Review: Queen Victoria and the Men Who Loved Her

As you might recall back in 2014, Robert Parry published a book of biographical sketches of Queen Elizabeth I (reviewed here) and now I have the pleasure of reviewing a second such book, this time concerned with the gentlemen in the life of Queen Victoria...

I think most people will feel that they have grown rather more familiar with Queen Victoria over the last couple of decades, what with this...

Her Majesty Mrs Brown (1997)

...being followed by this...

The Young Victoria (2009)

...not to mention this...

Victoria and Abdul (2017)

...and endless quantities of this...

Victoria (2016-present)

...so what else can we be told about Queen Vic and her loves?  Well, often it's not what you're told, but how you are told it and Queen Victoria and the Men Who Loved Her provides a perfect dip in and out of the various characters in the Queen's long and eventful reign.  

Sir John Conroy (1836) Alfred Tidey

'Love' is quite a complicated term; some of those mentioned in the book did indeed love Victoria in the traditional sense, but some, like the odious John Conroy were in the Queen's life, arguably, because they loved themselves.  Did he have the Queen's best interests at heart? He would have no doubt argued so, but history has not been kind to him or Victoria's mother who allowed the interference (I am reminded somewhat of Catherine Parr and Thomas Seymour).  Life and love is contradictory sometimes, and Conroy was certainly as important to Victoria as some of the men she thought kinder of, but by including him it is possible to see the impact he had in her life and find echoes in some of her later, and happier, relationships.

Benjamin Disraeli (1868) W. and D. Downey

I'm not sure why I have such a soft spot for Disraeli but I'm in good company as Queen Vic liked him too, apparently.  Maybe we both share a thing for a man in a velvet jacket.  Either way, his wit and charm is something we sorely lack in politicians at the moment so enjoy a bit of escapism to when our Prime Minister was also a novelist, and people liked him.

John Brown and Queen Victoria (1868) W. & D. Downey

Much has been made since the release of Her Majesty Mrs Brown back in the late 1990s, of Queen Victoria's 'love affairs' with men after the death of her beloved Albert.  What those episodes tell me is that even though she was Queen, the most important person in the country, people felt that they could challenge her about who she spent time with, as if any man, even a servant, would somehow exert power over her, a mere woman.  I don't for a moment assume that Queen Victoria was impervious to folly, but echoes of Conroy's control over Victoria must not have been lost on the Queen, and I wonder if that was part of the reason she dug in her heels.

Queen Victoria (1887) Alexander Bassano

Despite this being a book about her relationships, I was struck by how solitary her life was, because in the end, she was Queen, alone.  This is reflected in the narrative conceit of the book, a traveller alone, seeking company in a group of talkative, knowledgeable strangers.  Many of the relationships in the book are ones that were not exactly of Victoria's choosing, for example Conroy, but also those of her Prime Ministers.  Others were ones that happened by accident, especially so in the case of her servants.  The love of her life was only in her life for a small amount of time in proportion to the time she spent mourning him.  Her relationships with her children and grandchildren is reflected in her position as not only a mother, but also the Monarch, and perhaps she gets as harsh a judgement as working mothers seem to still receive.  We still, it seems, are fascinated in Victoria, the Queen and the woman, and how exactly she managed to be a figure of such power and still subject to such mixed and tender emotions.

Queen Victoria and the Men Who Loved Her is available now from Amazon UK and USA

Book Review: The Testament of Sophie Dawes

I've been very lucky with books to review of late and have had the pleasure of bringing you some marvellous non-fiction books, with yet more to come.  Today however I have the delight of recommending a novel for those looking for something Victorian and diverting from a rather splendid writer of historical fiction.  Robert Stephen Parry has returned to the nineteenth century and I am very happy indeed. His new novel The Testament of Sophie Dawes is released today - et voilà!

Set on the Isle of Wight in 1862, we follow the journals and letters of the newly appointed archivist at Osborne House as he sorts through the papers of the late Prince Consort.  Amongst the files he finds a letter, 'a testament', from a woman called Sophie Dawes which reveals scandal and betrayal which could have ramifications to the monarchy.



Queen Victoria in mourning, 1862

The book is actually quite tricky to talk about because of spoilers but what I can say is that what the archivist finds is only half the story.  The testament takes us to Revolutionary France, a time of chaos, of disrupting order.  Sophie Dawes struggles in her uncertain position as courtesan and consort to royalty and aristocracy in the changing tides of society.  Her story is at odds with the quiet and respectful mourning of Osborne and the Isle of Wight, but what slowly becomes apparent through the journal is that all might not be as it seems there too.

Sophie Dawes house in St Helens, Isle of Wight

What amazed me was the level of research that has gone into this novel.  I was fairly well aware of Osborne House and Queen Victoria's time there but I learnt so much more about those stifling months after Albert's death, and what exactly life must have been like living under such a shroud of enforced sadness.  I was unaware of Sophie Dawes but now want to know more and I'm sure other readers will be drawn to see her house and read more about her extraordinary life.  She is definitely a character, and one who seems to be more of a celebrity in France than her native land.

I have always had a weakness for novels written in the epistolary style after studying 18th century novels for my degrees, and so loved reading the journal entries and the letters. It feels so personal and you have an instant connection with the narrator. All that happens to him is admitted to the reader with pride, panic, shame and curiosity and you end up racing from entry to entry to find out the truth.  I loved the juxtaposition of Darwin's Origins, the endless birdwatching and ordering of his life with our narrator's choices later in the book and his slow realisation that order and science might not answer all his questions, either about the world or himself.  There is one moment especially where I yelped because things take such an unexpected turn you know nothing will be the same again.

Sophie Dawes (1812) Huet-Villiers

As always, the book is vividly written and full of exquisite period detail.  What Robert Stephen Parry excels in is lulling the reader into a sense of comfort by the gentle tone and pace of a piece adding impact into the revelations and mysteries.  If you loved The Arrow Chest then you will adore this, and I am very happy that Mr Parry has returned to both the Victorian period and the Isle of Wight, two of my favourite things.  His writing suits the era so well, being so graceful and insightful, but he brings scandal, sex, mystery and madness to the world of a quiet archivist who just wants to watch birds.  The result is a novel that is as compelling as it is unexpected, that contrasts the controlled heart of the Empire within the stifling walls of Osborne with the chaos life can bring.  It certainly is a story that will stay with you after its finale and that is recommendation enough.

To buy The Testament of Sophie Dawes visit Amazon UK here and USA here, or buy it on Kindle (UK and USA).  Enjoy!