Daisy Goodwin

"Victoriais an absolutely captivating novel of youth, love, and the often painful transition from immaturity to adulthood. Daisy Goodwin breathes new life into Victoria's story, and does so with sensitivity, verve, and wit." – Amanda Foreman “They think I am still a little girl who is not capable of being a Queen.” Lord Melbourne turned to look at Victoria. “They are mistaken. I have not known you long, but I observe in you a natural dignity that cannot be learnt. To me, ma’am, you are every inch a Queen.” In 1837, less than a month after her eighteenth birthday, Alexandrina Victoria – sheltered, small in stature, andfemale – became Queen of Great Britain and Ireland. Many thought it was preposterous: Alexandrina — Drina to her family — had always been tightly controlled by her mother and her household, and was surely too unprepossessing to hold the throne. Yet from the moment William IV died, the young Queen startled everyone: abandoning her hated first name in favor of Victoria; insisting, for the first time in her life, on sleeping in a room apart from her mother; resolute about meeting with her ministers alone. One of those ministers, Lord Melbourne, became Victoria’s private secretary. Perhaps he might have become more than that, except everyone argued she was destined to marry her cousin, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. But Victoria had met Albert as a child and found him stiff and critical: surely the last man she would want for a husband…. Drawing on Victoria’s diaries as well as her own brilliant gifts for history and drama, Daisy Goodwin, author of the bestselling novelsThe American Heiress andThe Fortune Hunter as well as creator and writer of the new PBS/Masterpiece dramaVictoria, brings the young queen even more richly to life in this magnificent novel.

A Novel

Victoria

Als Victoria, pas 18 en beschermd opgevoed, in 1837 koningin van Engeland wordt, wenst ze haar eigen keuzes te maken.

Steffi'sBookShelve

Een fantastisch boek om te lezen, het is alleen jammer dat ik niet weet of dit boek historisch correct is of een fictieve roman. Misschien is het zelfs een mengeling van de twee.

Sarah

As a huge fan of anything and all thing Victorian, I can definitely say that this novel is worth the read! Although the structure of the text is relatively simple, it does not deter from the story. In fact, I believe it enhances it.

The way this novel was written really portrays Victoria in an interesting light: not only a queen but also as a woman and girl. It goes through her emotions in such a relatable, interesting way that a new perspective on who she was really shines though.

I have to confess, I did watch the PBS show first so i did imagine all the characters as their actors, but I found the novel more insightful in areas, especially dealing with internal emotions and struggles that are harder to portray with only facial expressions. I definitely enjoyed the parts in the novel that didn't make their way into the show as well. They added nicely to the characters themselves!

Overall, this is a must-read for all Queen Victoria fans! I am anxiously praying for a second novel!!

Lacy W

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w: sickness, death, sexism

One of my goals for 2020 (besides finishing up any series I’ve started) is branching out my reading. I want to read more diverse books and I want to read books about different time periods besides the same ones I always read about. Normally I stick with King Henry VIII and Russian Tzar time periods. And while I love those time periods, you can honestly only read so much about them before you start getting things repeated. 

In my attempt to clear out books I already own, I decided to read about Queen Victoria, one of the longest ruling monarchs of the United Kingdom. I’ve read only one previous book about her so I decided to give another book about her a shot. It fits my goal of wanting to read about different time periods so I figured why not? 

This book, Victoria, is about the first few years of her rule. There clearly was a lot of work involved with this book, which is something I can appreciate. I always like to acknowledge when an author puts in a lot of time to make sure their book is as historically accurate as possible. But the reason for the 3 (three) stars had to do with Victoria herself. 

Now I don't know if she was childish in real life like she was in this book. But wow, reading this book, was painful at times. Victoria was so childish! I’m amazed she was able to keep her throne. She threw so many tantrums. I was constantly told about how she wanted to rule and she was going to be a good ruler for her people but man, she sure didn’t act like it. She was prone to going through fits and refusing to do any important work if something didn’t go her way. Honestly, that was frustrating to read. It didn’t help that the book was written so impersonally, almost like a biography. I told things more than I was shown. 

