Victoria, A. N. Wilson
Victoria, A. N. Wilson
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Victoria
A Life

Author: A. N. Wilson

Narrator: Clive Chafer

Unabridged: 21 hr 6 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 10/23/2014


Synopsis

Acclaimed historian A. N. Wilson gives a sweeping, definitive biography of one of the most recognizable yet enigmatic monarchs of all time.The longest reigning British monarch and female sovereign in history, Queen Victoria was a figure of profound paradox who has mystified historians for over a century. Now in this magisterial biography, A. N. Wilson rebukes the conventional wisdom about her life—that she was merely a "funny little woman in a bonnet" who did next to nothing—to show she was in fact intensely involved in state affairs despite a public fa├ºade of inaction. More than just the stock image of a stuffy, unsmiling widow in mourning, Wilson's complete immersion in Victoria's countless letters and journals reveals a carefully nuanced portrait of a monarch possessed by family immigrant insecurities, a reluctant public figure who learned to exploit public display, a mother who hated pregnancy, and above all, a political luminary who created and controlled the story of her life, true or otherwise.Victoria brings to life its subject in all her many moods and phases: her so-called miserable childhood, her early years of political inexperience as a pawn to advisers and statesmen, her passionate marriage to Prince Albert and the incessant public criticism, her famed mourning period after Albert's early death, and finally, the captivating last decades of her rule as Empress of India. After nearly two decades as an eccentric, reclusive mourner, she emerged, self-confident and robust, as an out-and-out imperialist who harnessed royalty with British foreign policy and as the figurehead of military and economic world domination.Wilson tells a story of victory against painful odds and gives the portrait of a woman battling with demons and overcoming them, largely alone. Despite everything, she came to embody the British people's experience of their own lives. For those hundreds of thousands of people throughout the world, Queen Victoria transcended autocracy; she became the model for all future constitutional monarchies, a beloved leader who reflected back to the people their own experiences of passing time, their own values, and their own sense of the world. With dramatic sweep and novelistic style, Victoria: A Life is an accomplished work from one of our greatest biographers.

About A. N. Wilson

A. N. Wilson is a renowned British journalist and author. He has written several acclaimed biographies, including Tolstoy, C. S. Lewis, Jesus, and Paul. He taught for seven years at Oxford before becoming a journalist. He has won numerous awards, including the E. M. Forster Award, the Whitbread Biography Award, and the Somerset Maugham Award. A frequent contributor to the Daily Mail, Times Literary Supplement, New Statesman, Spectator, and Observer, he lives in London.

About Clive Chafer

Clive Chafer is a professional actor, director, producer, and theater instructor. Originally from England and educated at Leeds and Exeter universities, he has performed and directed at many theaters in the San Francisco area, where he makes his home, and elsewhere in the US. In 1993 he founded TheatreFIRST, Oakland’s professional theater company, where he served as artistic director until 2008. 


Reviews

Goodreads review by Laurel on February 22, 2015

There are some very long books that I wish would never end. This is not one of them.......more

Goodreads review by Dindy on October 17, 2014

I was a little disappointed in A.N. Wilson's Victoria: A Life. Okay, I was a lot disappointed, because I was hoping to get some new insight into the life of Victoria. In writing this book, Wilson had access to Victoria's writings and other documents from the era to which other biographers have not b......more

Goodreads review by Anthony on April 01, 2022

Story of an Icon. The story of Queen Victoria is the story of an age. Everyone has heard of the Victorians, the name interchangeable with the last two thirds of the nineteenth century and with many of my friend from around the world they too often describe their histories in the sense of ‘The Victori......more

Goodreads review by Richard on November 25, 2014

I finished this with a great deal of regret as it is to me a masterly biography of someone who combined a great deal of empathy and humanity with being a monstre sacre of sublime selfishness. He doesn't hide her many faults and examines the rumours of her marriage to John Brown with the right degree......more

Goodreads review by Colleen on February 09, 2017

Sloppy, disjointed and rather dismissive in parts, but revealing nonetheless. Concurrently in reading this book, I also watched several documentaries on Victoria and her children, and it's interesting the many different takes people have on her character and reign. I chose this book to read, because......more


Quotes

“An assured, affectionate portrait written in accessible prose.” Wall Street Journal

“Survey[s] the political history of the world’s most powerful empire while also doing justice to the inner life of a short, stout mother and grandmother.” New York Times

“[A] shimmering and rather wonderful biography.” Guardian (London)

“Wilson’s [biography of Queen Victoria] may be the best I have read.” Washington Post

“A critical biography—funny, insightful, original, and authoritative. At last Victoria has been rescuedfrom her widow’s weeds.” Spectator (UK)

“Masterful…A thoughtful…often deliciously entertaining tale of a unique monarch.” Seattle Times

“[Wilson is] a superb biographer…He has liberated Victoria from the protective raiment of her family and the British establishment.” Minneapolis Star Tribune

“Admiration for the long-reigning female monarch is evident in this comprehensive, highly accessible work…Highly recommended.” Library Journal (starred review)

“Few if any previous biographers have viewed her as incisively and absorbingly as Wilson does.” Booklist (starred review)

“Wilson…lends a lively expertise to his portrayal…A robust, immensely entertaining portrait from a master biographer.” Kirkus Reviews (starred review)


Awards

  • PEN Literary Award