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Feb 13, 2012

Eva rated it:

Most of this book was extremely fascinating as Gillian Gill describes the conditions of Victoria's early life, her relationship to her mother, and her family life as an adult. The great romance between Victoria and Albert worked because they both worked at it. All was not sweetness and light in the family home, but when they disagreed or struggled over power, they made sacrifices for the other.

I was unaware how hard Albert struggled to become King in everything but name and how hard More...

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Jan 25, 2012

Tim rated it:

A great historical exploration of the fascinating relationship between Queen Victoria and her Prince Consort Albert. A must-read for historical readers who like royalty.

Details: Gill explores the long and complex lives of Victoria and Albert. This is a comprehensive review of their relationship starting from their first brief meetings and how their courtship was supported by influential family members. We learn how their marriage altered over time and feel Victoria's sadness when Alber More...

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Dec 08, 2011

Margaret rated it:

A terrific audio books "read" that thoroughly details the relationship and marriage of Queen Victoria and Prince (Consort) Albert, plus their individual biographical backgrounds. This isn't dry history narrative stuff, but rather a pretty deep psychological and sociological dive into what made each of these persons tick, resulting in a successful marriage and political union, which nevertheless exhibited some minor fault lines. Author Gillian Gill writes well - the book is accessible More...

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Oct 12, 2011

V.r. rated it:

This is truly one of the best non fiction books I've ever read. Granted, I'm particularly infatuated with the Victorian era, but I was pleasantly surprised in this to find it both accessible and concise. Much background history is discussed, which might ordinarily bog down the narrative, but in this case it is all presented in the clearest and most insightful of ways. That Victoria was fated for the throne is perhaps evidenced by the complexity of circumstances that surround her history and upbr More...

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Jul 10, 2011

Maya rated it:

So, I finished this a few months back and read this in conjunction with another biography on Albert (Stanley Wientrab's Uncrowned King). I found this book more compelling to read, but totally biased against Albert. Gillian Gill makes a lot of conclusions about Albert and his personality that I didn't quite sit well with me, for example, at one point she makes a statement about Albert being antisemitic, but doesn't back this up, and ignores the fact that Prince Albert was supporter/friend of th More...

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Jun 08, 2011

Trina rated it:

I put this biography on hold after watching the movie, Young Victoria. It was a delightful movie and I wanted to get a sense of how real it really was. I found that by doing so, I stumbled upon a delightful biography in its own right. While obviously nonfiction, it flows and captivates as if it were fiction. It feels similar to historical fiction in that these characters connect so many parts of history that I've read or known about from other sources such as the Great Exhibition of 1851 (this w More...

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Jun 06, 2011

Julia rated it:

A must read for those that are fans of the Victorian era. I had to do this one in chunks because it can be very dense, but I was glad that I read it. People usually fawn all over themselves about how in love Victoria and Albert were, how he was satisfied to let her rule while being the perfect royal consort. What you probably don't realize is that the British hated Albert to their bones and while the pair were very much in love, Albert was always uncomfortable with his consort role, and sought t More...

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Oct 24, 2010

Stephanie rated it:

This is the story of Victoria and Albert, two intensely passionate people whose relationship and ideas shaped an era.

Most students of history are familiar with Victoria, who was Queen of England for over fifty years and gave her name to the Victorian Age. Some are acquainted with the basic details of the story of her romance with her husband, Albert, probably from an A&E type movie. They had nine children and restored a vision of respectability and domesticity to the English monarch More...

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Jun 02, 2010

Alanna rated it:

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was well written, well researched, and fascinating to read. The only reason I didn't give it the full five stars was just because I was slightly sad to see how difficult Victoria and Albert's marriage was (which really isn't the author's fault, but it still left a shadow on my reading!). While their marriage was very happy and successful, both had their fair share of disappointments-- Victoria hated and feared being pregnant, which is pretty awful considerin More...

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Jul 24, 2011

Ronald rated it:

From the dust-jacket synopsis and reviews, this book is "revolutionary" in its personalized portrayal of Queen Victoria and her consort Prince Albert. Author Gillian Gill has attempted to follow their lives from before birth until after Albert's death in a comprehensive manner, though she admits that Albert's early life in Coburg had been irreversibly sanitized by Victoria herself, thus leaving little more to be discovered there.

