The most recommended books about Queen Victoria

Who picked these books? Meet our 53 experts.

53 authors created a book list connected to Queen Victoria, and here are their favorite Queen Victoria books.
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Book cover of Some Danger Involved

Erica Vetsch Author Of The Debutante`s Code

From my list on historical whodunnits.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have been a lover of histories and mysteries for as long as I can remember. Equal parts museum junkie and Dateline addict, I cannot get enough of history and whodunnits. From Poirot and Conan Doyle to Bernard Cornwall and Ken Follett, I love them all. As a kid, reading with a flashlight under the covers was a favorite pastime, and I wore out my library card. As an adult, I head to the true crime section of the bookstore first. I love that there are books that blend my two passions so well, and I hope you enjoy this list of historical mysteries as much as I do.

Erica's book list on historical whodunnits

Erica Vetsch Why did Erica love this book?

I feel that Sherlock Holmes and Cyrus Barker would be friends, but even more so, Dr. Watson and Thomas Llewelyn would have much to discuss. I was hesitant to begin a new series set in Victorian London, but Iā€™m so glad I read this book and every book in the series that followed.

It Involved is a twisty mystery rich in setting and history. Barker and Llewelyn are a formidable duo when it comes to crime fighting and detection, and Llewelynā€™s humor offsets (and sometimes ratchets up) the tension.

By Will Thomas,

Why should I read it?

4 authors picked Some Danger Involved as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

An atmospheric debut novel set on the gritty streets of Victorian London, Some Danger Involved introduces detective Cyrus Barker and his assistant, Thomas Llewelyn, as they work to solve the gruesome murder of a young scholar in London's Jewish ghetto.

When the eccentric and enigmatic Cyrus Barker takes on the recent murder case of a young scholar in London's Jewish ghetto, he realizes that he must hire an assistant, and out of all who answer an ad for a position with "some danger involved," he chooses downtrodden Llewelyn, a gutsy young man with a murky past.

As they inch everā€¦


Book cover of The Darwin Affair

James Charles Author Of Spirit of the Amaroq: A Story of Salvation

From James' 3 favorite reads in 2023.

Why am I passionate about this?

Author History buff Political junkie Swimmer Dreamer Quantum entangled quark

James' 3 favorite reads in 2023

James Charles Why did James love this book?

The Darwin Affair dropped and immersed me into hard times in Victorian England with a frustrated detective based on a Charles Dickens character who investigates a conspiracy to murder either Queen Victoria, Prince Albert, and/or Charles Darwin, who is promoting his On the Origin Of Species.

I not only learned a bit about Victorian England and Darwin, but this historical fiction was a fast-paced thriller to boot! I read it in four days. 

By Tim Mason,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Darwin Affair as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

"Intellectually stimulating and viscerally exciting, The Darwin Affair is breathtaking from start to stop." -The Wall Street Journal A Barnes & Noble Discover Pick * A Wall Street Journal Best Mystery Book of the Year * A Reader's Digest Best Summer Book * A Forbes.com Best Historical Novel of the SummerGet ready for one of the most inventive and entertaining novels of 2019-an edge-of-your-seat Victorian-era thriller, where the controversial publication On the Origin of Species sets off a string of unspeakable crimes.London, June 1860: When an assassination attempt is made on Queen Victoria, and a petty thief is gruesomely murderedā€¦


Book cover of Cogheart

Christyne Morrell Author Of Kingdom of Secrets

From my list on for children with mind-blowing plot twists.

Why am I passionate about this?

I hate surprises in real life, but in fiction, nothing beats a good plot twist. As both a reader and a writer, I love to get swept up in a story, especially when Iā€™m not certain where it will take me or what will happen next. Itā€™s like being on a thrilling ride! Each of the books on this list kept me guessing, caught me off guard, and made me shout ā€œaha!ā€  

Christyne's book list on for children with mind-blowing plot twists

Christyne Morrell Why did Christyne love this book?

