An Interesting Book, 24 Jul 2005
The Victorian era was probably one of the most extraordinary in British History. The country went through enormous changes due to the impact of Industrialisation and Politic and Economic change. Queen Victoria and Prince Albert produced nine children and most of them had an impact not only on British History, but European History as well since many of them married into European Families such as the Hohenzollerns which had such an effect on the growing militarism leading to World War 1 in 1914. It must not be forgotten that Victoria's children were human, and they experienced the triumphs and tragedies which befall so many families. Indeed she outlived at least three of them, Alice, Leopold and Alfred who all died tragically young. And of course, her eldest son Bertie, Prince of Wales, whom she kept frustrated throughout most of his adult life by denying him a more important role in British and European affairs, became acknowledged as the Uncle of Europe and the Peacemaker of Europe. A fascinating volume, not an academic study though, very easy to read which will appeal to many readers who wish to find out more about the Victorian family. Supplemented with many good photographs too.

A Very Interesting Book About A Human Family, 20 Jul 2005
Over many decades now, the Royal Family have always been put on a pedestal except perhaps during the past 20 years or so when a certain Diana Spencer married into the Royal Family in 1981. Of course, in Queen Victoria's time, media exposure of the sort to which we are acusstomed to nowadays did not exist. So the public came to acknowledge that the Royals, because they were remote figures, were special people with extraordinary talents. We now know of course this was not true. What books like this does though is convey to the reader is that the Royals are human just the same as we are. Of course, they are priviledged, but they are not immune to the ups and downs like so many of us are. In fact, they have the triumphs and tragedies same as we do although in a different manner. This book reveals the very human side of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert's nine children, all of whom in more ways than one, had such influence on European History. Who could have known for example that upon Queen Victoria's death in January 1901, that two of her grandsons George V and Kaiser Wilhelm II and a blood relation Tsar Nicholas II would all become embroiled in a terrible European War in 1914? A fascinating book about a fascinating family. Armchair Historians would welcome this without a doubt. Very well researched and an easy to read format makes it a very good buy indeed.

A moving account of power, love and sadness., 29 Nov 2004
John Van Der Kiste should be congratulated on this thoughtful and well written biography of Victoria and her children.

The book appears to be written emphatically and really conveys the heartbroken Queen Victoria as a deeply sad widow but at the same time sees her as a defiant politician during a turbulent time in history as well as being a proud, loving and protective Mother.

The pace of Van Der Kiste's book is perfect, dealing with each child in turn and allowing the reader to embrace each child's character, life and mainly the relationship with their mother.

A brilliant book that i read within days of buying it.

Entertaining portrait, 15 Jul 2004
After reading Jerrold Packard's book about the Queen's daughters, I was glad to be able to buy an updated edition of John Van der Kiste's work about all nine children. Daphne Bennett wrote one with the same title in 1980, but it only covered them until their marriages. This one covers the whole story from the birth of the Princess Royal in 1840 (with a prologue on the early life of Victoria and Albert) to the death of Beatrice in 1944. The spotlight falls individually on each in turn, in a way which I don't think anyone has attempted before. It's good to see the younger siblings getting some attention as well as their better-known elders - there can't be much more to say about the Empress Frederick or Edward VII. It's an entertaining portrait, written with warmth, sympathy, and soundly researched - and a book I for one will certainly treasure on my royalty bookshelves.

Heir to the throne at the age of 11, queen at 18, mothering her own heirs at 21, and both a widow and a grandmother by the time she was 42, Queen Victoria's was an extraordinary life, even for a British monarch. Centuries collided in her life and times. She was a quaint survival of a medieval age--preserving the dynasty by marrying off her children and observing court ritual to the letter. But she was a thoroughly modern monarch too--she loved rail travel at high speed, had an unusually insouciant attitude towards religion, and despite her reputation for not being amused, she was, at least until Prince Albert's death, a woman to whom gaiety and mischief came naturally. Christopher Hibbert, the biographer and popular historian, has already produced a selection from Victoria's journals and letters. Now he has written a full biography, which is a light and enjoyable tour through a familiar landscape. But with 66 chapters in 500 pages there is not much space for depth. The world beyond Victoria's court and family life does not feature very much. And on the outstanding questions of her reign--for example, her relationship with John Brown, her unrealistic sense of her own constitutional position, or the remaking of the image of the monarchy which took place after 1870--the author's verdict is either missing or inconclusive. --Miles Taylor

An Interesting Book, 24 Jul 2005
The Victorian era was probably one of the most extraordinary in British History. The country went through enormous changes due to the impact of Industrialisation and Politic and Economic change. Queen Victoria and Prince Albert produced nine children and most of them had an impact not only on British History, but European History as well since many of them married into European Families such as the Hohenzollerns which had such an effect on the growing militarism leading to World War 1 in 1914. It must not be forgotten that Victoria's children were human, and they experienced the triumphs and tragedies which befall so many families. Indeed she outlived at least three of them, Alice, Leopold and Alfred who all died tragically young. And of course, her eldest son Bertie, Prince of Wales, whom she kept frustrated throughout most of his adult life by denying him a more important role in British and European affairs, became acknowledged as the Uncle of Europe and the Peacemaker of Europe. A fascinating volume, not an academic study though, very easy to read which will appeal to many readers who wish to find out more about the Victorian family. Supplemented with many good photographs too.

