Victoria

A Novel

By: Daisy Goodwin

Narrated by: Anna Wilson-Jones

Length: 12 hrs and 25 mins

Publisher's summary

This program includes an interview with the author, Daisy Goodwin, who is the writer and creator of Victoria, the Masterpiece presentation on PBS. Anna Wilson-Jones, who plays Lady Portman on the show, narrates.

"The research is impeccable, the attention to details - from protocol to petticoats - perfect, and it brings the formidable figure of Victoria to sparkling life." (Sunday Mirror)

"Victoria is an absolutely captivating novel of youth, love, and the often painful transition from immaturity to adulthood. Daisy Goodwin breathes new life into Victoria's story, and does so with sensitivity, verve, and wit." (Amanda Foreman, New York Times best-selling author of Georgiana: Duchess of Devonshire and A World on Fire, and 2016 chair of the Man Booker Prize)

Early one morning, less than a month after her 18th birthday, Alexandrina Victoria is roused from bed with the news that her uncle William IV has died, and she is now queen of England. The men who run the country have doubts about whether this sheltered young woman, who stands less than five feet tall, can rule the greatest nation in the world. Surely she must rely on her mother and her venal advisor, Sir John Conroy, or her uncle, the Duke of Cumberland, who are all too eager to relieve her of the burdens of power.

The young queen is no puppet, however. She has very definite ideas about the kind of queen she wants to be, and the first thing is to choose her name.

Everyone keeps saying she is destined to marry her first cousin, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, but Victoria found him dull and priggish when they met three years ago. She is quite happy being queen with the help of her prime minister, Lord Melbourne, who may be old enough to be her father but is the first person to take her seriously.

Drawing on Victoria's diaries, which she first started reading when she was a student at Cambridge University, as well as her own brilliant gifts for history and drama, Daisy Goodwin, author of the best-selling novels The American Heiress and The Fortune Hunter as well as creator and writer of the new PBS/Masterpiece drama Victoria, brings the young queen richly to life in this magnificent audiobook.

©2016 Daisy Goodwin (P)2016 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

"Narrator Anna Wilson-Jones and author Daisy Goodwin work magic in this captivating historical novel about the tiny queen with a huge personality.... Wilson-Jones, whose clear and inviting narrative voice trips along at a perfect pace and sounds perfect for a book about royalty, serves the author beautifully. She has a wide range of accents and skill with both female and male voices. And her ability to perform believable conversational dialogue adds much to the novel's many pleasures." (AudioFile)  

The Young Victoria

Those of us who enjoy the history of the British monarchy have definitely heard of Queen Victoria. But how much do we really know about her life before being queen, or even her life before marrying Prince Albert? This book focuses on just this period of her life. It starts around age 16 then jumps to age 18 when she assumes the throne in the wake of her uncle's death. From there, it maps out the trials & achievements of a very young monarch that is simply trying to learn the job. We leave our main character with her having proposed marriage to her cousin Prince Albert, & as we know, he accepts & the two being a family & reign togther for 21 blissful years.

I'll admit that I knew only the baseline story of Queen Victoria. I knew even less about her life prior to assuming the throne. The author did a fantastic job of putting history in an enjoyable, easy-to-read format that simply tells the story of a young girl learning a difficult job while looking for love in all of the impossible places. As a fiction story it wonderful, but knowing that it's a true story just makes it even better! I particularly enjoyed seeing the human side of Victoria, the side that makes mistakes & sometimes jumps to wrong conclusions. It's in reading these things that I began to be able to identify with her not as a queen, but as a woman who experiences many of the same problems as the next woman. I am currenly in the process of watching the TV series that is based on this book. I like what I'm seeing so far!

Age recommendation: 12 & up (very clean, but some elements may be over a younger reader's head)

On a scale of 1-10 stars, I give it 9.

Great Read!!

This book is identical to the BBC/PBS show Victoria, except for how in-depth a book is compared to a show. It’s lovely to hear the motivations for things that I saw in the show. Can’t wait to read part 2!

If you are interested in Queen Victoria

Any additional comments?

I really enjoyed Daisy Goodwin's first two books: The American Heiress and The Fortune Hunter. This newest book is a fictionalized account of the time of Queen Victoria's life from just before she succeeds to the throne until she becomes betrothed to Prince Albert. Victoria is very well written and tells the story well. The problem for me ended up being that I just wasn't that interested in this small piece of history, at least not taken to this extent. The history (which the blurb says is well-researched) could be told in a fairly short essay. I have to say that while I did listen to the whole book, I didn't find it compelling. If you are a fan of Queen Victoria, it might be a better fit for you.

The reader is excellent, and I found her various accents convincing.

Loved THE CROWN? Get this!

What made the experience of listening to Victoria the most enjoyable?

If you loved Netflix's The Crown, you will devour this!

What was one of the most memorable moments of Victoria?

Any time she stood up to Sir John Connolly.

What does Anna Wilson-Jones bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The voices and accents!

If you could take any character from Victoria out to dinner, who would it be and why?

Lord M! I feel like he would be incredibly entertaining!

Any additional comments?

Finished watching the Crown on Netflix and needed an immediate fix. This book did the trick!

Interesting but not what I expected

I liked the book, but it was a bit less Historical and a lot more fiction. Usually I look to learn about the characters and the atmosphere of the time period. I do not think that I learned anything from this book. So while it is well written and worth a read, I do not believe it is in league with it's predecessors that I have read.

Terrific introduction to Queen Victoria

This is the story of Queen Victoria's early years and a great introduction for anyone wanting to delve more deeply. It is read wonderfully and introduces some of the most important characters in her life/reign. Now I'm going to read a new, fuller, non-fiction biography, but I'm glad I started here! I'd also like to watch the movie. I highly recommend this. Kept me driving through lots of boring traffic jams.

Loved it!! couldn't put it down

I absolutely loved it!! I had trouble putting it down! I can't wait to watch it on PBS

Fascinating! Loved it!

The incredible true story of Queen Victoria. The author expertly shows her struggles, triumphs, and failures in a way that makes her human. Despite looking glamourous and being in the public eye, she is just like all of us.

I wanted to know more!

I was so surprised when it ended. I liked it, and expected to hear more!

What happened to the rest of the story

I was very disappointed by this book. It was less than half of the PBS television series. I expected a lot more book. Also disappointed by some of the writing. Every time the author wrote about Victoria biting her lip I wanted to cringe.