I was initially drawn to the steampunk elements of this story but was quickly pulled into Lilyā€™s plight. Lilyā€™s father invented a priceless machine before he suddenly went missing. Now she must find him before sheā€™s nabbed by the shadowy figures who think she knows where his invention is hidden. Action and adventure abound, but itā€™s the mystery at the heart of this story that kept me ravenously flipping pages.   

By Peter Bunzl,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Cogheart as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The first in the bestselling Cogheart Adventures series, where mayhem, murder and mystery meet in a gripping Victorian world of fantastical imagination.

Some secrets change the world in a heartbeat.

Lily's life is in mortal peril. Her father is missing and now silver-eyed men stalk her through the shadows. What could they want from her?

With her friends - Robert, the clockmaker's son, and Malkin, her mechanical fox - Lily is plunged into a murky and menacing world. Too soon Lily realizes that those she holds dear may be the very ones to break her heart...

SHORTLISTED FOR THE WATERSTONESā€¦


Book cover of The Ruby in the Smoke: A Sally Lockhart Mystery

Bridget Walsh Author Of The Tumbling Girl

From my list on crime set in the nineteenth century.

Why am I passionate about this?

Iā€™m a lover of all things Victorian and an obsessive researcher. Academic libraries are my favourite places in the world and I like nothing more than uncovering some weird nugget of information that forces me to reappraise what I thought I knew. With a PhD in Victorian domestic murder and a fascination with the weirder elements of Victorian life, it was almost inevitable Iā€™d turn my hand to writing crime fiction set in that era. The five books Iā€™ve recommended are some of the best crime novels set in the nineteenth century, but written more recently.

Bridget's book list on crime set in the nineteenth century

Bridget Walsh Why did Bridget love this book?

Do not be put off by the fact this book, and the others in the Sally Lockhart quartet, are often marketed as childrenā€™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 fatherā€™s death. Sheā€™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. 

By Philip Pullman,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked The Ruby in the Smoke as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 12, 13, 14, and 15.

What is this book about?

The first book in Philip Pullman's classic SALLY LOCKHART quartet
in a beautiful new edition to celebrate the 30 year anniversary.

Soon after Sally Lockhart's father drowns at sea, she receives an
anonymous letter. The dire warning it contains makes a man die of
fear at her feet. Determined to discover the truth about her father's
death, Sally is plunged into a terrifying mystery in the dark
heart of Victorian London, at the centre of which lies a deadly
blood-soaked jewel. Philip Pullman's ever-popular, action-packed
Victorian melodramas are rejacketed for the bicentenary of Charles
Dickens in 2012.


Book cover of London Labour and the London Poor

Bill Nash Author Of Secret London: An Unusual Guide

From my list on a deeper look at London.

Why am I passionate about this?

Iā€™ve been obsessed with London since childhood. The English side of my family lived and worked throughout the city, and a day out with my father walking its streets was my greatest treat. He was a doctor, so a London trip could involve shopping for medical equipment, trawling bookshops, an afternoon at his tailor, or pub crawls where he seemed to know everyone. Iā€™ve always been aware of the eccentricity of the place, which still thrills me. I really struggled to choose these books because thereā€™s just so much material that I had to leave out. But I hope what Iā€™ve chosen might be of interest. 

Bill's book list on a deeper look at London

Bill Nash Why did Bill love this book?

Henry Mayhewā€™s sprawling record of nineteenth-century London can be overwhelming, but his ear for the vernacular and eye for weird detail means that the reader can dip in and find something.

Londonā€™s population exploded in the nineteenth century, bulked out by a huge number of itinerant workers. Mayhew interviews these peopleā€“in the prologue to the first volume, he describes himself as a "traveller in the undiscovered country of the poor"ā€“and because he gives no judgment on their lives, the book feels more like a modern documentary.

The voices are one thing; Mayhewā€™s statistics are anotherā€“"expenditure in ham sandwiches supplied by street sellers is Ā£1,820 yearlyā€¦a consumption of 436,800 sandwiches." Anyone who thinks that Dickensā€™ writes grotesques should read this. The first book that really brought old London alive for me. 