I am no enthusiast for the royals, but found th More...

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Jun 28, 2011

Glorious.Clio rated it:

I picked this up at Half Price Books a few weeks ago; I've recently been into the Victorian era (which would have come in handy about two years ago, but I digress)~~, mainly because of Rupert Friend~~.

So, yes, small interest, and not much background, apart from reading "In Triumphs Wake."

This book did not disappoint. Gill not only skillfully goes through the trials, triumphs, and tribulations of their 20-odd year marriage, but also manages to capture the relation bet More...

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Jan 21, 2010

Jill rated it:

I bought this book somewhat on a whim but also because I thought it might give more insight into the lives of Victoria and Albert. I was not disappointed. This is a dissection of their lives, both personal and "professional" with even a little of their sex life tastefully thrown in. A marriage made in heaven?....probably not........but certainly one that was much happier than that of any other monarchs before or since. The book covers the early life of both individuals which gives th More...

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Oct 14, 2009

Alicia rated it:

This was another book that I picked up 100% based on the cover. Something about the title in italics and being able to see it across the room. It was purely visual. But after reading the inside cover I was interested enough to check it out. And then after the first few pages I was hooked.

I totally thought this would be another "Seabiscuit" like "Woman and the Sea" was. Like full of drama and intrigue and royal politics. It was less Woman and the Sea and more " More...

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Jan 26, 2012

Dawn rated it:

"We Two" is one of those rarest of bookstore treasures, the readable history. Not historical-fiction mind you, but the straight up real thing. It's not funny or cutesy, it doesn't have dialogue, it doesn't "sex up" history. It doesn't need to. Not when the subject matter is such a complicated and intricate web of interpersonal relationships. Like peeling layers of old, yellowing paper from a wall, Gillian Gill tries to sift truth from PR nearly a century old. On top of that, More...

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Jan 20, 2011

Brittany rated it:

I just finished this book about 40 pages before I expected to, and I'm a little cranky with Gillian Gill. I did enjoy the book (quite a lot, in fact), but I kept wishing there were footnotes. Gill kept asserting facts--usually about people's feelings or thoughts--without backing up how she knew them. If only I had known that there are pages and pages and pages of endnotes explaining exactly that. Perhaps this is my fault, too. I suppose I should have checked the back of the book, but the possibi More...

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May 10, 2010

Camilla rated it:

This book is a very good introduction to the lives of Queen Victoria and her husband, Prince Albert. It is detailed without being oppressive, entertaining while still being informative, and well-researched in addition to being well-written. Pictures and handy family trees scattered through the chapters help the reader understand Gill's points while the informative end notes are an un-looked for but gratifying treat.

My only criticism is that a double biography such as this often has

More...

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Jul 05, 2011

Laurie rated it:

The thing I like best about this book is the way Gill is able to very elegantly explain the situation of city-states in Germany after the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, the reasons why they were so economically backward and why the "nobility" in these city-states were so grasping at the hope of royal marriages elsewhere. This period in history has been my least favorite because of convoluted explanations that simply made to sense to me. Gill also engagingly explains the whole E More...

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Dec 03, 2010

Alice rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

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Feb 10, 2010

Candace rated it:

Gillian Gill's "We Two" is an excellent history that, yes, sorry for the cliche, reads like fiction. There's a lot of interesting stuff to learn from this book. I had always wondered how princes and princesses from these tiny German duchies ended up marrying into nearly all the royal houses of Europe and the answer is easy--there were a lot of them! Since royals can only marry royals, preunited Germany offered lots of royalty even if they were from teeny debt-ridden countries. Who care More...

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Jun 05, 2011

Adriana rated it:

Gillian did a comprehensive study and examination of what she believes is the first example of the early modern power couple. Her research shows how hard this couple fought not just each other for control of the household, but for the British Court policies as well. It is a fascinating look at how this marriage shaped Britain economically and socially, but how their image has been used and copied by many European courts over the years. Gillian provides enough credible evidence to support her ass More...