A Very Interesting Book About A Human Family, 20 Jul 2005
Over many decades now, the Royal Family have always been put on a pedestal except perhaps during the past 20 years or so when a certain Diana Spencer married into the Royal Family in 1981. Of course, in Queen Victoria's time, media exposure of the sort to which we are acusstomed to nowadays did not exist. So the public came to acknowledge that the Royals, because they were remote figures, were special people with extraordinary talents. We now know of course this was not true. What books like this does though is convey to the reader is that the Royals are human just the same as we are. Of course, they are priviledged, but they are not immune to the ups and downs like so many of us are. In fact, they have the triumphs and tragedies same as we do although in a different manner. This book reveals the very human side of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert's nine children, all of whom in more ways than one, had such influence on European History. Who could have known for example that upon Queen Victoria's death in January 1901, that two of her grandsons George V and Kaiser Wilhelm II and a blood relation Tsar Nicholas II would all become embroiled in a terrible European War in 1914? A fascinating book about a fascinating family. Armchair Historians would welcome this without a doubt. Very well researched and an easy to read format makes it a very good buy indeed.

A moving account of power, love and sadness., 29 Nov 2004
John Van Der Kiste should be congratulated on this thoughtful and well written biography of Victoria and her children.

The book appears to be written emphatically and really conveys the heartbroken Queen Victoria as a deeply sad widow but at the same time sees her as a defiant politician during a turbulent time in history as well as being a proud, loving and protective Mother.

The pace of Van Der Kiste's book is perfect, dealing with each child in turn and allowing the reader to embrace each child's character, life and mainly the relationship with their mother.

A brilliant book that i read within days of buying it.

Entertaining portrait, 15 Jul 2004
After reading Jerrold Packard's book about the Queen's daughters, I was glad to be able to buy an updated edition of John Van der Kiste's work about all nine children. Daphne Bennett wrote one with the same title in 1980, but it only covered them until their marriages. This one covers the whole story from the birth of the Princess Royal in 1840 (with a prologue on the early life of Victoria and Albert) to the death of Beatrice in 1944. The spotlight falls individually on each in turn, in a way which I don't think anyone has attempted before. It's good to see the younger siblings getting some attention as well as their better-known elders - there can't be much more to say about the Empress Frederick or Edward VII. It's an entertaining portrait, written with warmth, sympathy, and soundly researched - and a book I for one will certainly treasure on my royalty bookshelves.

Victoria, warts and all, 17 Jun 2003
After reading some glittering medieval and Tudor biographies, I wanted to fill in the gaps closer to our own day. Christopher Hibbert's comprehensive, readable biography is a good starting-point. However, as detractors have pointed out, it is short on political analysis. The emphasis is on "royal".

Hibbert sets the stage for Victoria's accession with a marvellous summary of how her various royal forebears failed to provide an heir, so that she succeeded by default. He delineates Queen Victoria's complex relationships with several Prime Ministers: her neediness with Lord Melbourne and Disraeli, antipathy towards Palmerston and Gladstone, respect for Salisbury. Unfortunately he does not clearly enough differentiate between Whigs and Tories. But he does acquaint the reader with the major political personalities and put you in a position to explore further. A useful reference alongside this book is "The Prime Ministers from Walpole to Macmillan" (possibly only available in the UK, and in danger of going out of print).

Skilfully interweaving Victoria's personal history with national and international landmark events, Hibbert provides handy, if underwritten, overviews of the Indian Mutiny, the Crimean War, the Great Exhibition, and Chartism. He also sketches contemporary European royals like Napoleon III, exploring tensions between France, Italy and Austria.

Co-dependency, egotism and self-pity characterised Victoria's personal contacts. Her henpecking of her intelligent, unpopular consort Albert, and later selfish blocking of her children's marriages in order to keep them around, echo her own repressive childhood. But Victoria's households at Balmoral and Osborne were beacons of domesticity, and she was well-travelled and sophisticated.

She hated pregnancy, resented her children, and was scathingly dismissive of the Prince of Wales (the future Edward VII). After Prince Albert's untimely death, she avoided official engagements for years, to the consternation of her government and people. She fostered obsessional bonds with her Scottish and Indian servants.

Her prolific writings reveal a needy, infantile and self-obsessed woman. Her USE of CAPITALS in an age before the telephone, is a way of SHOUTING (not unlike the internet), and italics give her prose stridency.

So what were Queen Victoria's merits, if any? By dint of longevity she was the epoxy glue of the Age which took her name, and her progeny peopled the Royal houses of Europe. Surviving several assasination attempts, Victoria held her family and household in thrall, and the country in awe. Somehow she inspired the loyalty, if also exasperation, of her Governments.

Henry VIII or Elizabeth I she ain't, but the story is worth reading. Christopher Hibbert gives an urbane, accessible account, with mercifully short chapters.

Victoria, warts and all, 29 May 2003
After reading some glittering medieval and Tudor biographies, I wanted to fill in the gaps closer to our own day. Christopher Hibbert's comprehensive, readable biography is a good starting-point.

He sets the stage for Victoria's accession with a marvellous summary of how her various royal forebears failed to provide an heir, so that she succeeded by default.

Hibbert delineates Queen Victoria's complex relationships with several Prime Ministers: her neediness with Lord Melbourne and Disraeli, antipathy towards Palmerston and Gladstone, respect for Salisbury. Unfortunately he does not clearly enough differentiate between Whigs and Tories. But he does acquaint the reader with the major political personalities and put you in a position to explore further. A useful reference alongside this book is "The Prime Ministers from Walpole to Macmillan" (possibly only available in the UK, and in danger of going out of print).

