Victoria would be a perfect book to pick up for Nonfiction November! I have always had a fascination with Queen Victoria and her life, and it was interesting to learn more about her. I'm more interested in who she was as a person than as a queen. This is a good book to read paired with Victoria by Daisy Goodwin!

I am probably biased as a self-proclaimed fangirl of Queen Victoria, but I really enjoyed this book. I think anyone interested in British royalty and the history of the monarchy will enjoy reading this book. As far as Queen Victoria biographies go, I found this one accessible and a good way for people to learn more about her life.

Victoria has a lot of interesting research. It was the first book I read from these authors and it was more than I expected.

This book was provided in exchange for my honest opinion. A great read!

A book that has been well researched and is very readable, full of facts and information but at no time is it boring. Gives insight into the life of a remarkable women and a century that changed the face of Britain for ever

Very informative book on the Victorian era. I particularly liked the part of the book describing Victoria before to be crowned. The author also gave us important details about relationship of Victoria and her mother which enlightened some decisions she put during her reign as a queen.
I recommend this book for those who like the Victorian era.

*Many thanks to Richard Mullen and James Munson, Thistle Publishing and NetGalley for arc in exchange for my honest review.*
This book was my first ever biography of Queen Victoria and was as informative as a biography should be. Thoroughly researched books that revealed a lot of interesting facts that I had not known about before.

Victoria is a fascinating woman. Besides being a queen of England she was so much more. How? I leave that up to you to find out for yourself. I thought I knew all that I needed to know about Victoria. I was pleasantly surprised to learn so much more about her. She is a fascinating woman!

Who doesn't like to read about Queen and Kings,kingdoms and the likes where a woman runs a country! Such a great story of this little girl became Queen fell in love had her own family and rules a country! Having be so many things to do many people. Well written and apart of wonderful history. Love English history! Just read book th Net Galley!

Thank you to NetGalley for providing this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I'm quite torn on this biography of Victoria. It does give the reader a solid understanding of Victoria's personal life from her birth until her death. However, it is a reprint of a 1987 biography, and it does show- it doesn't feel like it has kept up with current work in the field. It might work for someone new to Victoria entirely, but I would say that it needs some updates.

The year 2019 marks the bicentenary of Queen Victoria, and although plenty of new books are being released for the occasion, there is also a steady stream of books being reprinted; like Victoria, Portrait of a Queen, which was first published in 2015. 

Victoria was born on 24 May 1819 at Kensington Palace in London as the only child of Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld and Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn. When her uncle King William IV came to the throne in 1830, Victoria was his heiress presumptive. Victoria grew up at Kensington Palace, under the so-called Kensington System. Victoria's accession on 20 June 1837 broke the personal union with the Kingdom of Hanover, which was under Salic law, preventing her from becoming Hanover's Queen. Instead, her uncle became Ernest Augustus I of Hanover.

In her early reign, she was quite popular, though her reputation suffered when she believed the rumours of her mother's lady-in-waiting Lady Flora Hastings' pregnancy. Lady Flora died, and the autopsy revealed a large tumour on her liver that had distended into her abdomen, thus explaining her appearance. Her popularity was revived when she married her first cousin, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha in 1840. They would go on to have nine children.

The majority of her reign was blighted by the death of her husband. He died in 1861, possibly of typhoid fever, though his long-term complaints could suggest something else. She dressed in mourning for the rest of her life and even had his clothes laid out every day. Her self-isolation caused her popularity to plummet. By 1872, this had recovered slightly as her son recovered from the same illness that had killed her husband. On 23 September 1896, Victoria surpassed her grandfather George III as the longest-reigning monarch in English, Scottish, and British history, though this record was broken by Queen Elizabeth II last year.

By Christmas 1900, Victoria was rendered lame by rheumatism in her legs, and she had cataracts. By January, she felt weak and unwell. She died on 22 January 1901 at the age of 81. She was succeeded by her eldest son, King Edward VII. 

Victoria, Portrait of a Queen by Richard Mullen & James Munson tells Queen Victoria's story, but I had trouble concentrating on the narrative. I've read plenty of biographies on Queen Victoria, but for some reason, I just found this rather boring. The story doesn't bring Queen Victoria to life and seems to drone on and on. I received this as an e-book which also had two pages in one, making the text extremely small and difficult to read (my e-reader does have the option to zoom in, but it makes the whole thing very slow!). Overall, the book is well-researched and factual, but I just wish it had more life.

