My mistress the queen

More about the book

Between 1854 and 1859 Frieda Arnold was dresser to Queen Victoria. Her letters give readers a rare glimpse into palace life from the point of view of the servant. Discreet, well-read, lively, charming, and dazzled but not overwhelmed by the grandeur of her new surroundings, she give a unique account of the interiors of all the royal castles and the royal yacht. She was behind the scenes when Napoleon III came to England, and she went with the Queen on the famous state visit to Paris in 1855. Frieda wrote home to her native Karlsruhe describing the sights of London from the foreigner's perspective, appalled by the gulf between riches and squalor, and taking in all the current places of interest from the Bank of England to Crystal Palace. She sees troops leaving for the Crimea and returning to the new camp at Aldershot. Frieda's viewpoint is curious and unique. Her letters are illustrated by portraits, early photographs from the time and Frieda's own sketches and watercolours. Frieda's letters give us the chance to listen to an intelligent, articulate voice from a vanished and otherwise silent world.