Hibbert skilfully interweaves Victoria's personal history with national and international landmark events. He provides excellent overviews of the Indian Mutiny, the Crimean War, the Great Exhibition, and Chartism. He also sketches contemporary European royals like Napoleon III, exploring tensions between France, Italy and Austria.

Co-dependency, egotism and self-pity charactertised Victoria's personal contacts. Her henpecking of her intelligent, unpopular consort Albert, and later selfish blocking of her children's marriages in order to keep them around, echo her repressive childhood. But Victoria's households at Balmoral and Osborne were beacons of domesticity, and she was well-travelled and sophisticated.

Her own writings reveal an infantile and self-obsessed woman. Her USE of CAPITALS in an age before the telephone, is a way of SHOUTING (not unlike the internet), and italics give her prose stridency. Victoria utterly failed to take into account other people's feelings, viewing Prince Albert and John Brown through the prism of her own needs. She was scathingly dismissive of the Prince of Wales (the future Edward VII). After Prince Albert's death, she whiningly avoided official engagements for years. She fostered obsessional bonds with her Scottish and Indian servants.

So what were Queen Victoria's merits, if any? By dint of longevity she was the epoxy glue of the Age which took her name, and her progeny peopled the Royal houses of Europe. Surviving several assasination attempts, Victoria held her family and household in thrall, and the country in awe. Somehow she inspired the loyalty, if also exasperation, of her Governments.

Henry VIII or Elizabeth I she ain't, but the story is worth reading. Christopher Hibbert gives an urbane, accessible account, with mercifully short chapters.

Hibbert notches up another admirable achievement, 18 Mar 2002
Christopher Hibbert, now aged 77, has 34 books to his credit. This staggering total presumably includes one or two lemons, but this reviewer has yet to find any. Hibbert's latest volume belongs with his very best, and defies anyone to read a single chapter without immediately gobbling up the next half-dozen.

It might be thought that Queen Victoria's two finest pre-Hibbert biographers, Elizabeth Longford and Stanley Weintraub, had between them exhausted their theme. Hibbert, though, draws on Royal Archives material which no previous book-length study has used. While the result compels no spectacular revisions of accepted verdicts, it periodically shines instructive new beams of light.

How did Victoria survive? Partly through luck: she died just before Hearst- or Pulitzer-style gutter-journalism had emerged with the aim of routing all political authority save its own. Partly through the sheer strength of monarchism's position throughout Europe in the half-century before World War I: a period when only Switzerland, Portugal (after 1910), Spain (1873-75) and Third Republic France (itself crypto-monarchist) formally eschewed kingship. But partly through that most elusive of personal attributes: a charm that could, when she chose, thaw the frostiest critics. It thawed them posthumously as well: above all in the case of Lytton Strachey, who began his account of her life with every intention of dancing the Charleston on her grave, but whose reflexive sniggers she eventually silenced. It has clearly won over Hibbert too.

delightful, delectable and easily digestible, 22 Jan 2002
Christoper Hibbert once again shows himself to be one of the best popular historian writing today. In this personal portrait - for that is what it is, there are no complex political analyses here - he truthfully and intimately depicts one of the most significant world leaders of the post industrial world. By showing Victoria through the eyes of her family, household and ministers, Hibbert manages to deal impartially with the many "grey areas" of Victoria's life - the "John Brown" rumours, for example, are dealt with in a very informative and unbiased manner. Hibbert's method of using short, succinct chapters of no more than about 15 pages makes this an good book to read in bits to get a general feel for the issues and themes of Victoria's life and reign. A right good read!

Engagingly personal, 09 Jul 2001
This is a heavy book with lots of pages. The kind of book you look at and think, "I'll never get through this, but it might impress the friends".

However, it is so well written you find yourself moving quickly through the life of Victoria, Queen and Empress.

"Personal Biography" seems a strange title (surely all 'biography' is about a person) but it is very apt in this case. There are lots of books about Victoria which present her in a remote, almost institutionalised way. This book though gives us an intriguing look at her tempremant, joys, fears. The last chapter on her death and fraility is very moving.

The book does though too give a useful feel for the times both political and social that Victoria lived in (and shaped).

An Interesting Book, 24 Jul 2005
The Victorian era was probably one of the most extraordinary in British History. The country went through enormous changes due to the impact of Industrialisation and Politic and Economic change. Queen Victoria and Prince Albert produced nine children and most of them had an impact not only on British History, but European History as well since many of them married into European Families such as the Hohenzollerns which had such an effect on the growing militarism leading to World War 1 in 1914. It must not be forgotten that Victoria's children were human, and they experienced the triumphs and tragedies which befall so many families. Indeed she outlived at least three of them, Alice, Leopold and Alfred who all died tragically young. And of course, her eldest son Bertie, Prince of Wales, whom she kept frustrated throughout most of his adult life by denying him a more important role in British and European affairs, became acknowledged as the Uncle of Europe and the Peacemaker of Europe. A fascinating volume, not an academic study though, very easy to read which will appeal to many readers who wish to find out more about the Victorian family. Supplemented with many good photographs too.

