Queen Victoria Research Paper

713 Words2 Pages

A. N. Wilson, biographer of Milton, Tolstoy, and Dante, shows his expertise with his latest biography about Queen Victoria. Queen Victoria is an interesting subject. Throughout her life, Queen Victoria was a prolific writer, who wrote in diaries, and corresponded rapidly to various key figures of the era. However, despite, or perhaps because of the plethora of information on Queen Victoria, no previous biography on her has been written without a positive or negative slant. A. N. Wilson has succeeded in writing a complete biography of the complicated character Victoria, while allowing the reader to assume his or her own judgement. Victoria has always been quiet as a child, some would describe her as aloof. She was raised as minor royalty, and …show more content…

This chose the reader has demonstrates the beauty of this biography because the beauty is the power the biographer allows the reader to wield. Victoria had nine children. She was a harsh but loving mother with varying levels of affection for each of her children. Unfortunately, many of her children inherited her hemophilia, either as a carrier or sick with it. As a result, two of her boys died in their youth. However, her tragedy didn’t end there her husband, Prince Albert, died young too, leaving her a bitter but resolved widow. She was of course helped and advised by many of her famous acquaintances and royal family members. However, despite her support system (or perhaps because of it,) both Victoria’s accomplishments and foibles are on a grand scale. She wanted to continue her work in parliament. In parliament, Queen Victoria made her opinions known. She fought for her views on what she considered “a real constitutional monarchy.” It is because of Victoria that there is a democracy in Great Britain today. However she also made a lot of military errors, which have obstructed many military …show more content…

The outside references especially add to the intellectual stimulation and interest. Some examples include: a description of Victoria’s acquaintance “who knew everyone’s secrets—a little like Mr. Tulkinghorn in Dicken’s bleak house”, comments like “had Mr. Sherlock Holmes been there, he may have guessed what Archbishop Benson was doing…”, and analogies like “she made no allusion to it, any more than Jane Austen, in her novels, alluded to the Napoleonic Wars.” There is a lot to learn about Queen Victoria. She was the Empress of India, the matriarch of Europe, the beloved ruler of England, and so much more. The synopsis on the front flap says that “Britain’s longest-reigning monarch was one of the most passionate, expressive, humorous, and unconventional women who ever lived, and the story of her life continues to fascinate.” If her life before A. N. Wilson wrote her biography wasn’t fascinating it definitely is now, as the reader becomes submerged in trying to figure out how to make sense of the quagmire of her

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