Disclosure: I received this book for free from SheSpeaks, however all opinions expressed here are my own.
I love to read and during the colder months I read even more. When I got the opportunity to read this book I jumped on the chance.
I just love historic novels, especially ones about British royalty. Victoria by Daisy Goodwin is the story of Queen Victoria as a teenager when she first becomes queen leading up to her marriage proposal to Albert.
I couldn’t put this one down. I was cheering Victoria on as she got out from under the thumb of her mother and Lord Conroy, who wanted to control her. Her reign could have been very different if she had allowed them to continue to control her. I also did not realize Queen Victoria had quite the school girl crush on Lord Melbourne. I thought he was just her private secretary.
Here is my favorite excerpt from the book:
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.”
I found it so profound and inspiring.
Victoria would make an excellent holiday gift for the book lovers on your list.
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