A Very Interesting Book About A Human Family, 20 Jul 2005
Over many decades now, the Royal Family have always been put on a pedestal except perhaps during the past 20 years or so when a certain Diana Spencer married into the Royal Family in 1981. Of course, in Queen Victoria's time, media exposure of the sort to which we are acusstomed to nowadays did not exist. So the public came to acknowledge that the Royals, because they were remote figures, were special people with extraordinary talents. We now know of course this was not true. What books like this does though is convey to the reader is that the Royals are human just the same as we are. Of course, they are priviledged, but they are not immune to the ups and downs like so many of us are. In fact, they have the triumphs and tragedies same as we do although in a different manner. This book reveals the very human side of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert's nine children, all of whom in more ways than one, had such influence on European History. Who could have known for example that upon Queen Victoria's death in January 1901, that two of her grandsons George V and Kaiser Wilhelm II and a blood relation Tsar Nicholas II would all become embroiled in a terrible European War in 1914? A fascinating book about a fascinating family. Armchair Historians would welcome this without a doubt. Very well researched and an easy to read format makes it a very good buy indeed.

A moving account of power, love and sadness., 29 Nov 2004
John Van Der Kiste should be congratulated on this thoughtful and well written biography of Victoria and her children.

The book appears to be written emphatically and really conveys the heartbroken Queen Victoria as a deeply sad widow but at the same time sees her as a defiant politician during a turbulent time in history as well as being a proud, loving and protective Mother.

The pace of Van Der Kiste's book is perfect, dealing with each child in turn and allowing the reader to embrace each child's character, life and mainly the relationship with their mother.

A brilliant book that i read within days of buying it.

Entertaining portrait, 15 Jul 2004
After reading Jerrold Packard's book about the Queen's daughters, I was glad to be able to buy an updated edition of John Van der Kiste's work about all nine children. Daphne Bennett wrote one with the same title in 1980, but it only covered them until their marriages. This one covers the whole story from the birth of the Princess Royal in 1840 (with a prologue on the early life of Victoria and Albert) to the death of Beatrice in 1944. The spotlight falls individually on each in turn, in a way which I don't think anyone has attempted before. It's good to see the younger siblings getting some attention as well as their better-known elders - there can't be much more to say about the Empress Frederick or Edward VII. It's an entertaining portrait, written with warmth, sympathy, and soundly researched - and a book I for one will certainly treasure on my royalty bookshelves.

Victoria, warts and all, 17 Jun 2003
After reading some glittering medieval and Tudor biographies, I wanted to fill in the gaps closer to our own day. Christopher Hibbert's comprehensive, readable biography is a good starting-point. However, as detractors have pointed out, it is short on political analysis. The emphasis is on "royal".

Hibbert sets the stage for Victoria's accession with a marvellous summary of how her various royal forebears failed to provide an heir, so that she succeeded by default. He delineates Queen Victoria's complex relationships with several Prime Ministers: her neediness with Lord Melbourne and Disraeli, antipathy towards Palmerston and Gladstone, respect for Salisbury. Unfortunately he does not clearly enough differentiate between Whigs and Tories. But he does acquaint the reader with the major political personalities and put you in a position to explore further. A useful reference alongside this book is "The Prime Ministers from Walpole to Macmillan" (possibly only available in the UK, and in danger of going out of print).

Skilfully interweaving Victoria's personal history with national and international landmark events, Hibbert provides handy, if underwritten, overviews of the Indian Mutiny, the Crimean War, the Great Exhibition, and Chartism. He also sketches contemporary European royals like Napoleon III, exploring tensions between France, Italy and Austria.

Co-dependency, egotism and self-pity characterised Victoria's personal contacts. Her henpecking of her intelligent, unpopular consort Albert, and later selfish blocking of her children's marriages in order to keep them around, echo her own repressive childhood. But Victoria's households at Balmoral and Osborne were beacons of domesticity, and she was well-travelled and sophisticated.

She hated pregnancy, resented her children, and was scathingly dismissive of the Prince of Wales (the future Edward VII). After Prince Albert's untimely death, she avoided official engagements for years, to the consternation of her government and people. She fostered obsessional bonds with her Scottish and Indian servants.

Her prolific writings reveal a needy, infantile and self-obsessed woman. Her USE of CAPITALS in an age before the telephone, is a way of SHOUTING (not unlike the internet), and italics give her prose stridency.

So what were Queen Victoria's merits, if any? By dint of longevity she was the epoxy glue of the Age which took her name, and her progeny peopled the Royal houses of Europe. Surviving several assasination attempts, Victoria held her family and household in thrall, and the country in awe. Somehow she inspired the loyalty, if also exasperation, of her Governments.

Henry VIII or Elizabeth I she ain't, but the story is worth reading. Christopher Hibbert gives an urbane, accessible account, with mercifully short chapters.

Victoria, warts and all, 29 May 2003
After reading some glittering medieval and Tudor biographies, I wanted to fill in the gaps closer to our own day. Christopher Hibbert's comprehensive, readable biography is a good starting-point.

He sets the stage for Victoria's accession with a marvellous summary of how her various royal forebears failed to provide an heir, so that she succeeded by default.

Hibbert delineates Queen Victoria's complex relationships with several Prime Ministers: her neediness with Lord Melbourne and Disraeli, antipathy towards Palmerston and Gladstone, respect for Salisbury. Unfortunately he does not clearly enough differentiate between Whigs and Tories. But he does acquaint the reader with the major political personalities and put you in a position to explore further. A useful reference alongside this book is "The Prime Ministers from Walpole to Macmillan" (possibly only available in the UK, and in danger of going out of print).

Hibbert skilfully interweaves Victoria's personal history with national and international landmark events. He provides excellent overviews of the Indian Mutiny, the Crimean War, the Great Exhibition, and Chartism. He also sketches contemporary European royals like Napoleon III, exploring tensions between France, Italy and Austria.

