The story of five women who shared one of the most extraordinary and privileged sisterhoods of all time.Vicky, Alice, Helena, 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 curiously … curiously come to share many of the social restrictions and familial machinations borne by nineteenth-century women of less-exulted class.
Victoria and Albert’s precocious firstborn child, Vicky, wed a Prussian prince in a political match her high-minded father hoped would bring about a more liberal Anglo-German order. That vision met with disaster when Vicky’s son Wilhelm– to be known as Kaiser Wilhelm– turned against both England and his mother, keeping her out of the public eye for the rest of her life. Gentle, quiet Alice had a happier marriage, one that produced Alexandra, later to become Tsarina of Russia, and yet another Victoria, whose union with a Battenberg prince was to found the present Mountbatten clan. However, she suffered from melancholia and died at age thirty-five of what appears to have been a deliberate, grief-fueled exposure to the diphtheria germs that had carried away her youngest daughter. Middle child Helena struggled against obesity and drug addition but was to have lasting effect as Albert’s literary executor. By contrast, her glittering and at times scandalous sister Louise, the most beautiful of the five siblings, escaped the claustrophobic stodginess of the European royal courts by marrying a handsome Scottish commoner, who became governor general of Canada, and eventually settled into artistic salon life as a respected sculptor. And as the baby of the royal brood of nine, rebelling only briefly to forge a short-lived marriage, Beatrice lived under the thumb of her mother as a kind of personal secretary until the queen’s death.
Principally researched at the houses and palaces of its five subjects in London, Scotland, Berlin, Darmstadt, and Ottawa– and entertainingly written by an experienced biographer whose last book concerned Victoria’s final days– Victoria’s Daughters closely examines a generation of royal women who were dominated by their mother, married off as much for political advantage as for love, and finally passed over entirely with the accession of their n0 brother Bertie to the throne. Packard provides valuable insights into their complex, oft-tragic lives as daughters of their time.
more
I bought it as a reference book to sort out the Victorian Era and I was not disappointed. well written and well researched with concise data and interesting stories.
If you are interested in one of the most influential monarchs in history, this history of her progeny and their lives and how they affected the history of Europe is an entertaining and delicious read.
Queen Victoria was the longest reigning monarch on the British throne, until her great-great-grandaughter Queen Elizabeth II passed her record of 23,226 days on September 9th, 2015. Victoria led a country that dominated the world at the time, and even had an era named after her. Her son, King Edward VII, followed after her, but not many know the complex histories of her five daughters. From her oldest, brilliant Victoria (Vicky), who married into the German royal family and became the mother of Kaiser Wilhelm, to Victoria’s youngest, Beatrice, who devoted much of her life as her mother’s personal secretary, this book is filled with information history buffs will devour.
Although some still view Victoria as a reserved, almost repressed person, the book shows that she loved her children, and loved being their mother – and never avoided making her opinions known. Finding breastfeeding repulsive, she actually named one of her cows “Alice” after her daughter when she found out that Alice was a breastfeeding mother. The author does a good job weaving the girls’ stories so that the reader gets plentiful detail but not confusion.
The influence of Victoria was felt in different ways by her very different daughters, and in turn her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. This biography will be a welcome addition to any Anglophile’s bookshelf, and can teach virtually anyone a thing or two about these branches of the royal family!
Boring!
Daughters used as dynastic pawns.
We know a lot about Queen Victoria’s sons, but not so much about her daughters.
I have enjoyed learning the history of Queen Victoria after watching a mini-series. To learn about her daughters was fascinating.
I’ve been reading about Queen Victoria. This additional bio of her children was very helpful in understanding this long lived monarch.
This book had so many facts about Queen Victoria’s family. So much tragedy. But so interesting.
Provides a kind of insight into the character of Queen VIctoria and her times that is missing in other books. However, it gets rather tedious after a while since not all the children are particularly interesting.
This is another look at the children of Queen Victoria. I always find it interesting to see how each auth has interpreted the relationship between Victoria and Albert as it has a great deal to do with the outcome of the children.
It goes without saying that child rearing was not a nurturing feature of most queens and kings. In fact they rarely seemed to have much time for their offspring. I would prefer that when people write history that they take cultural norms in to consideration. It may be hard for us to understand why Queen Victoria behaved towards her children the way she did, but given the times and her own personal experiences, it actually isn’t surprising. Animals usually learn to mother. And humans belong to the animal kingdom. If you are at the top of the status, you will not receive many lessons or corrections, so you are bound to make many mistakes. Even with instructions, examples and corrections available to us today, we make mistakes.
All that said, she was not a kind or patient mother. Given the fact that she had one child after another nine times, she failed to see the novelty after the first and it showed. As queen of the British Empire, maybe a quarter of the world at that time, she felt and was “An Important Person”. She counted herself first in everything. This is reflected in all parts of her life. Seen through these lenses, whether we agree with them or not, her behavior should be of no surprise.
And with nine children, there were nine to suffer. The girls had less say in their paths in life than the boys. Do the math. It does predict a very cheery outcome. This is very unfortunate. Given the inter family marriages to maintain royal blood to main the genetic pool of royal European blood followed by political conflict and wars resulted in a reduction of royal blood and harmony.
This books gives that skin its infrastructure. If you are interested in the inside details of living like a queen, you will find this in this book. It covers the life of Queen Victoria along with the painful and quickly reduced livings of her female children. Not much insight is given to her sons. That would be an interesting topic as well.
This was so interesting! I had never read about Victoria as a mother. I had always heard that she was in every court in Europe. Now I understand her influence. I really enjoyed this book and I found it an easy, interesting read.
Fascinating incite in Victoria’s family ties.
Great background to the PBS series Victoria. Goes on into the future that their lives were not without tragedy. Did not realize Alexandria of Russia was Victoria’s granddaughter!
If you like English history you’ll like this book.
Very readable. Very informative.
If you watched Victoria on PBS, which is why I wanted to read this book, you will very much enjoy this book. Victoria’s daughters had rather ill fated lives and grandchildren not much better. The amount of correspondence is amazing and left historic records of the times and who they were, what they felt. Queen Victoria thought herself the supreme being on earth, I think. Everyone else’s life and happiness was expendable. As is often said, Queen Elizabeth realizes she is a symbol, people don’t flock to see Elizabeth Mountbatten, they come to see the Queen of England. I don’t think Victoria knew that.
A super good subject but the author did a truly horrible job writing it; VERY hard to follow!
This is not an exciting page turner, but it is a terrific look at the life and times of the five daughters of Queen Victoria. There is extensive information on the political background of the countries and people involved in their lives, which determined why they ended up marrying who they did and the impact on their lives and happiness, or lack thereof. Victoria had tremendous influence over her daughters, and their spouses and children both suffered and benefitted as a result. History buffs will enjoy it.
BECAUSE I SO ENJOY THE PBS SERIES ABOUT QUEEN VICTORIA, I WAS CURIOUS TO LEARN ABOUT HER CHILDREN. SO VERY INTERESTING!