Honest to goodness...if you had told me last week this was the book I'd skip tv for to read, I'd probably have laughed. It's not that I don't find the topic interesting (Victorian times fascinate me, actually) but this biography is over 600 pages and focuses more on Victoria herself than on the mores of her time.
It's thanks to the Wall Street Journal "Review" section that I discovered this. Their book section is often just as good as the New York Times, if not sometimes better.
Just a snippet from the review, then you can read more (if you like) through the link that follows.
Mr. Wilson takes on the long journey of the queen’s life with an assured, affectionate portrait written in accessible prose. His Victoria is a vivid personality, kindly, combative and impetuous by turns, deeply conscious of the dignity of her office and, for all her faults, “loveable.” He is particularly good on the queen’s childhood and German background, though the wealth of information on her extended European family may weary all but the most avid monarchists, for most of her relatives had little claim to fame apart from their titles. More absorbing is Mr. Wilson’s recording of Victoria’s relations with her ministers, from Lord Melbourne to Lord Salisbury, who advised, cajoled and sheltered a monarch who was not content to sit back and nod in compliance with the government’s wishes.
There are times when non-fiction suits better than fiction, where fact feels more safe and reliable and fiction is just as fluffy as a good dream from which you're rudely awakened and just to have return to reality, anyway.
You can read more of the review here:
It's true the book is hefty, but the style is nice and the print is actually large enough to see without needing to request a Large Print copy.
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