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Jan 28, 2010

Lynne-marie rated it:

Although a well-written biography, the author seemed to make a point of keeping the reader at odds with his subjects. Partly that was becase there were two of them and a triangle is always a bit difficult. What I did like about the book was seeing the push and pull of the personal lives of Victoria and Albert and how she sank into motherhood and Albert's idea of home and family only to appear in all her unopposed glory at his death, with no reference at all to what he would have liked. We tend More...

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Jul 08, 2011

Jamie rated it:

I read this book because I watched the movie "The Young Victoria," which I enjoyed. I wanted to learn more about Queen Victoria and Albert, their marriage and life together and to find out how accurate the movie was.

This book is great, well-written and exhaustively researched, with a fairly long section for notes. Ms. Gill does an extraordinary job in exposing the true natures of Victoria and Albert, but she also includes chapters about other members of the Royal Family (the More...

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Dec 30, 2010

Kari rated it:

It was a striking biography--one of a couple, which makes it interesting in and of itself. Watching some of the equally accurate movie adaptations, the reader begins to feel that much of the information provided in the book is not exactly unknown. That is, a lot of the information doesn't seem to have required serious digging--movie makers seem to know it, too. Also, the last third of the book waned. Gill is quite adept at characterization--that is her true skill as an author. However, once More...

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Oct 05, 2011

Debra rated it:

And all this time we thought Victoria was the prissy one....the age should be called Albertian Age, not Victorian, as it was Albert (according to Gill) that imposed his rigid moral views on his time. But since Victoria was the monarch who reigned over this era, the moniker is hers.

Interesting take on the relationship between Victoria and Albert. Sort of turns popular perceptions on their heads as Vic was a tad horny and Albert not; Albert was the more devoted parent, but once she'd b More...

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Jul 26, 2011

Margaret added it

The standard lines has been that Albert was the steadying, responsible influence on an immature girl and taught his wife to be the great ruler that she had to be after his tragic early death. Finally, an author without investment in Victoria and Albert being models of 19th century domesticity re-evaluates the evidence and finds that Victoria was a canny politician long before Albert showed up, that she chafed at Albert's ambitions to force his political ideas on Britain, and that if he hadn't d More...

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Jan 27, 2011

Marisa rated it:

This book should be required reading for fans of Queen Victoria and Prince Alberta. It shows another side of the great love affair. While Victoria was Queen of England, she spent many years carrying babies and in the nursery. In marrying, she gave up a tremendous amount of control over her own life, and her rule (and this was not something she was happy about). Yet, 40 years after Prince Alberta passes away, she still mourns her loss, and writes of her unending love for him. Gillian Gill is a su More...

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Jan 12, 2010

Bronwyn rated it:

Not only is this a GREAT story but it is thoroughly researched and documented. I learned a lot about the romance and love between Queen Victoria and her Prince Consort Albert but more importantly how he became Prince Consort and the political reasons why it was critical to her reign (at least in her mind). While I know that arranged marriages for political alliance were important, I learned how the matches were made. I also learned the complicated lines of succession, the lineage of the "ro More...

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Feb 06, 2012

Melissa rated it:

This was an interesting exploration of the relationship between Queen Victoria and her Prince Consort Albert. Gill's premise is that the two vied for control of England, and she give a few examples of that being the case. However, the book is really focused on the personal relationship and Victoria's devotion to her husband than in the political "rivalry." In fact, when she moves into the political realm and away from the personal, the book becomes rather dry, and seems to lack the d More...

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Apr 14, 2011

MAP rated it:

I just need to give up and admit to myself that this is not an era of British history that I have too much interest in. I found the chapters surrounding Victoria and Albert's childhoods very interesting, but as soon as they marry, the author switches into "chapters by theme" mode, which means keeping anything in your head chronologically is very difficult. Although I enjoyed the chapters on their personal lives, the political chapters I found to be serious snoozefests. Finally, the More...

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Aug 05, 2010

Lev rated it:

If you saw and loved "Young Victoria," you must read this book which is a terrific story of two very complex and demanding people brought together in a wild cauldron of family craziness, politics, and social change. I read it one weekend in a state of utter enchantment for its style, its insights, its range. I won't read a book for "story' or "information" any more--it has to have everything going for it, no matter what the genre. You'll never see Victoria or Victoria More...

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