Shooting Victoria: Madness, Mayhem, and the Rebirth of the British Monarchy

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Shooting Victoria: Madness, Mayhem, and the Rebirth of the British Monarchy

3.74 of 5 stars 3.74 · rating details · 84 ratings · 28 reviews

During Queen Victoria's 64-year reign, no fewer than eight attempts were made on her life. Murphy follows each would-be assassin and the repercussions of their actions, illuminating daily life in Victorian England, the development of the monarchy under Queen Victoria and the evolution of the attacks in light of evolving social issues and technology.

There was Edward Oxford,...more

Hardcover, First Pegasus Books cloth edition July 2012, 669 pages

Published July 1st 2012 by Pegasus

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Apr 06, 2013 Trish rated it 5 of 5 stars

There's no question in my mind that, no matter how much history you know or think you know there is always something new to learn. That point was brought home to me as I was reading this book about the attempts on the life of Queen Victoria.

The author gives a brief outline of Victoria's life up until her coronation and marriage to Prince Albert. That's something most of us know. He then gives us the lives of the several men who tried to shoot the Queen at various times during her reign. These a...more

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Feb 20, 2013 Tom Williams rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Paul Thomas Murphy has set out to tell the story of the Victorian Age through the accounts of the seven attempts made on her life over her reign. Strictly speaking, some may not have been real attempts. It is not clear if all of those who shot at the Queen (six of the attempts involved firearms) had taken the trouble to load their weapons first, but all were dramatic events. Each was followed by widespread rejoicing that the Queen had survived.

The story of each of these seven occasions and thei...more Paul Thomas Murphy has set out to tell the story of the Victorian Age through the accounts of the seven attempts made on her life over her reign. Strictly speaking, some may not have been real attempts. It is not clear if all of those who shot at the Queen (six of the attempts involved firearms) had taken the trouble to load their weapons first, but all were dramatic events. Each was followed by widespread rejoicing that the Queen had survived.

The story of each of these seven occasions and their consequences for the would-be assassins would make interesting reading in itself, but Murphy uses these incidents as pegs on which to hang a much larger narrative. His central argument is that the Queen (who was not initially a popular monarch) achieved her popularity at least in part because of the sympathy she gained from the public after each unsuccessful attempt on her life. Nowadays the response of the Palace to Prince Charles's car being mobbed by rioters is to consider purchasing one of the most secure armoured vehicles in the world. Victoria's response to the earlier shootings was to ensure that she was, as soon as possible, seen driving out amongst the people in an open carriage. A naturally shy woman, Victoria forced herself to expose herself in this way with, according to Murphy, an almost instinctive understanding that only by being seen to be open to her subjects could she make monarchy an institution that would survive. Survive it did, and gloriously so. At a time when monarchies across Europe were falling, sometimes in circumstances of extreme violence, the British monarchy went from strength to strength. Victoria came to define an age and, although Murphy recounts ups and downs in her relationship with her subjects, by the time of her death she was so loved that the idea of any sane person trying to kill her was, to the Victorian mind, quite impossible.

Murphy's central argument is well presented. Around the story of the attempts on her life, Murphy weaves details of the political background to her reign, her relationship with Albert, the influence of new technologies such as photography, and the social background which framed the way her subjects saw her. It is a convincing argument, presented with lots of colourful detail which makes it an easy read for a non-specialist audience.

Murphy does not stop there, though. He looks at what happened to the men (they were all men) who threatened her and from their experiences he goes on to write about the development of the police force, 19th-century lunatic asylums, and the penal system. He describes hangings at Newgate, the horrors of Australian penal colonies, and the early development of forensic psychiatry. Much of this is fascinating, but it rambles away from the central theme of the book, which is often in danger of becoming simply a succession of fascinating but unconnected anecdotes about life in 19th-century London.

The last attempt on Victoria's life was made in 1882. She lived until 1901, which leaves Murphy with no attempts on her life to write about for a significant 19 years of her reign. Instead, he turns to plots that came to nothing, most notably a plan by Irish Republicans to bomb the Jubilee Thanksgiving service at Westminster Abbey in 1887. Murphy details the story of an orchestrated plan, devised in the USA, to bring dynamite into Britain and blow up the crowned heads of Europe. Interesting as this is, it has little in common with the seven would-be assassins described in the previous chapters. It's as if we are now in a completely different book and, given that the plot fizzled out without dynamite being planted, let alone exploded, it's quite a dull book, too.

