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A review by sarahcoller
Victoria Victorious: The Story of Queen Victoria by Jean Plaidy
3.0
Though I've never found Jean Plaidy's/Victoria Holt's/other aliases' writings very poignant or deep, one can not come to the end of a 541 page novel and be unmoved. This was the story of Queen Victoria from early childhood until just weeks before her death at 81 and, while some sentiments may have been somewhat construed, it read much like the filling out of a detailed timeline, leading me to believe she obtained much of her information from writings from the Queen. The story was a little unbalanced as the first 40 years of her life were told in 410 pages and the last 41 were spelled out in just over 100.
I somewhat liked the Young Victoria of the novel's early chapters. She was lighthearted and friendly; yet everything was always so peachy with everyone she dealt with that I kept waiting for the shoe to drop. There were lots of sensitive crying men who doted on her (enter construes). That didn't seem super believable.
I found myself wishing there would have been a timeline included or dated chapters. It was difficult to imagine things happening in the timeline of the rest of history without stopping to look things up.
Once Victoria and Albert were married, I found that I began liking her less and less as time went on. I can't imagine speaking so meanly about my children. Even though I definitely do put my husband before my children and they know that relationship is most important, I could never say the things or treat my child the way they did toward Bertie. It's no wonder he struggled as an adult and I was happy to read he was so free and loving with his own children. I loved it when she said, "Remember your childhood!" and he said, "Oh yes, Mama, I do remember it well."
I didn't care much for Albert throughout the book and found it irritating when Victoria would say he could do no wrong---especially in the case of Bertie's upbringing where he is clearly overbearing and mean. She mentions at the end that she maybe saw him as too angelic---but then condemns herself for thinking badly of her dearly departed. I think she battled with being proper as opposed to being real.
Once Albert passed away, I had a difficult time liking her. It's not that I didn't want to be sympathetic but she seems to be hypocritical and pampered. I was annoyed that she even mentioned Alexandra didn't seek her permission for her parents to visit her on her sick bed. I was frustrated that she continued to blame Bertie for Albert's death and that she made Beatrice feel guilty if she wanted to venture away from home. She seemed very childish to me and it was difficult to respect her.
Though I think I probably found more negatives than positives, not all was bad. I do think she was a loyal friend and a loving mother, in her own way. She was loyal to her people and seemed genuinely affected when she'd fallen out of favor as she desired to be in their good graces. I loved that she employed servants from other cultures and learned from them. I was also applauding her left and right for standing up to an overbearing mother. Good for her.
One thing I learned from the book was the practice the Germans had of purposefully scarring one another's faces in Mensur. Ew.
All in all, I'm glad I read the book. I'll keep it in my collection as I'm sure I'll want to read it again in the future.
I somewhat liked the Young Victoria of the novel's early chapters. She was lighthearted and friendly; yet everything was always so peachy with everyone she dealt with that I kept waiting for the shoe to drop. There were lots of sensitive crying men who doted on her (enter construes). That didn't seem super believable.
I found myself wishing there would have been a timeline included or dated chapters. It was difficult to imagine things happening in the timeline of the rest of history without stopping to look things up.
Once Victoria and Albert were married, I found that I began liking her less and less as time went on. I can't imagine speaking so meanly about my children. Even though I definitely do put my husband before my children and they know that relationship is most important, I could never say the things or treat my child the way they did toward Bertie. It's no wonder he struggled as an adult and I was happy to read he was so free and loving with his own children. I loved it when she said, "Remember your childhood!" and he said, "Oh yes, Mama, I do remember it well."
I didn't care much for Albert throughout the book and found it irritating when Victoria would say he could do no wrong---especially in the case of Bertie's upbringing where he is clearly overbearing and mean. She mentions at the end that she maybe saw him as too angelic---but then condemns herself for thinking badly of her dearly departed. I think she battled with being proper as opposed to being real.
Once Albert passed away, I had a difficult time liking her. It's not that I didn't want to be sympathetic but she seems to be hypocritical and pampered. I was annoyed that she even mentioned Alexandra didn't seek her permission for her parents to visit her on her sick bed. I was frustrated that she continued to blame Bertie for Albert's death and that she made Beatrice feel guilty if she wanted to venture away from home. She seemed very childish to me and it was difficult to respect her.
Though I think I probably found more negatives than positives, not all was bad. I do think she was a loyal friend and a loving mother, in her own way. She was loyal to her people and seemed genuinely affected when she'd fallen out of favor as she desired to be in their good graces. I loved that she employed servants from other cultures and learned from them. I was also applauding her left and right for standing up to an overbearing mother. Good for her.
One thing I learned from the book was the practice the Germans had of purposefully scarring one another's faces in Mensur. Ew.
All in all, I'm glad I read the book. I'll keep it in my collection as I'm sure I'll want to read it again in the future.