Queen Victoria and the Discovery of the Riviera

by Michael Nelson

Queen Victoria fell in love with the Riviera when she discovered it on her first visit to Menton in 1882 and her enchantment with this ‘paradise of nature' endured for almost twenty years. Victoria's visits helped to transform the French Riviera by paving the way for other European royalty, the aristocracy and the very rich, who were to turn it into their pleasure garden. Michael Nelson paints a fascinating portrait of Victoria and her dealings with local people of all classes, statesmen and the constant stream of visiting crown heads. In the process we see an unexpected side to Victoria: not the imperious, petulant, mourning widow but rather an exuberant girlish old lady thrilled by her surroundings. Queen Victoria and the Discovery of the Riviera is an absorbing and revealing account that makes an important contribution to both our understanding of Victoria's character and personality and our view of the late Victorian period.

Genres: Biography, History

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

Librarian's note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Michael Nelson was General Manager of Reuters, the international news organisation.

Nelson was born near London on 30 April 1929. He was educated at Latymer Upper School, London, and Magdalen College, Oxford, where he read Modern History. He joined Reuters as a journalist in 1952.

Since he retired from Reuters in 1989 he has written five books – War of the Black Heavens: The Battles of Western Broadcasting in the Cold War (Syracuse University Press and Brasseys, London, 1997); Queen Victoria and the Discovery of the Riviera , (I.B. Tauris, 2001); Americans and the Making of the Riviera (McFarland, 2007) Castro and Stockmaster: A Life in Reuters (Matador, 2011); and The French Riviera: A History (Matador, 2016).

Nelson, who lives in Notting Hill, London, and Opio, France, is married to the former Helga den Ouden and they have two sons and one daughter.

Reviews

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a nice, short history of Queen Victoria on vacation, which earned its fourth star in the last chapter with a fascinating bit of British colonial history and the illumination of how important the Queen's leisure was to international relations.

This work suffers from the same problems that plague most histories of the French Riviera. Never a seat of political intrigue and relatively safe from military campaigns, there isn't much history to write about. It has a great climate, but was hard to get to until engineering advances (and the order of Napoleon) brought the Corniche Road and, later, the railroad. Nice was a popular winter resort for consumptives fleeing cold northern climes, until people got the bright idea to vacation there. In a moment of economic uncertainty, someone built the Promenade des Anglais (that is, the Englishmen's walking path) which brought jobs and more Englishmen. Royalty and hanger's on started coming down to walk, gamble, and see each other's flower gardens.

So Victoria did what everyone else did when they came to the Riviera: next to nothing. She spent nearly a year of her life, in six week segments, visiting Cannes, Hyeres and Nice. She visited the Riviera more than any other vacation spot outside of England. She visited Churches and was an engaged participant in the yearly Battle of the Flowers.

Nelson's short history is a lovely work of insight into the vacation habits of the elderly Victoria - rote knowledge of the Royal families of Europe helps keep the characters sorted, but there is a helpful 'Dramatis Personae' in the back if the reader needs some help.

[Nate · Rating 4 out of 5]

An extremely interesting book about each and every one of the Queen's visits to the Riviera. It was made more interesting by the fact that I had visited these places such as Nice and Menton recently. It explained so much, especially why there were so many streets with Anglais in the name.

[Ashley Davidson-Fisher · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book! History is one of my most favorite genre to read and the fact that this book takes place in Provence, were the two reasons why I choose to read it.

Getting to explore the place where I live through the eyes of Queen Victoria was real treat. I especially liked the first hand account of her life in Provence as read through her letters that are generously placed throughout the book. There are letters of many of her acquaintances, as well, which add to the historical value of what is being written. I marveled at her accounts of visiting Hyères, Cannes, Nice, Menton and Grasse, among others. All places I know so well today, but I was able to view these places in a completely different time period, and boy, how different they were! Throughout the book you get to learn of King Leopold and the affect his death had on the Queen, the famous actress Sarah Bernhardt, the Munshi affair (of which I had never heard of) and one of my personal favorites, Elisabeth, Empress of Austria, whose story is quite fascinating in it's own right. The book also includes black and white photos and drawings, which add a very nice touch.