Co-dependency, egotism and self-pity charactertised Victoria's personal contacts. Her henpecking of her intelligent, unpopular consort Albert, and later selfish blocking of her children's marriages in order to keep them around, echo her repressive childhood. But Victoria's households at Balmoral and Osborne were beacons of domesticity, and she was well-travelled and sophisticated.

Her own writings reveal an infantile and self-obsessed woman. Her USE of CAPITALS in an age before the telephone, is a way of SHOUTING (not unlike the internet), and italics give her prose stridency. Victoria utterly failed to take into account other people's feelings, viewing Prince Albert and John Brown through the prism of her own needs. She was scathingly dismissive of the Prince of Wales (the future Edward VII). After Prince Albert's death, she whiningly avoided official engagements for years. She fostered obsessional bonds with her Scottish and Indian servants.

So what were Queen Victoria's merits, if any? By dint of longevity she was the epoxy glue of the Age which took her name, and her progeny peopled the Royal houses of Europe. Surviving several assasination attempts, Victoria held her family and household in thrall, and the country in awe. Somehow she inspired the loyalty, if also exasperation, of her Governments.

Henry VIII or Elizabeth I she ain't, but the story is worth reading. Christopher Hibbert gives an urbane, accessible account, with mercifully short chapters.

Hibbert notches up another admirable achievement, 18 Mar 2002
Christopher Hibbert, now aged 77, has 34 books to his credit. This staggering total presumably includes one or two lemons, but this reviewer has yet to find any. Hibbert's latest volume belongs with his very best, and defies anyone to read a single chapter without immediately gobbling up the next half-dozen.

It might be thought that Queen Victoria's two finest pre-Hibbert biographers, Elizabeth Longford and Stanley Weintraub, had between them exhausted their theme. Hibbert, though, draws on Royal Archives material which no previous book-length study has used. While the result compels no spectacular revisions of accepted verdicts, it periodically shines instructive new beams of light.

How did Victoria survive? Partly through luck: she died just before Hearst- or Pulitzer-style gutter-journalism had emerged with the aim of routing all political authority save its own. Partly through the sheer strength of monarchism's position throughout Europe in the half-century before World War I: a period when only Switzerland, Portugal (after 1910), Spain (1873-75) and Third Republic France (itself crypto-monarchist) formally eschewed kingship. But partly through that most elusive of personal attributes: a charm that could, when she chose, thaw the frostiest critics. It thawed them posthumously as well: above all in the case of Lytton Strachey, who began his account of her life with every intention of dancing the Charleston on her grave, but whose reflexive sniggers she eventually silenced. It has clearly won over Hibbert too.

delightful, delectable and easily digestible, 22 Jan 2002
Christoper Hibbert once again shows himself to be one of the best popular historian writing today. In this personal portrait - for that is what it is, there are no complex political analyses here - he truthfully and intimately depicts one of the most significant world leaders of the post industrial world. By showing Victoria through the eyes of her family, household and ministers, Hibbert manages to deal impartially with the many "grey areas" of Victoria's life - the "John Brown" rumours, for example, are dealt with in a very informative and unbiased manner. Hibbert's method of using short, succinct chapters of no more than about 15 pages makes this an good book to read in bits to get a general feel for the issues and themes of Victoria's life and reign. A right good read!

Engagingly personal, 09 Jul 2001
This is a heavy book with lots of pages. The kind of book you look at and think, "I'll never get through this, but it might impress the friends".

However, it is so well written you find yourself moving quickly through the life of Victoria, Queen and Empress.

"Personal Biography" seems a strange title (surely all 'biography' is about a person) but it is very apt in this case. There are lots of books about Victoria which present her in a remote, almost institutionalised way. This book though gives us an intriguing look at her tempremant, joys, fears. The last chapter on her death and fraility is very moving.

The book does though too give a useful feel for the times both political and social that Victoria lived in (and shaped).

Similarities,& differences in the lives of Grandmama Europe's granddaughters, 23 Mar 2007
I was first sceptical as I always found compilations of biographies disappointing. They always seem to promise a lot and in the end give little. I should not have been.

I believe it is a marvelous book, very well written and entertaining. Mrs. Gerlardi manage to bring these 5 lives together which seems to be merely connected by the fact that all had in common "Grandma Queen" Queen Victoria. Julia Gerlardi showing similarities, differences and how intertwined the lives of these 5 princesses were.

But who are these women, all granddaughters of Queen Victoria?

- Alexandra Feodorovn, the last Empress of Russia, the most famous and most tragic
- Marie, Queen of Romania, the most flamboyant, the most heroic, the most political
- Victoria Eugenia, Queen of Spain, the most dignified but the most elusive
- Sophie, Queen of the Hellenes, the most unknown and
- Maud, Queen of Norway, the most shy and the most successful of all.

Julia Gelardi adopts the technique of showing the lives in parallels which is interesting and rather helpful. Mrs. Gerladi paints a pretty good picture of the five ladies, giving how they viewed themselves and how the outside world viewed them. Of course, there is much stuff open for discussion. The political role of the Greec Royal Family and why they lost their throne in regular intervals remains a bit flimsy but the effects on Queen Sophie's life are well described.

