Victoria: The Queen: An Intimate Biography of the Woman Who Ruled an Empire

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Description

The true story for fans of the PBS Masterpiece series Victoria, this page-turning biography reveals the real woman in the back of the myth: a bold, glamorous, unbreakable queen—a Victoria for our times. Drawing on prior to now unpublished papers, this stunning new portrait is a story of love and heartbreak, of devotion and grief, of strength and resilience.

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY
JANET MASLIN, THE NEW YORK TIMES • ESQUIRE • THE CHICAGO PUBLIC LIBRARY

“Victoria the Queen, Julia Baird’s exquisitely wrought and meticulously researched biography, brushes the dusty myth off this unusual monarch.”—The New York Times Book Review (Editor’s Choice)

When Victoria used to be born, in 1819, the world used to be a very different place. Revolution would threaten many of Europe’s monarchies in the coming decades. In Britain, a generation of royals had indulged their whims at the public’s expense, and republican sentiment used to be growing. The Industrial Revolution used to be transforming the landscape, and the British Empire used to be commanding ever larger tracts of the globe. In a world where women were regularly powerless, all through a century roiling with change, Victoria went on to rule the most powerful country on this planet with a decisive hand.

Fifth in line to the throne at the time of her birth, Victoria used to be an peculiar woman thrust into an unusual role. As a girl, she defied her mother’s meddling and an adviser’s bullying, forging an iron will of her own. As a teenage queen, she eagerly grasped the crown and relished the freedom it brought her. At twenty, she fell passionately in love with Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, eventually giving birth to nine children. She loved sex and delighted in power. She used to be outspoken with her ministers, overstepping conventional boundaries and asserting her opinions. After the death of her adored Albert, she began a controversial, intimate relationship with her servant John Brown. She survived eight assassination attempts over the course of her lifetime. And as science, technology, and democracy were dramatically reshaping the world, Victoria used to be a symbol of steadfastness and security—queen of a quarter of the world’s population at the height of the British Empire’s reach.

Drawing on sources that include fresh revelations about Victoria’s relationship with John Brown, Julia Baird brings vividly to life the fascinating story of a woman who struggled with such a lot of of the things we do today: balancing work and family, raising children, navigating marital strife, losing parents, combating anxiety and self-doubt, finding an identity, in search of meaning.

Praise for Victoria: The Queen

“Fascinating.”—Vogue

“In Baird’s deft portrayal, Victoria lives, breathes, and struts before us in all her complexity. . . . On a geopolitical level, Baird’s sweeping historical portrait also illuminates just how interconnected the European royal families were all through this time. . . . Historical astuteness aside, the pages gallop along enhanced by titillating morsels of info.”—Esquire

“A vivid portrait of one of England’s longest-reigning monarchs.”—Entertainment Weekly

“[A] success from start to finish . . . [Baird’s] Victoria is a vivid, visceral creature.”—The Christian Science Monitor

“Like the best biographers, Baird writes like a novelist, and her book is crammed with irresistible detail and description.”—The Seattle Times

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