The Young Victoria

by Alison Plowden

I delight in this work', wrote the young Victoria shortly after she became Queen. She was an engaging creature, high-spirited and eager to be 'amused'. But her early years were difficult ones. Fatherless from the age of eight months, she was brought up at Kensington Palace in an atmosphere thick with family feuds, backbiting and jealousy - the focus of conflicting ambitions. Though her uncle William Iv was anxious to bring her into Court circles, her German mother and the calculating John Conroy were equally determined that she should remain under their control. The 'little Queen', who succeeded to the throne a month after her eighteenth birthday, was greeted by a unanimous chorus of praise and admiration. She embraced the independence of her position and often forced her will on those around her. She met and married Albert, marking the end of her childhood and the beginning of a glorious legend.

Genres: History, Biography, Nonfiction, Royalty, British Literature, Historical, Victorian

288 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1981

Reviews

[Keep Calm Novel On]

NetGalley provided a copy of the ePub in exchange for an honest review.

Alison Plowden’s biography The Young Victoria is an insightful overview of the Queen’s early years. The events of her formative years certainly shaped her perspective on the issues of her long and respected reign. The author’s use of primary sources is brilliantly woven throughout this magnificently written read. The Young Victoria is a fast-paced page-turner that is certainly informative and revealing. Queen Victoria’s character, strength, determination and sense of duty are evident. Every library should have a copy. The Young Victoria is perfect as well for book clubs. A must read.

[Brittany]

I have to admit that I read this after seeing the movie "The Young Victoria," and enjoying it quite a bit. And also (a little) wondering how much of it was really true. This seems to be the book most of the movie is based on, and the answer is: More than you'd think. It seems many of major speeches in the movie can be drawn, almost verbatim, from letters of the period. As you'd expect much was glossed over, simplified, and made rosier, but the story seems to be very much the same.

Consequently, it's an absorbing book. Victoria's life seems to be very well-documented, and Plowden is reasonably good about considering the source of information, rather than taking everything at face value. She also does a good job (for her American readers) of spelling out things that "every British schoolchild" learns, because odds are, we Americans missed out on that.

My one quibble with the book didn't actually have to do with the book at all. I had a library copy, and someone else, as she was reading it, had actually WRITTEN ANNOTATIONS IN THE MARGIN and UNDERLINED PASSAGES. In a library book. This horrified me, but what made it even worse was that she wasn't at all an insightful reader. In fact she was a pretty dumb one. (As evidenced by the fact that fairly simple words, including "avuncular" and "sanguine" were underlined with question marks next to them.) The notations were also usually incredibly obvious: That John Conroy was trying to use Victoria to gain power, for example, or that Victoria's relationship with Melbourne caused some political issues for her later. Like I said, not the author's (or the publisher's) fault at all, but it put me in a bit of a sour mood when approaching the book.

[Kelly]

Such lovely descriptions of a young Victoria. She had a lot of fun dancing and riding her horses and loved animals.
I was surprised about her education being less political and administrative than I thought. I liked the structure of the Uncle King, Duke of Clarence and Duke of York.
I think Albert of Coburg must have won by his looks. And of I'm honest Victoria reminded me of Kitty etc in Jane Austen novels.

[Amy]

A fun and informative read and a great supplement to the movie "The Young Victoria". However, the book could be a lot longer, more detailed, and have footnotes or endnotes. The latter in particular bothers me: how am I to know where the author gets particular bits of information? Yes she includes a bibliography, but that's hardly the same thing.

[Ozana Ozzy]

Book based on movie or move based on book...book is nothing special, even trashy. I only loved Victoria and Albets love story.
Politics and court and parliament intriguing are shallowly described and any interest I found in this book is palace life, funny life in palace.

[Fiona Warburton]

I picked this up as a follow on read as I had enjoyed "The Strangest Family"so much.
A considerably shorter read, but a very interesting and readable account of the life of Victoria, from the death in childbirth of the heir to the throne Princess Charlotte, the subsequent race of George IIIs other sons to produce a legitimate heir, and Victoria's very sheltered and restrictive childhood after the death of her father, in Kensington Palace with her mother and the hated John Conroy. Despite her mother and Conroy's efforts to control her, once she became Queen in 1837, she proved to be an able and independent monarch.
This account is taken up to her marriage with Prince Albert, would have happily read more

[Michell Karnes]

The Young Victoria was a refreshing look at the life of Victoria until her marriage. Plowden does a great job giving a factual account of Victoria's life without speculating. The author tells this story without prejudice or favoritism. While I did not learn much new the author did give a new perspective on those key characters...the Duchess of Kent, William IV, Melbourne and Lehzen. For example the famous speech King William gives toward the end of his life in anger at the Duchess of Kent is re-examined within the context of the period.

[Meghan]

I feel I have read quite a bit about Victoria. She defined an age. There is so many interesting topics surrounding her and her reign. This book was good enough, but didn’t particularly bring up any new information for me. A good read though.

**I received a copy from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review**

[Helen Appleby]

Enjoyable, easy read.

[MerryMeerkat]

The Misadventures of Salem Hyde  
Star Rating Art:  5 Stars
Star Rating Story: 5 Stars
 
Self Purchase.
 
First Impression:  Adorable and Funny.
 
Love the drawing. Love the huge eyes on Salem Hyde. Love Salem Hyde’s spunk.
Love the little getting to know you pages on the characters.  I really enjoyed this. The Whammy the cat is also adorable. Great for kids. The only negative thing I can say about this is that it was WAY TOO SHORT!!!! Otherwise, Awesome and juicy.
Quotes: “I’m not a Scaredy Cat! I’m a careful Kitty!”- Whammy

[Diana]

I don't even know where to start...

The narrative was amazing, with A. Plowden's words and the primary sources like letters, notes and Victoria's diaries I almost felt like I had been there, like I had seen it. And then there's Victoria, not the queen, but the young girl that grows up with a normality that I could almost identify myself with, and with trials that made me cheer for her to overcome them. Another sweet surprise was how much of the movie was real! Which is something I, unfortunately, don't see as often as I wished.

I loved this book and it made me love the movie even more.

[Emily]

I wish there were more history books that focused on a tiny topic and were only 150 pages long--this made a nice, quick read. The book was originally published in the early 1980s (so the "latest research" it's based on probably isn't) and the translation into ebook form is pretty shoddy with lots of stupid OCR errors. I enjoyed the recent movie that closely follows this book because it has a lot of good visual detail, but at least the book skips the silly fictionalized assassination attempt.

[Jennifer]

So I stopped for some time and finally picked the book back up and finished it. Some slow parts, but I did enjoy it overall. It does give you an idea of what the Young Victoria's life must have been like.

[Kathryn]

Remarkably similar to the film and engrossing reading in its own right.

[Heather Domin]

To be reviewed for HNR December 2011

[Susan]

A fascinating look at Victoria's early years, which gives good context for some of the key developments in British history.

[Danielle Reily]

I really enjoyed this book. I had never been as interested in Queen Victoria as I have been in earlier European monarchs, this book has made me want to read more books about her and her life.

[Sue]

Pretty good, for a quickie read.

[Kim Mathews]

So very good!

[Heather]

This book was amazing! I have always been very curious about Queen Victoria and to learn of her younger years was something I had been wanting to do. This book is well researched and has many primary sources like letters, notes and Victoria's diaries.

I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in learning more about the girl that grew into a queen.

*Thank you to Alison Plowden, Sutton Publishing and Netgalley for providing a digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Kinsey Crosby]

Have dnf'd this as well.