I found it interesting to see that while all having the same grandmother the differences come into the play through their different mothers. Empress Alexandra and Queen Marie were daughthers of strong mothers (Princess Alice and Grandduchess Marie of Russia respectively), women who in a man's world managed to controll men, like Queen Victoria did. Not to that extent but it still seems to apply to Queen Sophie, as daughter of the Empress Frederick. Queen Victoria Eugenia and Queen Maud were daughters of weaker woman (Princess Beatrice and Queen Alexandra) and that showed. Maud however might have led the most undramatic of lives, was shy person and a rather reluctant Queen, but in the end she was the most successful as the the Norway's monarchy survived while all others lost their thrones. Interesting to see that while being consorts of various different monarchs all were very English and remained it hrough their lives.

Gerladi is a very talentated author and her very first book is an excellent start for her writing career. However, I believe she could and should pay a bit more attention to details. Just a little example: she constantly refers to the Emperor and Empress of Germany. While this might be fine in casual conversations in a book on roylaty it is not. The Head of the German Empire was H.M The German Emperor, King of Prussia. And there is much behind this very title. Details od this kind are of importance as they were of importance especially to the royal person.

One last remark: what I did not understand why Mrs. Gilardi did not include the six grandaughter who became consort of a monarch, actually twice first as wife of the granduke of Hesse and later to to Grandduke Cyril of Russia, the Emperor without a throne. Actually a very interesting destiny whch should have been included.

However, all in all it is a book I enjoyed very much.


Not too bad worth a read 3 1/2 stars, 05 Jan 2007
This book did not disappoint me because I saw that it was the author's first book so I sort of knew what to expect and that said, it is not too bad well worth a read if you are interested in this sort of thing. The least interesting bits for me were the parts about Alexandra because I have already read several books about her in detail, in a way it is a shame she had to be included. I enjoyed reading about the other four princesses more because by comparison very little has been written about them and consequently I know comparatively little about them; I especially enjoyed reading about Ena of Spain and most of all Marie of Romania an incredible person whose character seemed to leap off the page at you. What this book has inspired me to do is read more about princesses Ena and Marie so it has been a useful springboard in that respect.

I didn't mind the book going backwards and forwards between the different princesses because it stopped me getting 'fed up' with any particular one although as I have already said I was tried to get through the Alexandra bits as quickly as possible but that is not the author's fault.

I would be interested to see what Julia Gelardi's next book is about and were it on a similar topic I would probably give it a try.

I would give this book 3 1/2 stars.

Well researched but let down by poor editing, 29 May 2006
I was looking forward to Gelardi's book on Queen Victoria's five granddaughters; and to give the author credit, she had a decent crack at interweaving what are essentially five very different personal, social and political histories. The premise is interesting, but in reality seems to hold back the author. In an effort to keep reminding us that this is a book about five people, not one, Gelardi often awkwardly does a "compare and contrast" exercise which means the book loses the mature, self-assured fluency a superior work would have. Most annoying are the countless cliffhangers the author seems to feel obliged to put at the end of paragraphs and chapters, e.g. "Little did she know..." or "...was none other than..." school of writing. It patronises the reader and detracts from what is otherwise an enthusiastic and fact-packed ride through one of the most exciting periods of history. For those just embarking on reading a Royal biographies then this is a good all-rounder, but go for individual biographies if you're a level or two beyond that.

5 Queens, 5 cousins, 5 women -, 24 Oct 2005
When I saw "Born to Rule" by Julia Gelardi first I was sceptical as I always found compilations of biographies disappointing. They always seem to promise a lot and in the end give little. So I was rather reluctant to buy this very book, especially as I have read quite extensively about Empress Alexandra of Russia and Queen Marie of Romania and a little less about Queen Victoria Eugenia of Spain. I should not have been.

I believe it is a marvelous book, very well written and entertaining. Mrs. Gerlardi manage to bring these 5 lives together which seems to be merely connected by the fact that all had in common "Grandma Queen" Queen Victoria. Julia Gerlardi showing similarities, differences and how intertwined the lives of these 5 princesses were.

But who are these women, all granddaughters of Queen Victoria?

- Alexandra Feodorovn, the last Empress of Russia, the most famous and most tragic
- Marie, Queen of Romania, the most flamboyant, the most heroic, the most political
- Victoria Eugenia, Queen of Spain, the most dignified but the most elusive
- Sophie, Queen of the Hellenes, the most unknown and
- Maud, Queen of Norway, the most shy and the most successful of all.

Julia Gelardi adopts the technique of showing the lives in parallels which is interesting and rather helpful. Mrs. Gerladi paints a pretty good picture of the five ladies, giving how they viewed themselves and how the outside world viewed them. Of course, there is much stuff open for discussion. The political role of the Greec Royal Family and why they lost their throne in regular intervals remains a bit flimsy but the effects on Queen Sophie's life are well described.

I found it interesting to see that while all having the same grandmother the differences come into the play through their different mothers. Empress Alexandra and Queen Marie were daughthers of strong mothers (Princess Alice and Grandduchess Marie of Russia respectively), women who in a man's world managed to controll men, like Queen Victoria did. Not to that extent but it still seems to apply to Queen Sophie, as daughter of the Empress Frederick. Queen Victoria Eugenia and Queen Maud were daughters of weaker woman (Princess Beatrice and Queen Alexandra) and that showed. Maud however might have led the most undramatic of lives, was shy person and a rather reluctant Queen, but in the end she was the most successful as the the Norway's monarchy survived while all others lost their thrones. Interesting to see that while being consorts of various different monarchs all were very English and remained it hrough their lives.