Throughout the book, a host of royals, dignitaries, high ranking officials, and so on, are Queen Victoria's companions. There were so many in fact, that I lost track. This is one of those books where while you are reading it, you're busy looking up all the fascinating people that are in the book.

If you love history/biographies and Provence, then I would recommend this book. It's a delightful and insightful look into the life of Queen Victoria through eyes that we would not get to have an experience through, her own.

[Paul Magnussen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This delightful, well researched and eminently readable book carried me along so effortlessly that I had trouble putting it down.

The Queen first came to the Riviera in 1882, and was so pleased with it that she returned whenever she could: ‘Oh, if only I were at Nice, I should recover’, she said as she was dying.

This story of her sojourns there, far from being a mere travelogue, draws on her journal and on the accounts of many other people to give a fascinating picture, not only of H.M. herself in her lighter moments, but also of many other figures of the day such as the Prince of Wales (later Edward VII), Lord Salisbury, Kaiser Bill and King Leopold of the Belgians; and of contemporary events such as the Fashoda incident and the outbreak of the Boer War.

Since she presided over a snobbish era, one might imagine that Victoria was herself a snob. But that is shown clearly not to be the case, and she emerges as compassionate, intelligent, conscientious and rather endearing lady — although not of course without her quirks!

There are many contemporary photographs, illustrations and cartoons, some in colour.

Oh, and if you were wondering in exactly what circumstances H.M. said ‘We are not amused’, that’s here too.

I now intend to read all of Michael Nelson’s books. Next, obviously, is the sequel: Americans and the Making of the Riviera.

[Vultural · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nelson, Michael - Queen Victoria And The Discovery Of The Riviera

Enjoyment might depend on how much one knows about Queen Victoria or how much one is into that period. Especially for those who know more from films.

Highland companion John Brown only accompanied her on a few French trips before his death. More controversial was her munshi attendant, Abdul Karim. In the film, he was resented owing to his skin.
The book shines light on many more improprieties which antagonized the staff.

Victoria's children, nieces, relations, kings, queens, tsars, whatnot make up the sweeping parade, along with global events.

I was familiar with the Dreyfuss Affair, and later when President Faure appears, I knew he would die soon enough owing to ... bedroom activities.

Victoria stayed at numerous towns along the Riviera. Those and the citizens are well described. Also, her dining habits, how she traveled, and the costs per trip.

Masses of footnotes at the back, which I seldom dipped into. I read a chapter a day, then went back to whatever novel or short stories I was working on. Very little of the fin de siècle is evident.
As with all things pertaining to the Queen, much was redacted or burned by her daughter.

[Liam Ostermann · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting but very 'niche' examination of Queen Victoria via the 'holidays' she took in the South of France. If you ever wondered why in Nice there the main route is called 'Promenade des Anglais' then this lively book will provide the answer.

It is not bad but is not written for anyone looking for depth never mind a less then reverent attitude to royalty.

[Donna]

Vaguely interests but as dull as herself in old age

[Jeremy Noble · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book researching my novel "Villa Eilenroc" which is set in the South of France. I wanted to find out how the Côte d'Azur became fashionable. Well, this book makes a good case for saying that it was Queen Victoria who put it on the map. Yes, there were plenty of European aristocrats who had made it their home, but Victoria's regular visits brought the area into the popular imagination.

In "Villa Eilenroc" a character says that "Queen Victoria invented the Côte d'Azur, and Scott Fitzgerald made it glamorous."

[Chase Insteadman Mountbatten · Rating 4 out of 5]

"A traveller may leave London bridge station at 7,40 on Monday morning by mail train for Paris, and be at Nice or Mentone for supper the following day, Tuesday."

"One saw very nasty disreputable looking people walking about in Monte Carlo, though many respectable people go there also for their health. The harm this attractive gambling establishment does, cannot be overestimated."