Persons of Consequence: Queen Victoria and Her Circle

by Louis Auchincloss

Part sociology, part royal gossip, this glossy, readable book follows Victoria from her submissive childhood through her domineering reign. Auchincloss - a Wall Street lawyer and novelist (The Winthrop Covenant) - paints the Queen as less pompous than have previous biographers. But he is really more concerned with the courtly higher-ups around her and provides a non-Victorian, savvy lowdown. With its plentiful illustrations, this is a fascinating introduction to the era.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

208 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1979

About the author

Louis Stanton Auchincloss was an American novelist, historian, and essayist.

Among Auchincloss's best-known books are the multi-generational sagas The House of Five Talents, Portrait in Brownstone, and East Side Story. Other well-known novels include The Rector of Justin, the tale of a renowned headmaster of a school like Groton trying to deal with changing times, and The Embezzler, a look at white-collar crime. Auchincloss is known for his closely observed portraits of old New York and New England society.

Reviews

[Bill Tress · Rating 4 out of 5]

History quite often does not record the people who are always in the background, yet whose influence results in momentous decisions attributed to World leaders. Auchincloss in his brilliant way presents the people who guided Queen Victoria and his usual depth of research brings to life their Palace intrigues, emotions, prejudices, skills, and faults.
Amazing enough, it was a governess, Louise Baroness Lehzen who was the first protecter of Victoria from an overbearing mother. She provided emotional support and was indispensable until Victoria took a husband. After Victorias marriage to Albert, Lehzen was disposed of by the people who resented her influence. Her lifetime of support and loving care of an emotionally fragile Victoria was rewarded by being pensioned off.
Victoria's husband, Prince Albert became the person of consequence in her life, he gave direction to the monarchy and Victoria, but change came with his early death. Victoria had come of age, and she was prepared to rule the Monarchy. So began the great debate, should a King or Queen be a symbol or an active participant in governance? Victoria took the latter road to the chagrin of her ministers.
This is the plot line for this work. Victoria reigned from 1838 until her death in 1901. During her long reign she had many Prime Ministers and many whom we would recognize from our study of history. She liked some and disliked others. They either worked with her or worked around her, and most worked at manipulating her. Auchincloss describes the interactions and includes a delightful thumbnail sketch of each of these men. The favorite was Lord Salisbury who had the wisdom to befriend her on a personal level and while offering opinion and advise always accepted her final decision.
In addition to the Ministers, Auchincloss describes the children of Victoria. A few of her girls married into important German families and this caused tension as Germany became an aggressor and eventually an enemy of England.
This pleasant book comes with a Myriad and delightful number of pictures that help in depicting the age of Victoria.
Auchincloss is a brilliant writer and always performs incredible research into history, he did so again in this book. Anglophiles and students of History will love this peak into the reign of Queen Victoria.

[Raylee Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great refresher for those who are already familiar with Victoria's reign. It isn't the best for grasping the full scope of her relationships, as I'm sure no one book could. The pictures provided are amazing, and I love the writing style of the author. It also has a fair bit of gossip, which is just a delight to read.

[Michael Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Any monarch is associated with individuals whose influence they inevitably will feel, whether that influence is sought by either side or not. Victoria was no exception through her long reign, but the sort of people with whom she surrounded herself changed as she aged — and especially after the death of the Prince Consort, when the Queen went into near-seclusion. Some of those who had her ear were, naturally, aristocrats, and some of those were politicians, especially Lord Melbourne during her earlier reign. Others came from the upper middle class, like Disraeli (whom she admired) and Gladstone (whom she disliked almost to paranoia). Still others were household staff and servants, including Sir Henry Ponsonby, her tactful private secretary, her doctor, Sir William Jenner (who was completely under her thumb), and John Brown, her rough-hewn "gillie" and personal servant whom both the court and her own children despised. And as her children grew up and married into European royal and noble families, Victoria began an intense correspondence, especially with her eldest daughter, Victoria, mother of Kaiser Wilhelm II, who also tried to influence British affairs through his grandmother in her last years. The author brings his trademark attention to detail and sense of style to this first-rate study of the "off the record" side of a monarch’s existence.

[Shawn Thrasher · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you're a fan of fiction and nonfiction about Victoria and her large network of relations, you necessarily find out anything new in Louis Auchincloss's Persons of Consequence: Queen Victoria and her Circle. Each chapter is about Someone Important in Victoria's life, and what that meant to her (and occasionally what that meant to the kingdom of Britain as a whole). Nothing new - but Auchincloss's conversational style is what makes this book a pleasure to read. Reading the book was like having a cup of coffee with Auchincloss (or better yet a cocktail) and chatting with him about Queen Victoria and company. He's not afraid to throw in an opinion or two (the chapter on Gladstone was aimed right at the queen's sense of petty).

[Cricket Muse]

If curious about the background of Queen Victoria in terms of her reign and who was among her circle of influence, than it is suggested to peruse Auchincloss's biography. However, this is not the best choice if trying to discover detail about Victoria and Albert's relationship, although insightful passages do round out knowledge tickled by movies such as Young Victoria and Victoria and Albert. Movies often portray a rosier portrait than actuality. Overall, this is decent reference if looking for a quick glance at the inner circle of Queen Victoria's court. The real bonus is it contains a photo of her actually smiling!

[Nate · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fantastic, concise book about the political side of Queen Victoria that is generally not talked about in books about her family I wish the book talked about John Brown and the Munshi because they had huge influences on her and the book only talks about them as they affect her other relationships . While most of the people in her are obvious choices, I had no clue that she liked Lord Salisbury that much or that he was so important. If you have read Van Der Kiste or Aronson, this book is highly recommended as this is a topic they generally do not cover.