Gerladi is a very talentated author and her very first book is an excellent start for her writing career. However, I believe she could and should pay a bit more attention to details. Just a little example: she constantly refers to the Emperor and Empress of Germany. While this might be fine in casual conversations in a book on roylaty it is not. The Head of the German Empire was H.M The German Emperor, King of Prussia. And there is much behind this very title. Details od this kind are of importance as they were of importance especially to the royal person.

One last remark: what I did not understand why Mrs. Gilardi did not include the six grandaughter who became consort of a monarch, actually twice first as wife of the granduke of Hesse and later to to Grandduke Cyril of Russia, the Emperor without a throne. Actually a very interesting destiny whch should have been included.

However, all in all it is a book I enjoyed very much. 5 stars well deserved. I am looking forward to Mrs. Gilardi's second book.

5 Queens, 5 cousins, 5 women -, 20 Oct 2005
When I saw "Born to Rule" by Julia Gelardi first I was sceptical as I always found compilations of biographies disappointing. They always seem to promise a lot and in the end give little. So I was rather reluctant to buy this very book, especially as I have read quite extensively about Empress Alexandra of Russia and Queen Marie of Romania and a little less about Queen Victoria Eugenia of Spain. I should not have been.

I believe it is a marvelous book, very well written and entertaining. Mrs. Gerlardi manage to bring these 5 lives together which seems to be merely connected by the fact that all had in common "Grandma Queen" Queen Victoria. Julia Gerlardi showing similarities, differences and how intertwined the lives of these 5 princesses were.

But who are these women, all granddaughters of Queen Victoria?

- Alexandra Feodorovn, the last Empress of Russia, the most famous and most tragic
- Marie, Queen of Romania, the most flamboyant, the most heroic, the most political
- Victoria Eugenia, Queen of Spain, the most dignified but the most elusive
- Sophie, Queen of the Hellenes, the most unknown and
- Maud, Queen of Norway, the most shy and the most successful of all.

Julia Gelardi adopts the technique of showing the lives in parallels which is interesting and rather helpful. Mrs. Gerladi paints a pretty good picture of the five ladies, giving how they viewed themselves and how the outside world viewed them. Of course, there is much stuff open for discussion. The political role of the Greec Royal Family and why they lost their throne in regular intervals remains a bit flimsy but the effects on Queen Sophie's life are well described.

I found it interesting to see that while all having the same grandmother the differences come into the play through their different mothers. Empress Alexandra and Queen Marie were daughthers of strong mothers (Princess Alice and Grandduchess Marie of Russia respectively), women who in a man's world managed to controll men, like Queen Victoria did. Not to that extent but it still seems to apply to Queen Sophie, as daughter of the Empress Frederick. Queen Victoria Eugenia and Queen Maud were daughters of weaker woman (Princess Beatrice and Queen Alexandra) and that showed. Maud however might have led the most undramatic of lives, was shy person and a rather reluctant Queen, but in the end she was the most successful as the the Norway's monarchy survived while all others lost their thrones. Interesting to see that while being consorts of various different monarchs all were very English and remained it hrough their lives. And the links continued in the next generations.

Gerladi is a very talentated author and her very first book is an excellent start for her writing career. However, I believe she could and should pay a bit more attention to details. Just a little example: she constantly refers to the Emperor and Empress of Germany. While this might be fine in casual conversations in a book on roylaty it is not. The Head of the German Empire was H.M The German Emperor, King of Prussia. And there is much behind this very title. Details od this kind are of importance as they were of importance especially to the royal person.

One last remark: what I did not understand why Mrs. Gilardi did not include the six grandaughter who became consort of a monarch, actually twice first as wife of the granduke of Hesse and later to to Grandduke Cyril of Russia, the Emperor without a throne. Actually a very interesting destiny whch should have been included.

However, all in all it is a book I enjoyed very much. 5 stars well deserved. I am looking forward to Mrs. Gilardi's second book.

An Interesting Book, 24 Jul 2005
The Victorian era was probably one of the most extraordinary in British History. The country went through enormous changes due to the impact of Industrialisation and Politic and Economic change. Queen Victoria and Prince Albert produced nine children and most of them had an impact not only on British History, but European History as well since many of them married into European Families such as the Hohenzollerns which had such an effect on the growing militarism leading to World War 1 in 1914. It must not be forgotten that Victoria's children were human, and they experienced the triumphs and tragedies which befall so many families. Indeed she outlived at least three of them, Alice, Leopold and Alfred who all died tragically young. And of course, her eldest son Bertie, Prince of Wales, whom she kept frustrated throughout most of his adult life by denying him a more important role in British and European affairs, became acknowledged as the Uncle of Europe and the Peacemaker of Europe. A fascinating volume, not an academic study though, very easy to read which will appeal to many readers who wish to find out more about the Victorian family. Supplemented with many good photographs too.

A Very Interesting Book About A Human Family, 20 Jul 2005
Over many decades now, the Royal Family have always been put on a pedestal except perhaps during the past 20 years or so when a certain Diana Spencer married into the Royal Family in 1981. Of course, in Queen Victoria's time, media exposure of the sort to which we are acusstomed to nowadays did not exist. So the public came to acknowledge that the Royals, because they were remote figures, were special people with extraordinary talents. We now know of course this was not true. What books like this does though is convey to the reader is that the Royals are human just the same as we are. Of course, they are priviledged, but they are not immune to the ups and downs like so many of us are. In fact, they have the triumphs and tragedies same as we do although in a different manner. This book reveals the very human side of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert's nine children, all of whom in more ways than one, had such influence on European History. Who could have known for example that upon Queen Victoria's death in January 1901, that two of her grandsons George V and Kaiser Wilhelm II and a blood relation Tsar Nicholas II would all become embroiled in a terrible European War in 1914? A fascinating book about a fascinating family. Armchair Historians would welcome this without a doubt. Very well researched and an easy to read format makes it a very good buy indeed.