Overall, this is a pleasant read and an easy introduction to the world of Victorian England. However, its rambling style and somewhat loose construction makes it a book that is easy to put down and maybe never pick up again. It will benefit from a tighter structure and a more disciplined approach. One feels that either Murphy simply wanted to write about a period he clearly knows a lot about and chose to focus on "shooting Victoria" to make a commercial book, or that he wanted to write about the seven assassination attempts and then padded it out with other material because he felt that otherwise it would be too short. Despite this, it's a pleasant read and will inform and entertain those who persevere with it.(less)

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Feb 05, 2013 Kat added it Recommends it for: History buffs, people interested in mental illness

Just selected this as one of my staff recommendations. Fascinating look at Queen Victoria's reign through the lens of the attempts to assassinate her. The attempts on her life drastically altered her political opinions and were central to her popularity with her people. According to Paul Thomas Murphy, the enduring legacy of her reign can be attributed in no small part to her responses after each attack, which underscored her love of her countrymen and all of which resulted in strong outpourings...more Just selected this as one of my staff recommendations. Fascinating look at Queen Victoria's reign through the lens of the attempts to assassinate her. The attempts on her life drastically altered her political opinions and were central to her popularity with her people. According to Paul Thomas Murphy, the enduring legacy of her reign can be attributed in no small part to her responses after each attack, which underscored her love of her countrymen and all of which resulted in strong outpourings of support and love from her subjects. The fact that the first assassination attempt was made when Queen Victoria was three months pregnant with her first child served to make her life even more dear to a population which had been ridiculing her only months before.

Also worth a read if you're interested in the different ways mental health has been viewed over time. Personally, i think this was the strongest and most interesting bit of the book. Queen Victoria is a very thoroughly researched area, but Paul Thomas Murphy brought a fresh perspective by focusing on her impact on the mental health field, inadvertent though it was. Queen Victoria's reign had a lasting impact on the prosecution of mental illness and the evidence necessary to convince a jury of a suspect's lack of guilt due to insanity. The would-be assassins who claimed insanity were met with varying degrees of success, not necessarily in keeping with the actual sanity of the failed killers. This reflects the changing politics and laws over Victoria's more than 60 year reign. Each successive attempt on her life brought stricter penalties and changed the face of legal sanity. The presence of doctors as "expert witnesses" in trials can be traced to the first would-be assassin's trial.

As far as the history is concerned, Paul Thomas Murphy makes some minor speculation that can't be supported by evidence (mostly pertaining to the thoughts/emotions of people marginally involved in the incidents and the kind of speculation that appears in the majority of popular history works), but produced a book of impeccable scholarship. i was impressed by the depth of study as well as the sheer quantity of resources involved. Any book that has more than 100 pages of notes/bibliography is bound to be well argued and this definitely delivered.(less)

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Sep 21, 2012 Margaret Sankey rated it 3 of 5 stars

Between 1840-1882, eight men tried to strike Queen Victoria in public. Obviously, none of them succeeded, thanks to the inaccuracy of smooth bore pistols and their own incompetence, although one whacked her on the head with a walking stick. What they did succeed in moving was the social and legal system of Great Britain. In the new, less powerful and more accessible monarchy, the old treason penalties for lese majesty seemed inappropriate for pathetic stalkers, so the courts had to evolve new sh...more

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Apr 28, 2013 Deb rated it 4 of 5 stars

Victoria ruled over Britain for 64 years and during that time people just kept trying to kill her. I didn't know if she holds the record for attempted assassinations, but Paul Thomas Murphy certainly makes fascinating tales out of each of the known eight attempts on her life! And I here I had always thought she was a fairly innocuous, if fecund, little woman...here we meet a headstrong, stubborn and clearly ill-prepared woman who nevertheless held on to her throne and her Empire for the better p...more

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Aug 29, 2012 Ben rated it 4 of 5 stars

I found this a surprisingly intriguing book that genuinely challenged a lot of what I thought I knew about late 19th Century Britain -- which, don't get me wrong, was a lot. But I didn't know that so many attempts (most of them fairly pathetic, in fairness) had been made on Her Maj's life, and I didn't know how the reaction to these had unfolded. By selecting these incidents, the author affords himself a unique perspective on the Victorian -- especially the post-Albert -- period, and I was fasci...more

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Jan 04, 2013 Alex Sarll added it · review of another edition

One of those all-too-common history books which would have been much better at about a third of the length. There is, though, something fascinating in the sheer hopelessness of all eight attempts on Victoria's person. Perhaps that's why (to the best of my awareness, and if I'm wrong, do tell me about them) nobody ever seems to have got any work of substance out of one fascinating counterfactual possibility they suggest - what if the very first attempt, by Edward Oxford, had succeeded? Victoria w...more

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Oct 09, 2012 Audrey rated it 4 of 5 stars

What is really incredible...is that while leaders around the globe at the same time (Victorian era...named for said queen), were being assassinated by Anarchists and others who disagreed with government/monarchies, these guys shooting at Victoria were so...oddly out of character for the time period. They shot...with wimpy guns...not aiming...sometimes with unloaded pistols!

