Jane Ridley Books

Part of the Penguin Monarchs series: short, fresh, expert accounts of England's rulers in a collectible format. Queen Victoria inherited the throne at 18 and went on to become the longest-reigning female monarch in history, in a time of intense industrial, cultural, political, scientific and military change within the United Kingdom and great imperial expansion outside of it (she was made Empress of India in 1876). Overturning the established picture of the dour old lady, this is a fresh and engaging portrait from one of our most talented royal biographers.

"Chronicles the eventful life of Queen Victoria's firstborn son, the quintessential black sheep of Buckingham Palace, who matured into as wise and effective a monarch as Britain has ever seen."--Publisher's description

The prequel to The the first truly candid portrait of George V and Mary, the Queen's grandparents and creators of the modern monarchyThe lasting reputation of George V is for dullness. His biographer Harold Nicolson famously quipped that 'he did nothing at all but kill animals and stick in stamps'.But is that really all there was to King George, a monarch confronted by a series of crises thought to be the most testing faced by any twentieth-century British sovereign? As Tommy Lascelles, one of the most perceptive royal advisers, put 'He was dull, beyond dispute -- but my God, his reign never had a dull moment.'Throughout his reign, George V navigated a constitutional crisis, the First World War, the fall of thirteen European monarchies and the rise of Bolshevism. The suffragette Emily Davison threw herself under his horse at the Derby, he refused asylum to his cousin the Tsar Nicholas II and he facilitated the first Labour government.How this supposedly limited man steered the Crown through so many perils is a gripping tale. With unprecedented access to the archives, Jane Ridley has been able to reassess the many myths associated with this dramatic period for the first time.

Queen Victoria inherited the throne at 18 and went on to become the longest-reigning female monarch in history, in a time of intense industrial, cultural, political, scientific, and military change within the United Kingdom and great imperial expansion outside of it (she was made Empress of India in 1876). Overturning the established picture of the dour old lady, this is a fresh and engaging portrait from one of our most talented royal biographers. -- Amazon.com

Nach ihr ist die Epoche benannt, in der Großbritannien die Welt beherrschte. Als Victoria 1837 Königin wurde, war sie eine eigenwillige, sehr junge Frau, die gerade den übermächtigen Einfluss ihrer deutschen Mutter abgeschüttelt hatte. Doch in die Rolle der Herrscherin über das britische Weltreich musste sie erst hineinwachsen. Im Zusammenspiel mit ihrem Mann und in der Auseinandersetzung mit mehreren Premierministern hat sie diese Rolle über 60 Jahre ausgefüllt. Die britische Historikerin Jane Ridley schildert in ihrer Biographie auf knappen Raum, kenntnisreich und ohne Hang zur Verklärung, wie sich die Persönlichkeit der Königin im Laufe ihrer rekordverdächtig langen Regierungszeit entwickelte. Sie zeigt, welche Erfahrungen sie machen und welche Lektionen sie lernen musste, mit welchen Intrigen sie konfrontiert wurde und wie sie schließlich zur sprichwörtlichen »Großmutter Europas« wurde.