Queen Victoria: Daughter, Wife, Mother, Widow

The latest from historian Worsley (Jane Austen at Home) is an insightful, sympathetic, and vividly written examination of the “good woman” who ruled England for 64 years. Worsley argues that the new role Victoria created for the monarchy, one that relied more on influence than power, stemmed from her ability to cultivate the people’s respect despite their unease with a woman on the throne, which she did by relying on instinct and emotion to guide her decisions, as her culture expected women to do, rather than the logic and intellect culturally associated with men. When she inherited the throne in 1837, she immediately distanced herself from her controlling mother, choosing her own advisers. Victoria kept the word obey in her 1840 marriage vows to Prince Albert, and she struggled to reconcile her public role as queen with her private one as wife; once she became a mother, she ceded government and family business to Albert. Widowed in 1861, it took a decade and the near death of her eldest son before Victoria adjusted to ruling on her own again, which she did for another 40 years. Worsley’s command of the material and elegant writing style make this a must-read for anyone interested in the British monarchy. Illus. (Jan.)