Eight men "shot" at Victoria--not for political reasons, but selfish ones. They basically were odd characters who wanted th...more

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Nov 27, 2012 Timothy Carlow rated it 5 of 5 stars

A unique perspective on an important era of British history, Paul Thomas Murphy’s Shooting Victoria is a masterfully written, comprehensive look at the bizarre assortment of attempts on the life of Queen Victoria and how they shaped her reign, Britain, and the future of the monarchy. Murphy lays out Victoria’s early years, her rise to power, and how her efforts to restore the public’s support of the monarchy in a time of unrest inspired attempts on her life by assailants ranging from political r...more

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Apr 13, 2013 Sheila rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 19th-century, britain-kings-queens-nobility, england, history, powerful-women, wi-library, psychology, crime-terrorism, law-legal-trials, reviewed

Author Paul Thomas Murphy reveals details of Queen Victoria's seven assailants in greater detail than would be expected by the book's title and subtitle. Shooting Victoria: Madness, Mayhem and the Rebirth of the British Monarchy examines the political landscape, family and background of each attacker, and the assailant's motivations. After describing each incident in detail, author Murphy goes on to cover the pyschological evaluations and interviews of each of the men with particular attention...more Author Paul Thomas Murphy reveals details of Queen Victoria's seven assailants in greater detail than would be expected by the book's title and subtitle. Shooting Victoria: Madness, Mayhem and the Rebirth of the British Monarchy examines the political landscape, family and background of each attacker, and the assailant's motivations. After describing each incident in detail, author Murphy goes on to cover the pyschological evaluations and interviews of each of the men with particular attention to their trials and the effect on British law, with an emphasis on insanity pleas.

The book begins in May of 1840 with an introduction to Queen Victoria's first assailant who shot at her while she was pregnant with her first child. The reader is then brought up to date on Queen Victoria's life to that time, and proceeds with the first incident in detail. It continues on with the assailant's interviews, examinations, trial, and the result, as well as the effect on Victoria and her family. Murphy proceeds through all seven assaults in this fashion with an emphasis on the trials of each and what happened to each man.

There were seven men who assaulted Victoria: Oxford, Francis, Bean, Hamilton, Pate, O'Connor, and Maclean. All except Pate used a handgun to shoot at her; all of those used a flintlock with the exception of Maclean, who used a cheaply-made Belgian pistol that had a pin-firing mechanism (all of the guns seemed to be either old or in poor condition). Pate actually struck Her Majesty in the forehead with the metal ferrule (the silver top) of his walking stick, drawing blood and causing a lump which lasted as a scar for many years. In between assailants three and four was Daniel McNaughtan, who shot and killed Edward Drummond, secretary to Prime Minister Robert Peel. McNaughtan had seen Drummond riding in Peel's carriage in Victoria's entourage, and thinking he was Peel, stalked and murdered him by shooting him in the back. Maclean was the last assailan, but there was an additional plot to bomb the Queen's Golden Jubilee in 1887 which was thwarted by London's Metropolitan Police. That bombing plot involved five Irish-Americans, members of the American society Clan-na-Gael, who intended to cause terror during the celebration.

In explaining the contemporaneous political and legal landscape during these assasination attempts, Murphy details other assasinations and attempts. He gives the reader the background and incident of Charles Guiteau fatally shooting President James Garfield on July 2, 1881 and how that influenced the yet-to-come trial of Roderick Maclean. He also discusses the political upheavals of the time, especially the 1880's forward, with the assasination of Tsar Alexander II, Empress Elisabeth of Austria, and President William McKinley. This is a vast job to tie all of these things together, but Murphy manages to do it.

