Victoria’s Daughters

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Description

Five women who shared one of the odd and privileged sisterhoods of all time…

Vicky, Alice, Helena, Louise, and Beatrice were historically unique sisters, born to a sovereign who ruled over a quarter of the earth’s people and who gave her name to an era: Queen Victoria. Two of these princesses would themselves produce children of immense consequence. All five would face the social restrictions and familial machinations borne by ninetheenth-century women of far less exalted class.

Researched at the houses and palaces of its five subjects– in London, Scotland, Berlin, Darmstadt, and Ottawa– Victoria’s Daughters examines a generation of royal women who were dominated by their mother, married off as much for political advantage as for love, and passed over entirely when their brother Bertie ascended to the throne. Packard, an experienced biographer whose last book chronicled Victoria’s final days, provides valuable insights into their complex, oft-tragic lives as scions of Europe’s most influential dynasty, and daughters of their own very troubled times.

Incisive character studies of Queen Victoria’s five daughters give you the framework for a full of life survey of 19th-century European history. With three brothers securing the English throne, the princesses’ royal duty used to be to further Britain’s interests through marriage. Vivacious, intelligent Vicky (1840-1901), the spoiled eldest, had a happy union with Hohenzollern prince Frederick William, though her liberal views were unpopular in Prussia and vehemently resisted by her son Willy, who sooner or later became the emperor of Germany. Sensitive, altruistic Alice (1843-78); dutiful, dull Lenchen (1846-1923); and shy baby sister Beatrice (1857-1944) all married minor German royalty–though Beatrice, intended to be her domineering mother’s spinster companion, didn’t marry until she used to be 28 and continued to live in England at Victoria’s beck and call. Centuries-old custom dictated that princesses should not wed subjects, but artistic, rebellious Louise (1848-1939) married a Scottish nobleman anyway and managed to lead a moderately less restricted life than her sisters, particularly as a strong supporter of charitable organizations for women. Jerrold Packard, a veteran historian-biographer with six previous books to his credit, spins an enjoyably outdated narrative emphasizing personal relationships among Europe’s royalty and their have an effect on on political developments. –Wendy Smith

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