's personal struggles, too; look for national NPR coverage.

Copyright 2014 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.