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283rd out of 949 books
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762 voters
An Uncommon Woman - The Empress Frederick: Daughter of Queen Victoria, Wife of the Crown Prince of Prussia, Mother of Kaiser Wilhelm
Drawing on a vast amount of original family documents, including more than 7,000 letters between the Empress and the Queen, Pakula offers an absorbing portrait of a brilliant, determined woman. Vicky, as she was known to her family and friends, was trained by her father, Prince Albert, in the principles of constitutional monarchy and parliamentary government. Sent to Germa...more
Paperback, 704 pages
Published
November 13th 1997
by Simon & Schuster
(first published 1995)
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A truly masterful book. Pakula pulls together everything from social theory to medical history to thousands of letters to create a portrait of the Empress Dowager Frederick. The first born and cleverest child of Queen Victoria, Vicky married the Prussian Crown Prince Frederick. Theirs was a truly loving marriage and a meeting of two idealistic, thoughtful minds. Unfortunately, Prussia (led by Frederick's conservative father Wilhelm I and the EVIL EVIL EVIL Chancellor Bismarck) was highly conserv...more
The title of this book lies. This is not, as one might think, a biography-This is three biographies and a history in one. Obstenisbly, this is a biography of Queen Victoria's eldest child, the Princess Royal of England and eventual Empress of Germany, Victoria, or "Vicky", as she is referred to throughout the book. However, this is also a biography of Otto von Bismarck- or as I've taken to calling him The Worst Jerk Who Ever Jerked In the History of Ever, as well as her son, the mad Kaiser Wilhe...more
4 likes · like · see review
Mar 05, 2007
Carri
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
European history junkies
I plunged into this book after completing what could be considered a primer on Queen Victoria. Empress Frederick was her name amongst German royalty. Her previous title among English Royalty was Princess Victoria. To her mother, Queen Victoria of England, she was simply Vickie. Who raised a bratty child who grew up to plunge his country into WWI. Bad Kaiser!
I was not prepared for the complex web of detail, but found myself challenged to understand and keep up with the writer.
More often than not,...more
I was not prepared for the complex web of detail, but found myself challenged to understand and keep up with the writer.
More often than not,...more
This book was a big surprise for me, since I was not familiar with the author and am relatively well read in the subject matter. However, it was fascinating and one of the most enjoyable works of history Ive tackled in a long time.
The author uses letters and primary source materials very effectively here. Also, she provides great historical perspective on the Empress Frederick, so much so that this hefty 600+ page book also serves as a good primer on Queen Victoria and Prince Albert; the foundi...more
The author uses letters and primary source materials very effectively here. Also, she provides great historical perspective on the Empress Frederick, so much so that this hefty 600+ page book also serves as a good primer on Queen Victoria and Prince Albert; the foundi...more
2 likes · like · see review
This is an amazing and in-depth biography of an Empress who is better known as the daughter of another Empress (Queen Victoria) and mother of an Emperor (Kaiser Wilhelm II). But Vicky - as she was known to her family - was a fascinating woman in her own right. Raised by her parents to champion the liberal cause and unification of Germany, she had to fight against the tide of conservatism in the persons of her father-in-law Kaiser Wilhelm I, son Kaiser Wilhelm II and their chancellor Otto von Bis...more
Jul 30, 2011
Charles
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
anyone interested in 19th and 20th century history.
This is a much more textured book than the last royal biography I read; but Victoria the Princess Royal who became Kaiserin of Germany and the mother of Kaiser Wilhelm II is much more important to history than the youngest daughter of Czar Alexander III.
Although the book is wonderfully written and rife with notes and bibliography I was left unsatisfied with the description of the Crown Princess of Prussia's relationship with her eldest son. There was a great deal of detail when it came to the l...more
Although the book is wonderfully written and rife with notes and bibliography I was left unsatisfied with the description of the Crown Princess of Prussia's relationship with her eldest son. There was a great deal of detail when it came to the l...more
Sep 05, 2007
Stephanie Duhon
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
anyone who likes European history
This was a very interesting book with a lot of detail. It was time consuming because of the incredible amount of historical information. I enjoyed a different angle of the unification of Germany by seeing it through Vicky's eyes. Victoria was the eldest daughter of Queen Victoria of England who married the heir to the Prussian throne at the age of 17. She was the mother of Kaiser Wilhem II.
