Scan barcode
happilywilted's review against another edition
informative
slow-paced
4.0
I really liked this, but couldn’t help but notice that every time my historical bae Albert was brought up, this author insulted him in some way: she would talk about how they are a little older, ALBERT IS A BALDING UGGO. Like miss thing, you good? Did he hurt you?
It happened so frequently, that I was getting a chuckle, but at the same time I wondered if he went to the future and cheated on her and that’s why she had such a bias against him.
Nonetheless, an entertaining read. And a surprisingly sad ending.
It happened so frequently, that I was getting a chuckle, but at the same time I wondered if he went to the future and cheated on her and that’s why she had such a bias against him.
Nonetheless, an entertaining read. And a surprisingly sad ending.
esmeralda_97's review against another edition
4.0
I loved 22/24 of the days! Amazing book and one that is good if you are beginning to get into the Life of Queen Victoria.
thenovelbook's review against another edition
3.0
Lucy Worsley writes about history in a very accessible style, and her biography of Queen Victoria is an enjoyable read. She frames the biography in an interesting way: by selecting 24 meaningful days and using them as a springboard to explain the queen's life and development.
This technique feels most effective in the first part of the book, where Victoria's childhood, accession to the throne, engagement, and marriage form a natural narrative. Where she begins to leap forward in time to the middle and late parts of the queen's life, I began to feel like I was just getting peeps through small windows and missing a connected story. Still, she does a good job at filling in context and bringing the reader up to speed for the events of the days she has chosen.
In a way, this is not a biography in the conventional sense, because it doesn't cover the facts exhaustively; it does leave large gaps. Instead, it chooses to focus more on what made the queen the way she was, and examples of her personality and relations with her family.
Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the advance copy of this book.
This technique feels most effective in the first part of the book, where Victoria's childhood, accession to the throne, engagement, and marriage form a natural narrative. Where she begins to leap forward in time to the middle and late parts of the queen's life, I began to feel like I was just getting peeps through small windows and missing a connected story. Still, she does a good job at filling in context and bringing the reader up to speed for the events of the days she has chosen.
In a way, this is not a biography in the conventional sense, because it doesn't cover the facts exhaustively; it does leave large gaps. Instead, it chooses to focus more on what made the queen the way she was, and examples of her personality and relations with her family.
Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the advance copy of this book.
historybowler's review against another edition
3.0
I will say that focusing on twenty-four days is a really novel concept for a royal biography, especially when the subject has been written about as much as Victoria has been. However, it weirdly feels lacking at points when I wanted more information (I know her widowhood was spent a lot in isolation, but that is a large portion of her life and queenhood). I also wonder if some of other events could have been better fits (for example one of the other weddings besides Beatrice, since Victoria was known as the Grandmother of Europe who had an eye for marrying off family members to the "right people").