Queen Victoria: A Life of Contradictions

by Matthew Dennison

A fresh, witty, accessible life of Queen Victoria. Not since Lytton Strachey has the irony, contradictions and influence of this Queen been treated with such flourish or biographical insight. Reigning over a lifetime, Queen Victoria embodied the spirit of the contradictory era to which she lent her name. She championed modern art and photography but resisted education for the working classes and woman’s suffrage; she advocated cultural imperialism, tempered by imperial compassion; in her deference to her husband Prince Albert and her protracted mourning of his death, she combined wifely submission with regal obstinacy. Original and accessible, ‘Queen Victoria’ is a compelling assessment of the ruler’s mercurial character, her key relationships and her impact on her own age and beyond.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, History, Royalty, 19th Century, Victorian, Historical

208 pages, Paperback

First published August 15, 2013

About the author

Matthew Dennison is the author of five critically acclaimed works of non-fiction, including Behind the Mask: The Life of Vita Sackville-West, a Book of the Year in The Times, Spectator, Independent and Observer. He is a contributor to Country Life and lives in the United Kingdom.

Reviews

[Amy Davies · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short but fairly interesting, this was a well-written book for the most part. However, I didn't like the propensity in which Dennison used old-fashioned, excessively long or extremely unusual words, meaning I had to look things up several times a chapter. Usually the word ended up meaning something which could have been replaced with a far more commonplace word - I'm not sure if this was done to give the illusion of cleverness, but it put me off somewhat.

[Terry ~ Huntress of Erudition · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clear, concise information about Queen Victoria's life and her personality. This book does not get into politics, just Victoria as a person. Short and informative.

[Carolyn Di Leo · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good book, mostly for those who have read a bit on Victoria already or conversely, who have not read anything on her. It is small and not necessarily packed full of information, but still entertaining enough.
I chose to read this after reading A Victorian City and prior to reading Little Dorrit, so it was a great refresher to get me in the mood for Dickens.
I do recommend, as it is an easy and educational read!

[Sam · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is quite an insightful, entertaining and amusing look into the life of Victoria, from the lead up to her birth to her death and beyond. Dennison focuses on key moments and periods throughout her life so it does jump forward at the end of each chapter which made it a little disjointed at first but once you got used to it, it was fine. I did enjoy Dennison's writing style and he has managed to make a complex and colourful life accessible to the general reader but I found I was left wanting to know so much more (both a good and a bad thing I guess).

[Horia Bura · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting, analytical and intelligent account of the life of the one who shaped the evolution of the British Empire throughout the 19th century. It focuses on the relation between her and her beloved gone-too-soon husband, Albert, as well as the relations with the many members of her large family. Also noteworthy in this account is the approach of the rather strange relations Victoria had with two of her favorite servants, that is John Brown and Abdul Karim. On the other hand, the relationships between her and her many prime-ministers were diverse, ranging from disdain and almost refusal to collaborate with Gladstone to sincere appreciation and respect for Disraeli.

[Nicole Roccas · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5 - Queen Victoria, for all the juxtapositions and contrasts she embodied, was a microcosm of the 19th century. This was a century of Sturm und Drang, of the fwd push of technological and political innovation and the backwards pull of poverty, classism, colonialism, and unrest that would ultimately culminate in the First World War. Victoria not only lived through all this but also reigned, however unwillingly at times. As the author aptly states, when Victoria died in 1901, a century died with her.

I'm not someone prone to reveling in the stories of kings and queens, but I have always had a soft spot for Victoria, probably because she spent much of her life as obsessed with mortality as I am 💀

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TITLE: Queen Victoria, A Life of Contradictions
BY: Matthew Dennison (2014)
DATE FINISHED: Jan 4, 2022
FORMAT: audio (scribd)
PAGES: 189
GENRE: nonfiction - history, autobiography

**Book number 3 of #RoccasReads2022**

#History #historybookstagram
#Victoria #queenvictoria #royalhistory #britishhistory

[Thebruce1314 · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was such a disappointment to me. I have a passing interest in royalty, more so in the Victorian era as a whole, and I thought that this short volume would offer all of the insight that I was looking for in a biography of Queen Victoria. Having finished it in just a few days, I am left feeling as though I know even less about her than when I started.
The author tends to drift back and forth in time throughout the narrative, making the sequence of events a bit hard to follow. He mentions people and affairs of state in passing, making the assumption that the reader has prior knowledge of that to which he is referring. Sadly, this was not the case with me, and, I feel that if I did know more, I would be inclined to read a more in-depth volume that offered deeper insight than this 150-page glorified pamphlet could possibly give. So I am left asking myself, for whom was this book intended? The author's use of academic and obscure language throughout lead me to believe that this wasn't written for the enjoyment of the common (hu)man. I was left feeling unsatisfied and disinterested in learning more.