Overall, this wasn’t a terrible book. I’m still very interested in learning more about Victoria and I’m still interested in more of this author’s work. I just had a lot of issues with Victoria herself and the way this book was written.

Gisela Ayala 

I am a big fan of historical fiction and this was my first Daisy Goodwin book. I have heard nothing but good things about her writing and it was all justified! I enjoyed reading this book so much! I grew to love Queen Victoria after watching the movie with Emily Blunt and listening to the podcast by The History Chicks (which I really recommend listening to) and reading this book added to my love. 

Like young ladies, Victoria has to handle overbearing parents, growing up, and meeting the one all while becoming the freaking queen at age 18!!! Humans are complicated creatures and when you add the responsibility of being a sovereign, well things can become chaotic. Goodwin's depiction is pretty consistent with what I have heard about Queen Victoria and I'm happy that Victoria's personality shown throughout the book. She was impulsive and made so many mistakes, but always owned up to them. 

Some people do not enjoy historical fiction, but Goodwin's writing style kept it fresh without taking away from the historical elements of the times. I kept looking things up to see how accurate it was and I was super pleased! The language was not stuffy at all and I think anyone wanting to learn more about the young monarch will enjoy this book. 

Oh and the last few chapters, gahhhhh I couldn't stop swooning!!! Nice subtle romance. *sighhhh*

Nanette Copeland

I must say that the book was better than the TV show. I mean yes the TV show was amazing. However, The book was better.

"Victoriais an absolutely captivating novel of youth, love, and the often painful transition from immaturity to adulthood. Daisy Goodwin breathes new life into Victoria's story, and does so with sensitivity, verve, and wit." – AMANDA FOREMAN Drawing on Queen Victoria’s diaries, which she first started reading when she was a student at Cambridge University, Daisy Goodwin—creator and writer of the new PBS/Masterpiece dramaVictoria and author of the bestselling novelsThe American Heiress andThe Fortune Hunter—brings the young nineteenth-century monarch, who would go on to reign for 63 years, richly to life in this magnificent novel. Early one morning, less than a month after her eighteenth birthday, Alexandrina Victoria is roused from bed with the news that her uncle William IV has died and she is now Queen of England. The men who run the country have doubts about whether this sheltered young woman, who stands less than five feet tall, can rule the greatest nation in the world. Despite her age, however, the young queen is no puppet. She has very definite ideas about the kind of queen she wants to be, and the first thing is to choose her name. “I do not like the name Alexandrina,” she proclaims. “From now on I wish to be known only by my second name, Victoria.” Next, people say she must choose a husband. Everyone keeps telling her she’s destined to marry her first cousin, Prince Albert, but Victoria found him dull and priggish when they met three years ago. She is quite happy being queen with the help of her prime minister, Lord Melbourne, who may be old enough to be her father but is the first person to take her seriously. On June 19th, 1837, she was a teenager. On June 20th, 1837, she was a queen. Daisy Goodwin’s impeccably researched and vividly imagined new book brings readers Queen Victoria as they have never seen her before.

Alex Mercure

It was a good read, but the ending though!

Kayla 

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This book was amazing! I finished it in about 3 days lol. It’s about Queen Victoria of England and was written as a PBS Masterpiece mini series. ..
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Despite being a book based on a historical person this novel was written as if it were a fiction novel! It was so easy to read, never dull and did not make you feel as though you were reading a text book. I really enjoyed reading about the beginning of Victoria’s reign and the issues that she not only had to deal with but caused. Her story itself is absolutely fascinating as she is the only surviving, legitimate, heir even though there were three brothers who could have become King. .
Daisy Goodwin writes a captivating tale of a young woman trying to prove to the world that she is capable of ruling an Empire on her own. She portrays Victoria as a strong willed, yet somewhat arrogant woman who is struggling to determine who she trusts and who will view her as a woman in need of male guidance (mansplaining). While I enjoyed the entirety of this book I did feel like the relationship with her and Albert was sort of shoved into 3 chapters and not given enough of the book to truly captivate us in their romance. .