There are a number of things that I learned for this book; the most obvious was that there were seven men who actually tried to kill Queen Victoria in addition to the Golden Jubilee bomb plot. Victoria's son Prince Alfred, while serving in the Royal Navy in 1868, was shot in the back while helping to raise funds at the Sailor's Home in Sydney, Australia (the bullet missed his spine by inches and he recovered). An assassination attempt was made against Victoria's oldest son Bertie, Prince of Wales (later to become King Edward VII). Victoria had a chainmail lined parasol in the 1840s, which is now deep in the vaults of a London museum (and probably wasn't used very much at 3 1/4lbs). I knew that Typhoid Fever killed Prince Albert, but I didn't know that their son Bertie nearly died from it as well (from dirty drinking water, it is the bacterium Salmonella typhi). And, that prisoners convicted of serious felonies wound up being transported to Van Dieman's Land, now known as Tasmania.

Perhaps the most notable revelation of the book was that the Victorian era in England ushered in the era of modern-day terrorism. The Clerkenwell bombing of 1867 was intended to blow a hole in a prison wall so that one inmate could escape; the amount of dynamite was seriously miscalculated and 6 died immediately, 6 more died of their injuries, and the fronts of housing facing the prison were demolished. Unintentional terror was spread throughout Great Britain. Later, in January of 1881 came the real beginning of modern terrorism: the army barracks at Salford were bombed with the intention of spreading terror and commemorating th Manchester Martyrs. That bomb also demolished a butcher's shop, injuring three adults, and killing a seven-year-old boy.

This was an interesting book that did ramble somewhat. However, I think that it was the author's attempt to give the reader a true overview of world events in Britain, Europe, and the U.S. that caused it to shift focus from time to time. Overall, I found it to be a very interesting explanation of how and why things happened in Victorian England. I would not have wanted to undertake the task of tying together the events in all of these places to explain why the assailants may have been motivated to try to kill Victoria; of course, this motivation is in addition to the serious mental illness that most of them clearly had. I have to say I was glad for my courtroom experience as a litigator which made reading the trial sections easier and faster; otherwise, the book might have bogged down during those passages. But, I don't think the author could've achieved his goal without them. A very thorough work.
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Jan 13, 2013 Finnella Flanagan rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: history, owned-books, non-fiction, z-2013-reads

I rejoice in finally finishing this. Normally I wouldn't give three stars to a book I take such relief in putting aside, but there was a great deal of interesting information in it. The author jumped around so much, however, that it was sometimes painful to follow. He was trying to integrate the assassination attempts with the strengthening of the monarchy and the political and social issues of the times. It's quite an ambitious undertaking; I wish the author had been more deft at weaving the va...more

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Dec 23, 2012 Stephen Embry rated it 5 of 5 stars

An excellent ramble through the Victorian era, although from the unusual perspective of the numerous attempts on her Majesty's life. Each unsuccessful attempt at regicide reveals another corner of life in a not always Merry England. Poverty, empire, Fenianism, psychiatry, technology and law all play there role and are revealed and explored in fascinating detail.

The facade of stability is pulled back just enough by the irrational acts of the miscreants to intrigue, and provoke a few thoughts.

On...more

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Jan 14, 2013 Alexandra rated it 2 of 5 stars

The author's thesis boils down to "eight assassination attempts secured the preservation of the British monarchy". This thesis is not defended well enough to make the book worthy of its length. Also, there are over 100 pages of endnotes; 1/6 of the book is endnotes. No. An interesting thesis that goes nowhere, and a book that was good enough to make me realize that I don't care a bit about the monarchy, its supporters or detractors, nor do I care about its fate.

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Aug 24, 2012 Laura Jordan rated it 4 of 5 stars

A thoroughly interesting glimpse into the reign of Queen Victoria as seen through the seven assassination attempts she survived. I was surprised to learn that almost none of them were politically motivated -- unlike the late 19th century assassinations of other European leaders by anarchists and the like -- but rather the men responsible were either mentally ill or simply saw a prison sentence as their life-long ticket to decent meals and housing.

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Jul 26, 2012 Jessica rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book was so interesting! In addition to examining the lives of the 8 people who tried to assasinate Queen Victoria, it is also an examination of the legal system in 19th century Britain. It especially covers the treatment of the mentally ill and insane, since Murphy makes it clear that most of the men who did attack her were mentally ill.

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Feb 05, 2013 Glorious.Clio rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: history, nonfiction, read-unowned

I think Victoria was a badass. Actually, I think I knew that already.

She was really smart about how she handled these terrible situations. And that fact that she was so beloved, and even more beloved after each attempt, really speaks a lot about the Victorian Era. Most of these men were presumed insane, because why else would you kill a monarch? Never mind that a lot of over Royalties in other countries bit the dust at their peoples' hands.