[Stuart Smith · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is not great. I blame the editor. The book jumps all over the place like a coked out conversation about qv instead of a lucid historian with something to say. How this author has a multiple book publishing deal is beyond me.

[Cosmin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un portret fascinant al celei care a fost și va rămâne ,,bunica Europei” :)

[Pamela · Rating 4 out of 5]

I seem to like this book better than many reviewers. In fact, I looked forward to picking it up again whenever I had a moment. The author's insightful analysis of Victoria's family background and her resultant behavior provide a fascinating glimpse into this second longest reigning British monarch (after the current queen, Elizabeth II). I didn't want to know all about the foreign and domestic affairs of her reign; I did want to understand her a little better - and I do.

[Diana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting read, though I think there would have to be a more precise and In depth biography out there, this book has got me more wanting to read on her expanding families and how theory branched out through Europe and how there lives would've changed despising one another as there countries faced wars.

[Mysteryfan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am not really sure who the audience is for this book or its goal. It presents Victoria's life in a superficial way, It focuses on family and a few other people but it is too short to do them justice. It's not even a good intro for those seeking to learn more about the woman who gave the name to an age and style. Disappointing.

[Chantay · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's a pocket-sized biography. Sparse on the facts/history and big on the salacious melodrama. A good perusal for those already knowledgeable about Queen Victoria's reign.

[Susan Melgren · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book provided a brief overview of Queen Victoria’s life. Much of the detail was high-level and occasionally assumed some prior knowledge on the reader’s part – such as simply referring to the “Flora Hastings Affair” or “Bedchamber Crisis” without going into specifics of the controversy, focusing instead on the event’s role in a wider focus on her reign. It offered a more critical look at Victoria that I haven’t extensively seen in popular media, which I think helps to provide a more well-rounded view of her.

The book is rather short, at just over 150 pages (not counting notes, bibliography and the index). It did leave me wanting more, though not necessarily in a bad way. In general, it provides a good jumping off point or entry-level read to the subject of Queen Victoria. Instead of sloughing through a 500-page in-depth biography, you can glean some high-level facts and analysis and then decide if you are interested in further reading of the subject. The writing was rather academic, and it took me a while to get into a rhythm of reading, but after a chapter or two, the book went fairly quickly.

3/5 stars

[LeeAnn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was okay. I've not read read enough of Queen Victoria to judge how accurately the author portrayed her. She seems a sad character, born to less than wonderful parents, and marked with selfishness and misguided conceit. No wonder the current queen avoids the politics of governing with such an example before her! The language of the book is reminiscent of the Victorian era, her era, but as such is not inviting to the modern reader. The author preferred demonstrating the backdrop of death after her husband's death, which if true, makes her a depressing character. My wonder is that England did not wholeheartedly embrace republicanism!

[The Inked Reader · Rating 2 out of 5]

I propose to change the name to: "Queen Victoria- a life they does not deserve a book written about it".
I mean, what was the author goal? Cause Victoria in this book looked often jealous and petty and totally under the power of her husband (who apparently was the Brad Pitt or the 1800s).
I hope it was just the author fault for not making this any interesting but overall not impressed and I'll probably forget it very soon.

[Jo Ellen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Short read. Glad I had the visions from PBS's Masterpiece theater recent series on Queen Victoria which helped me a lot. I became lost in some of the family relationships between royalty. The subtitle is appropo: A Life of Contradictions. Victoria and her extended family make the current Royal family look good!

[Roxie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had to change from 3 stars to 2. I originally gave it three because the book was informative, and not overwhelming or confusing.... but the more I thought about it, the more I accepted that I didn’t actually enjoy the book. It wasn’t interesting and the author used obscure words when it really wasn’t necessary. It was distracting. It just doesn’t read well.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

More like a term paper than reading for enjoyment.

[Suzi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short and interesting, but extremely flowery in the writing.

[Nicole N. (A Myriad of Books) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although not the most thorough account of Victoria's life that I have read, it was one of the few that talked and in which I learned a little more of Victoria's life after Prince Albert's passing. I think the author gave himself as disadvantage when he wrote such a short book. After all, Victoria's life and reign was so long that he could have written at least 150 more pages that I would have been glad to read.