Rachel Benton

I was excited to learn that Daisy Goodwin had written a novel on Queen Victoria. The book was not a disappointment at all. I finished in three days. I couldn’t put this book down. The novel briefly touches on Victoria’s childhood and then starts at the beginning of her reign. The story starts off with young Victoria wanting desperately to be free of the controlling grasp of her mother and John Conroy. She eagerly awaits for the day that she will be Queen. After the death of her uncle King William IV she is finally crowned Queen of England. She soon realizes that there is more to being Queen then she imagined. And how dangerously unprepared for the job she is. She comes rely on Lord Melbourne who she sees as a father and maybe something more as time passes. Meanwhile those who are looking to advance their own power are waiting for any weakness any weakness in the Queen to expose. One of things I really liked about this book is how close it stuck to history. There was something that Goodwin embellished on but it was nothing drastic. I thought that relationship between Melbourne and Victoria was more embellished then it was in history. I did get a sense that maybe she had a crush on him but I don’t think it went as far as it did in the book. Though honestly I was not bothered that they chose to embellish on this particular couple. I like the what if factor of it all, and I thought it was tastefully done and Goodwin made the pairing believable. Another duo I like was relationship between Victoria and her mother. I really liked how Goodwin wrote them. The relationship was complicated and messy, but despite this they really loved each other. The only minor criticism I had on this book was that I thought Goodwin spent more time on Melbourne/Victoria and less on Victoria and Albert. I just felt that the Victoria/Albert relationship was a wee bit rushed, but despite this I still loved the book. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that Daisy Goodwin is a writer for the PBS series on Victoria. After reading this book I am even more excited about the series. I encourage everyone to read this. I am definitely going to be reading more books by Daisy Goodwin.

Paulina 

b.andherbooks

A fine, yet rather shallow look at the early years of Queen Victoria's reign, focusing mainly on her relationship with Prime Minister Lord Melbourne and the machinations of the others in her circle. I'm a huge fan of the Emily Blunt movie "Young Victoria" and didn't find much new ground with this take. The ending felt very rushed, and I was a bit thrown by the various changes in POV. I wish this was told strictly from Victoria's POV, but as I understand it, this is a companion novel to the upcoming TV series. From the way it was written, I believe the this is more of a novelization of the script versus the other way around. Still, a fun read, and I'm looking forward to the show.

Thank you to the publisher and to Netgalley for the ARCs.

Elize van Heerden

I really enjoyed this book, it is very close to the tv adaption that stars Jenna Coleman. 
Proper review to follow

Lisa van der Heijden 

Just as charming as the TV series. Poor Lord M

Jessica 

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Review also found here. I'll be honest--I wasn't sure I'd like Victoria despite my love of both that era in history and historical fiction. This is, of course, due to the delightful prose that Daisy Goodwin takes on, weaving both a solid narration with as much accuracy as you could hope for in modern fiction. 

You don't have to be a history buff to get into this one. Although it is a fictional telling of one royal reality, the tone is smart and indulgent; sweet and utterly compelling. Further, it's a tale of coming of age in a very unique circumstance. Nowhere in the novel is there an ounce of disrespect to one of history's Queens--like all good historical novels, liberties will be taken, but because of the resources and thoughtful nature in which Goodwill tells a story we never once feel offended by the way she is portrayed. 

It is, without a doubt, respectful. 

Then--there's the romance. Victoria is not an overly romantic read though it does pose several key elements to any classic lovestory. This never seems overbearing and instead echoes of the past in a fresh way. 

Overall, this is a beautifully written novel that is a breeze to read. Absolutely stunning.

In June 1837, the eighteen-year-old Victoria wakes up to find that she is Queen of the most powerful nation in the world. But will she be queen in her own right, or a puppet controlled by her mother and the sinister Sir John Conroy? Can this tiny girl prevail against the men who believe that women are too hysterical to rule? Everyone wants her to get married, but Victoria has no intention of entering into a marriage of convenience with her cousin Albert, a shy bookworm who didn't know how to dance the last time she met him. She would much rather reign alone with a little help from her Prime Minister, Lord Melbourne. He may be old enough to be her father, but he is the only man who believes that she will be a great Queen, and he knows how to make her laugh. A husband would only get in the way.

Victoria A Novel

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