Fascinating read.

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Jul 23, 2012 Jennifer rated it 2 of 5 stars

Eight attempts were made on Queen Victoria during her lifetime, i.e., the 19th century. The first attempt, by bartender Edward Oxford, is the one that apparently interests the author the most, and consequently, the reader--or at least this reader, who would have much preferred a shorter, more-focused book.

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Nov 24, 2012 Josh rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: history

An intriguing book that examined the eight instances where men attempted to harm or assassinate Queen Victoria. My biggest criticism is that the author attempted to cover too much material beyond the subject on the cover. However, history geek that I am, I enjoyed reading his historical rabbit trails on Albert, Victorian politics, and political assassinations. Hefty read but if you have the time and interest, worth it.

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Sep 05, 2012 Rebecca Huston rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 19th-century, england, non-fiction, royals, true-crime

A very good collective biography that goes a step farther. The story deals with the people who tried to assassinate Queen Victoria, along with their stories, associated events, and how the British monarchy switched from the dislikable, excessive Hanoverans to what we know today. Very well written, excellent notes and sources, and two inserts of photographs. For anyone interested in British monarchy, this is a must read. Five stars overall.

For the longer review, please go here:
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Jan 30, 2013 Laure rated it 4 of 5 stars

Book about the numerous assassination attempts on Queen Victoria and how they reinforced the British monarchy instead of weaken it. Read more like a novel than a book about history, but at 520 pages was rather long.

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Nov 14, 2012 Sallee rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical

I like reading English history. I found this book facinating although a little slow going at first. Since real history must present facts, dates and outcomes it is something that one must appreciate even as you plow through it all. I found that Victoria was a brave queen in the face of danger and willing to put herself at risk to show people that she was thier queen and ruler. She did not hide herself in fear. The men who attacked the queen each had thier own mental demons and most of them spent...more

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Jan 31, 2013 RUSA CODES rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: notable-books-2013

Queen – 8, assassins – 0.

For the complete list of 2013 Notable Books winners please go to the RUSA Awards page.

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Mar 19, 2013 Brenda Clough rated it 4 of 5 stars

Fell off the sled about halfway through this very thick tome (it's due at the library and I can't renew it any more) but for fans of the period it's fascinating.

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Mar 18, 2013 Julie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Interesting, but very long. It was difficult to remember exactly which would-be assassin was which. I liked the way the author tied in other crimes and other social trends - it gave a broad picture of a fascinating era.

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Apr 30, 2013 Keyton rated it 3 of 5 stars

Eight people tried to take her down, but they really didn't try very hard. They were all either crazy, faking it, or just looking for an easy ticket into prison for a better life. No conspiracies or plotting. The book was full of interesting facts, though, and the author was determined to take every possible tangent. Sometimes for better, and sometimes for worse.

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Feb 06, 2013 Ann rated it 4 of 5 stars

I found this to be a very interesting book. It's a "slice of life" view of Victoria and her times with a few attempted assassinations thrown in.

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Mar 20, 2013 Catie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: non-fiction

None of the history classes I have taken ever mentioned Victoria had been shot at, not just once, but repeatedly. So of course, when I saw this book I had to check it out. Besides giving information on the seven men crazy enough to shoot at the Queen, this text gives a nice overview of Victoria's reign, using the frame of each of the incidents and how they served as examples of the political climate at the time.

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Apr 28, 2013 Penny rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: victorians

Really enjoyed this - very long book but always interesting. Murphy tells the tale of the 7 men who made attempts on Victoria's life during her long reign (over 60 years). He cleverly sets each attempt in its context with regard to the developing Victorian police force, how to treat the insane, Victoria's relationships with her various Prime Ministers etc. Well researched and a clever idea.

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Oct 29, 2012 Chelsea Monroe-Cassel rated it 4 of 5 stars

A really enjoyable, highly informative, and thoroughly researched book. It follows Victoria's reign through the attempts on her life, which were numerous and varied, giving a look at the customs, laws, etc. of the time.

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May 23, 2013 Daniellebuc rated it 4 of 5 stars

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About Paul Thomas Murphy

Paul Thomas Murphy earned his BA from Boston College, his MA from McGill University, and his PhD from the University of Colorado. He teaches interdisciplinary writing on Victorian topics at the University of Colorado and sits on the board of the Victorian Interdisciplinary Studies Association of the Western United States. He currently resides in Boulder, Colorado.

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