Like I said before, I learned a bit more about the life of Victoria that I didn't know and some that I questioned. Mr. Dennison seemed to insinuate that Albert wasn't so much in love with Victoria as possibly led to believe, that perhaps he married her to benefit himself and his family and 'German unity' and 'Anglo-German affairs.' This was also the first time that I got the idea that Victoria certainly viewed Albert as a father figure (since her father died so young) and even as a replacement for her mother, the Duchess of Kent, since she had a poor relationship her mother. Maybe that's why Victoria fell so helplessly in love with Albert.

I did think Mr. Dennison used a lot of 'flowery' language and words that got in the way of me reading the book. So many odd adjectives and adverbs that was like, 'What in the world is he trying to say?' It also seems to be with most biographies, the timelines seem to go back and forth so sometimes that was confusing as well.

Regardless, this is a good, brief book about Victoria's life, but not sure one I would add to my collection.

[Donia · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book reminded me of a college history text book. I adore history. It's what I'm all about but this book is so dry and disconnected; one has to wonder what audience it was written for.

[Christopher Morgan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A comparatively short look at the reign of one of Britain's longest serving monarchs. The author does duty to the life of Victoria rather than getting caught up in the lives of prominent relations.

If you want an in depth understanding of Queen Victoria's reign this is not the book. However, it does not profess to be as much. What it does do is give an original insight into an aspect of the subjects character. It charts emotional development under the tutelage of The Prince Consort and the subsequent relapse after his untimely death.

Queen Victoria's lust or need for male love and attention is dealt with over two chapters that look at the roles played by two of her male servants. The first is the Highlander John Brown and the second a young Indian servant who comes to be known as the 'Munshi'. The author makes the high esteem and trust with which these two were held by Victoria very clear. At the same time ensuring we understand that Queen Victoria was the only person to do so. The reference to family and court referring to Victoria as 'Mrs. Brown' and the inferred hints of a secret marriage re-enforce this understanding. For a woman that is largely remebered as being so devoted and broken by the death of her husband this is an interesting insight.

I think one of the greatest gifts of this book is the desire it sparks to develop and increase an understanding of Queen Victoria: her life and her reign. It inspires me to read her published letters and journals.

[Becky · Rating 3 out of 5]

OK but not great

[Donna · Rating 2 out of 5]

The cover was beautiful, but I'm just not really sure about the book itself. Parts were very interesting, but overall, I found it very frustrating in so many ways. The author used words that I constantly had to look up to see what they meant, he would also jump from one thing to another and I would find myself wondering what and who he was talking about. But in some chapters, it would be like a totally different person wrote it and it was totally accessible. In the later chapters, I found myself very interested in some aspect of Victoria's life only to find that he had moved on to something else.

But I did find myself wanting to delve deeper into this very interesting woman's life, so in that respect, the book was helpful.

[Mandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received this book via the goodreads first reads program - thank you goodreads,matthew dennison and the publisher.

This is a small book considering the subject lived a very long life. I did enjoy the book but felt this was more of a teaser for a more indepth, detailed account of a very lengthy life.

Certainly a well researched book,I would read more of Matthew Dennisons books because I enjoyed his style of writing.

[Enya · Rating 3 out of 5]

There wasn't anything too special about this. A lot of the book seems to be made up of a collection of other people's work on Victoria and extracts from her diary rather than the author's own original work which is disappointing and doesn't really work that well, though the information is interesting. This book should have either been much shorter or much longer but as it is, it doesn't really work too well as the balance feels off.

[Ali · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was generally okay, but not really what I was after to find out more about Victoria. There were parts here and there that were fantastic, but other parts jumped from one thing to another without warning and there were people that were mentioned but not explained so I didn't know how they fit into her life, or why they were mentioned.
It did get me doing some research on wiki/google so it helped in that regard!

[S · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pleasant and very informative read!
Indeed, it is a good introduction to Queen Victoria and her era. Surprisingly successful was Matthew Dennison 's attempt of this pocket-biography.
That being said, there were times that the choice of vocabulary felt forced and in addition to that I found a little bit odd the parts in which the pictures were inserted, quite wrongly put.

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short, interesting and focusing especially on the contradictions in Queen Victoria's life rather than being a thorough biography - which is exactly what one would expect from reading the title. Some new facts and insights about the queen, so all in all a positive read. I liked it.