A new biography on Queen Victoria that seems fresh. I really enjoyed this book and found it well written, while I would have liked a little more detail about some events i would recommend to any book lover

This is a well documented and detailed biography of Queen Victoria.
I was glad to read, not only an interpretation of the sources used, but also quotes from diaries, letters, telegrams and other sources written by all kinds of people. Being able to access so many types of sources, the author gives you the opportunity to create a complex image about the Queen.
Another thing that surprised me was to find out how active she was even in the period of widowhood when it is said that she has retired from public life.
The author is honest about all the parts of her life: her great love for Prince Albert, her long grief after his death, about her friendship with John Brown and Munshi, about her wish to write her memories, even not everyone was happy about it.
Thank you NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read a copy of this book in exchange of a honest review.

This is a highly readable biography of Queen Victoria. It has a picture of Queen Victoria smiling in her older years when most photos make her seem very somber.

This book views Queen Victoria's reign in a very positive light. For example, the book portrays her as being sympathetic to the problems of ordinary people and the lower classes; I have read other places that she was not concerned about the lower classes.

The book focuses on her influence in foreign affairs more than domestic policy. Much of what happened in England during her reign is not mentioned in the book probably because one book can only handle so much information..

I found her early life more interesting than her later years; also, one can understand that after many royal scandals the British might like a ruler that is super-respectable.

I could see the influence of Queen Victoria on the Queen Elizabeth. However, Queen Victoria was able to be involved in partisan political activity which is totally banned now for the royalty. As an American reader, I wondered how the British monarchy became more limited in power as well as being curious about how much authority Queen Victoria had as a constitutional monarch in the nineteenth century.

If someone is looking for a highly readable introductory biography of Queen Victoria I would recommend this book.

I loved this book! This book gave a lot of insight into Victoria and her family. I have read a lot of biographies on Victoria but this gave me all new information and it read so well!

This biography of Queen Victoria was originally published in 1987. In 8 chapters the writer follows Victoria’s life chronologically. It is written more for a general public who wants to know more about this famous long reigning queen. It shows some insights into Victoria’s character thus explaining why she made some decisions the way she did. The book brings only some political contentious decisions or context and also smoothes over some of the scandals. Nevertheless , it brings the queen closer , gives some insight into her personality as well as the context of her time. It is well written and with some illustrations, was easy to read. I would definitely recommend it for any reader who wants to gain some more background knowledge..

I have read many biographies of Queen Victoria and studied her extensively. While this biography is short, there is nothing new. The material is a rehash that was already covered by other historians. This is biography is also a general one and does not provide an in-depth study to her character. Still, I recommend this for those who do not know much about Queen Victoria.

A very readable take on Queen Victoria's life. A good place to start for someone who has watched the PBS series and wants to know more about England's second longest reigning Queen, the "Grandmother of Europe."

I had just finished watching the film on this Queen and getting this book was just the right moment.

It gave me a further insight into what the young Queen had to face not just from her country, but from her own mother, her uncles and then her husband.

The biography was meticulously detailed. The commentary was succinct and precise. It reflected on Victoria herself. She seemed to be a passionate woman - one with a passion for her husband and then for her country. She was determined to do well by her country, and had to fight the obstacles than men within her circle (including her husband) threw in her way. Most men of the time just thought that she was a Queen in name, lording it over a nursery and a large one at that and happy to be satisfied within that circle. Victoria was far from that. She threw herself into every act of government being partisan to some (the Queen was expected to be above party politics) but she knew her own mind and had no inhibitions about it.

This was a wonderful read of a life of 81 years set out meticulously in a book.

A good fresh look at the life of Queen Victoria. If you enjoy Royal History then here is the book for you.
Thank you to both NetGalley and Thistle Publishing for my eARC in exchange for my honest unbiased review

I actually selected this book because I have been viewing the PBS Masterpiece Theater series on Victoria and I was very pleased to find out that TV presentation had been most faithful to true history of Queen Victoria and her long reign.