By Henry Mayhew,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked London Labour and the London Poor as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

With an Introduction by Rosemary O'Day.

London Labour and the London Poor is a masterpiece of personal inquiry and social observation. It is the classic account of life below the margins in the greatest Metropolis in the world and a compelling portrait of the habits, tastes, amusements, appearance, speech, humour, earnings and opinions of the labouring poor at the time of the Great Exhibition.

In scope, depth and detail it remains unrivalled. Mayhew takes us into the abyss, into a world without fixed employment where skills are declining and insecurity mounting, a world of criminality, pauperism and vice, of unorthodoxā€¦


Book cover of The Play Room

Paul Dowswell Author Of Aliens: The Chequered History of Britain's Wartime Refugees

From Paul's 3 favorite reads in 2023.

Why am I passionate about this?

Author Historian Traveler Researcher Educator Musician

Paul's 3 favorite reads in 2023

Paul Dowswell Why did Paul love this book?

This novel has a particular poignancy for me as it comes from my mumā€™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 Iā€™m sad Iā€™ll never be able to discuss this magnificent book with her.

By Olivia Manning,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Play Room as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Fifteen-year-old Laura lives with her family in the seaside town of Camperlea. It is the Swinging Sixties, and Laura's ambition is to leave home for London and work in a Chelsea boutique. Meanwhile she worships her schoolfriend Vicky Logan who is all Laura longs to popular, outrageous, sensual, she lives in a large house on "the right side of town." Vicky knows she can have any man she wants - but she chooses a rough factory worker, Clarrie Piper. She begins to frequent the factory dances and Laura watches in powerless dread and fascination as the teasing game Vicky playsā€¦


Book cover of The Mysteries of London

Tyler R. Tichelaar Author Of The Mysteries of Marquette

From my list on nineteenth-century city mysteries.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a longtime lover of Gothic literature, I wrote my doctoral dissertation on it, which became my book The Gothic Wanderer: From Transgression to Redemption. My second book on the Gothic, Vampire Grooms and Spectre Brides, explored how French and British Gothic authors influenced each other. The City Mysteries novels were part of that influence, as evidenced by how British author Reynolds borrowed the idea to write The Mysteries of London from French author Sueā€™s The Mysteries of Paris. After reading so many City Mysteries novels, I decided to write my own, complete with crossdressers, prostitutes, criminals, innocents, and the genreā€™s many other signature elements.

Tyler's book list on nineteenth-century city mysteries

Tyler R. Tichelaar Why did Tyler love this book?

British author George W. M. Reynolds had no qualms about stealing Sueā€™s idea and title and writing his own book called The Mysteries of London (1844-1846). I love this novel for its sensationalism, which caused it to be the ultimate Victorian bestseller, even outselling Dickens.

The novel brings together criminals, women forced into prostitution, murderers, crossdressers, and royalty. At the heart of it is the story of the Markham brothers, one good, one evil. We follow their paths as they interact with all the other people in London and become embroiled in conspiracies. One of them even ends up marrying royalty and ruling a small European country. Reynoldsā€™ bold writing style and mastery of multiple plots makes this 2,500-page novel highly readable and shocking even today.

By George W. M. Reynolds,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked The Mysteries of London as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The government feared him. Rival authors like Charles Dickens, whom he outsold, despised him. The literary establishment did its best to write him out of literary history. But when George W.M. Reynolds, journalist, political reformer, Socialist, and novelist, died in 1879, even his critics were forced to acknowledge the truth of his obituary, which declared that he was the most popular writer of his time. And The Mysteries of London, which was published in 1844 in the "penny dreadful" format of weekly installments sold for a penny each, was his masterpiece and greatest success, selling 50,000 copies a week andā€¦


Book cover of Some Danger Involved
Book cover of The Darwin Affair
Book cover of Cogheart

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