The most recommended books about Queen Victoria

This was the first Royal history book I ever read and it hooked me into the world of Queen Victoria and her descendants.

It is a classic, standard biography of Victoria - an excellent overview of her life as a woman in a man’s world, her marriage and her widowhood. Many biographies since have dissected various aspects of Victoria’s life without giving a good general telling of her story. But this is what Elizabeth Longford does - with a writing style that flows and is so so easy to read.

It is “warts and all” -  Victoria was not the easiest of characters, had steaming rows with Albert, was dictatorial as a mother, and a professional widow. I came away feeling as though I knew Victoria.

More importantly, this book made me want to find out more about her family, and royal history in general. It influenced me so much… show more.

Although strictly speaking this is a children’s book, I absolutely loved it as an adult reader. It explores all my favorite themes – the role of women in society, the conflict between science and religion, the darker elements of humanity – all wrapped up in murder mystery with the wonderful fantastical premise of a tree that feeds on whispered lies and whose fruit (when eaten) imparts the deepest of truths. Honestly, this novel has it all – a windswept island, forbidden truths, hidden secrets, and a deeply flawed main female character battling against societal expectations in the mid-19th Century.

The tagline for this book is Spying and Crown from Victoria to Diana. It is a massive book, the fruit of in-depth research, and opens up a fascinating field of enquiry. It details how the secret services grew out of attempts to assassinate Queen Victoria and reveals how the pro-Nazi sympathies of Edward Vlll and his abdication triggered a massive security alert. Most intriguing of all is the story of how King George Vl came to cooperate with SOE in a massive deception in the run-up to D-Day.

This novel has a particular poignancy for me as it comes from my mum’s vast collection of books, which she bequeathed to my daughter as she neared the end of her life.

Here, Olivia Manning conjures life in early 1960s Plymouth at a time of rapidly changing social attitudes and captures the awkwardness and yearning of her adolescent protagonists with exquisite skill. Although the events depicted are 60 years into the past, her characters are so fresh their lives come vividly to life.

My mum has died now, and I’m sad I’ll never be able to discuss this magnificent book with her.

An indispensable work to anyone interested in the Romanovs, and especially in the life and reign of Tsar Nicholas II. Here, in their own words from diaries and letters are the thoughts and inner-most feelings of Tsar Nicholas II and his wife, Tsarina Alexandra, as well as numerous royal relatives – though the main focus is on Nicholas and Alexandra. Through these written words, the imperial couple and their families are revealed; they’re given a voice and come alive across more than six hundred pages of text. Interspersed as well are a variety of primary sources such as memoirs, documents, diplomatic letters, and the like. But it is the letters and diaries which take center stage and deliver an emotional read.

Russian historians Maylunas and Mironenko (he was Director of the State Archive of the Russian Federation) have done an admirable job of culling through an enormous amount of material… show more.

I found this story enchanting. It utterly gripped me throughout with its compelling atmosphere of mystery, sheer horror and creepiness, and fascination with the idea of spirit photography. I felt captivated by the two main female characters and their developing intimate, emotional, and tense relationship.

My heart and soul were with these two women and the author’s beautiful craftsmanship weaving through the characters and story an intelligent and powerful debate about life after death. 

This is it. The original Victorian expose. I love the way Lytton Strachey takes his parents’ generation and pokes fun at their heroes. This is the first attempt to burst the Victorians’ bubble, and I think it’s brilliant. More than that, I don’t really think you can understand anything that’s been written about them since without starting here.

Strachey picks on four Victorian greats – Florence Nightingale included – and strips them naked. Not so great after all, he concludes. It’s the original tell-all biography.

Do not be put off by the fact this book, and the others in the Sally Lockhart quartet, are often marketed as children’s/YA literature. Like the best of fiction, they transcend categorisation.

The Ruby in the Smoke introduces us to the indomitable Sally Lockhart, orphaned and forced to uncover the secret behind her father’s death. She’s feisty and fiercely independent, navigating her way in a world where the chips are stacked against her. Pullman provides us with an impeccably researched foray into the 1870s, all wrapped up in a hugely entertaining read. 

This was the first biography of Queen Victoria that I read and, to date, it remains the best! Effortlessly combing in the personal with the political, it not only portrays Victoria as a Queen but also as a woman, who could simultaneously be one of the most dominant monarchs of the 19th century, and as nervous as a child. A brilliant portrayal of a fascinating character, playing a major role in one of the most interesting eras in history!

Myrtle Hardcastle is a most unconventional twelve-year-old, especially for the 1920s—she loves forensic science. Raised by her father and her governess, she has access to his law books and court cases, her scientist-mother’s microscope and curiosity, and the sometimes reluctant encouragement and stalwart protection of Miss Ada Judson.

In this first in the series—which won the Edgar Award from Mystery Writers of America—Myrtle knows the death of her wealthy flower-breeding Miss Wodehouse was not natural, even if the prosecutor (her father) doesn’t want to believe it. Myrtle’s tenacity and talent had me wanting to get out my magnifying glass and go looking for clues—just as Nancy Drew did for me when I was younger.