Absolutely fascinating book. It took me a while to read it because it's very densely packed with information and I didn't want to miss anything. I enjoyed the voluminous correspondence between Queen Victoria and her daughter, Vickie. In between spats about breast feeding and busily arranging marriages for their vast family, there is also a ton of opinionated information about the crazy politics of the day. I learned a lot more about Bismark and the unification of Germany than I thought I would....more
Drawing on a vast amount of original family documents, including more than 7,000 letters between the Empress and the Queen, Pakula offers an absorbing portrait of a brilliant, determined woman. Vicky, as she was known to her family and friends, was trained by her father, Prince Albert, in the principles of constitutional monarchy and parliamentary government. Sent to Germany with the mission of carrying these liberal concepts back to the land of Albert's birth, the seventeen-year-old encountered...more
Fascinating woman. So sad to think how grim her life was. Amazing what fate has in store. You wonder what Germany would have been like if this Empress and her husband had been able to reign over the German people longer than 3 months. Would they then have been able to change the course of history. Ironic that one of the most liberal of women gave birth to Kaiser Wilhelm. Sounds like he should have been sent to the woodshed early on in his childhood and then kept there.
An excellent biography about the eldest daughter of Queen Victoria, Vicky, Empress Frederick of Prussia. Well-researched and full of details about her complicated life, especially with her son, Wilhelm II.
For a complete review, please go here:
http://www.epinions.com/review/Book_A...
For a complete review, please go here:
http://www.epinions.com/review/Book_A...
I loved the history, the maps, the family lineage set out in precise order, the private letters and all of the usual family loves and break downs. Nothing was romanticized. Even how they felt about being living history in the making was tossed out there to read. They even spoke at length about arranged marriages and how most royals detested them yet kept them going for appearance sake. Eye opening. Hefty read but well worth it.
Facinating, after reading about the life of Queen Victoria it was very interesting to read about her daughter. The book is well researched adn the author uses excerpts from the letters exchanged between Vicky and her mother, Queen Victoria. While both women were deeply in love with their husbands thier situations were as different as life and politics were different in England and Germany in 1855 and on.
A wonderful biography of a woman overshadowed by other famous people in her orbit at the time - her mother Queen Victoria, the German Chancellor Otto von Bismark, in power for most of the time she was married to the Crown Prince of Prussia, and her son Kaiser Wilhelm.
From the time she married Prince Friedrich (Fritz), Vicky, as Queen Victoria's eldest daughter was known, was viewed with suspicion by the German people as "too English" with republican views that clashed with the ideas and behavior...more
From the time she married Prince Friedrich (Fritz), Vicky, as Queen Victoria's eldest daughter was known, was viewed with suspicion by the German people as "too English" with republican views that clashed with the ideas and behavior...more
This 600 page scrupulously researched and documented biography of the Empress Frederick is insightful and fascinating if you already are well versed in the life and times of royal history in the 1800s. If not, you might readily get lost in the woods of the principal characters, family trees and relationships.
This is an excellent book for a lapsed History major. This is an excellent history of the rise of Prussia, the German confederation and the roots of WWI. She was the daughter of Queen Victoria, raised to bring liberal qualities to Germany by her father, Prince Albert. She met Napolean III. Her father-in-law lived too long. Bismark rose to extreme power. Her husband lived too short. He only ruled 99 days. Her son became an autocrat and eventually brought down the house of Hohenzollern. All in all...more
This was a very well written and researched biography of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert's oldest daughter. I found her a fascinating character with so much depth and disappointment in her life, one of them being how little influence she had on her son Wilhelm.
Comprehensive and exhaustive and thoroughly enjoyable, so MUCH detail from history is included in this grand endeavor of a book. I relished it to the last drop. And felt I was saying goodbye to a dear friend when coming to the last page...
Excellent book about a woman I knew a little about. Hannah Pakula explains the intricacies of European history and politics in the nineteenth century in a way that makes it easy to follow without oversimplfying them. A fascinating read.
Victoria's daughters were married off the the crowned heads of Europe. Great history, especially for women who don't enjoy macho history - all about war.
Sep 26, 2011
Clare Cannon
marked it as to-read
Recommended for A Rose for the ANZAC Boys
Vicky.
This was a very intensive biography. It may be too much for some people, unless you are really interested in Queen Victoria and her lineage, or German history. I finally got a good understanding of the history of Germany in the late 1800's and how it transformed into the Germany of the early 20th century.
This was a rather plodding book and the politics were difficult to understand. However, if you like to read about royal history, Princess Vicky was a very interesting and likeable character. Be prepared for a very tragic story.
I really love non-fiction about Queen Victoria and her children. This book was really detailed and well-researched, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
One of the best biographies I've read. Very engaging narrative about a fascinating life.
You have to care about this subject to enjoy it but I do and I did. Recommended.
Very interesting and informative biography of a truly tragic life!
May 23, 2013
Jane
marked it as to-read
May 23, 2013
Lindsey Bray
marked it as to-read
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Apr 10, 2009 10:31am
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