A moving account of power, love and sadness., 29 Nov 2004
John Van Der Kiste should be congratulated on this thoughtful and well written biography of Victoria and her children.

The book appears to be written emphatically and really conveys the heartbroken Queen Victoria as a deeply sad widow but at the same time sees her as a defiant politician during a turbulent time in history as well as being a proud, loving and protective Mother.

The pace of Van Der Kiste's book is perfect, dealing with each child in turn and allowing the reader to embrace each child's character, life and mainly the relationship with their mother.

A brilliant book that i read within days of buying it.

Entertaining portrait, 15 Jul 2004
After reading Jerrold Packard's book about the Queen's daughters, I was glad to be able to buy an updated edition of John Van der Kiste's work about all nine children. Daphne Bennett wrote one with the same title in 1980, but it only covered them until their marriages. This one covers the whole story from the birth of the Princess Royal in 1840 (with a prologue on the early life of Victoria and Albert) to the death of Beatrice in 1944. The spotlight falls individually on each in turn, in a way which I don't think anyone has attempted before. It's good to see the younger siblings getting some attention as well as their better-known elders - there can't be much more to say about the Empress Frederick or Edward VII. It's an entertaining portrait, written with warmth, sympathy, and soundly researched - and a book I for one will certainly treasure on my royalty bookshelves.

Victoria, warts and all, 17 Jun 2003
After reading some glittering medieval and Tudor biographies, I wanted to fill in the gaps closer to our own day. Christopher Hibbert's comprehensive, readable biography is a good starting-point. However, as detractors have pointed out, it is short on political analysis. The emphasis is on "royal".

Hibbert sets the stage for Victoria's accession with a marvellous summary of how her various royal forebears failed to provide an heir, so that she succeeded by default. He delineates Queen Victoria's complex relationships with several Prime Ministers: her neediness with Lord Melbourne and Disraeli, antipathy towards Palmerston and Gladstone, respect for Salisbury. Unfortunately he does not clearly enough differentiate between Whigs and Tories. But he does acquaint the reader with the major political personalities and put you in a position to explore further. A useful reference alongside this book is "The Prime Ministers from Walpole to Macmillan" (possibly only available in the UK, and in danger of going out of print).

Skilfully interweaving Victoria's personal history with national and international landmark events, Hibbert provides handy, if underwritten, overviews of the Indian Mutiny, the Crimean War, the Great Exhibition, and Chartism. He also sketches contemporary European royals like Napoleon III, exploring tensions between France, Italy and Austria.

Co-dependency, egotism and self-pity characterised Victoria's personal contacts. Her henpecking of her intelligent, unpopular consort Albert, and later selfish blocking of her children's marriages in order to keep them around, echo her own repressive childhood. But Victoria's households at Balmoral and Osborne were beacons of domesticity, and she was well-travelled and sophisticated.

She hated pregnancy, resented her children, and was scathingly dismissive of the Prince of Wales (the future Edward VII). After Prince Albert's untimely death, she avoided official engagements for years, to the consternation of her government and people. She fostered obsessional bonds with her Scottish and Indian servants.

Her prolific writings reveal a needy, infantile and self-obsessed woman. Her USE of CAPITALS in an age before the telephone, is a way of SHOUTING (not unlike the internet), and italics give her prose stridency.

So what were Queen Victoria's merits, if any? By dint of longevity she was the epoxy glue of the Age which took her name, and her progeny peopled the Royal houses of Europe. Surviving several assasination attempts, Victoria held her family and household in thrall, and the country in awe. Somehow she inspired the loyalty, if also exasperation, of her Governments.

Henry VIII or Elizabeth I she ain't, but the story is worth reading. Christopher Hibbert gives an urbane, accessible account, with mercifully short chapters.

Victoria, warts and all, 29 May 2003
After reading some glittering medieval and Tudor biographies, I wanted to fill in the gaps closer to our own day. Christopher Hibbert's comprehensive, readable biography is a good starting-point.

He sets the stage for Victoria's accession with a marvellous summary of how her various royal forebears failed to provide an heir, so that she succeeded by default.

Hibbert delineates Queen Victoria's complex relationships with several Prime Ministers: her neediness with Lord Melbourne and Disraeli, antipathy towards Palmerston and Gladstone, respect for Salisbury. Unfortunately he does not clearly enough differentiate between Whigs and Tories. But he does acquaint the reader with the major political personalities and put you in a position to explore further. A useful reference alongside this book is "The Prime Ministers from Walpole to Macmillan" (possibly only available in the UK, and in danger of going out of print).

Hibbert skilfully interweaves Victoria's personal history with national and international landmark events. He provides excellent overviews of the Indian Mutiny, the Crimean War, the Great Exhibition, and Chartism. He also sketches contemporary European royals like Napoleon III, exploring tensions between France, Italy and Austria.

Co-dependency, egotism and self-pity charactertised Victoria's personal contacts. Her henpecking of her intelligent, unpopular consort Albert, and later selfish blocking of her children's marriages in order to keep them around, echo her repressive childhood. But Victoria's households at Balmoral and Osborne were beacons of domesticity, and she was well-travelled and sophisticated.

Her own writings reveal an infantile and self-obsessed woman. Her USE of CAPITALS in an age before the telephone, is a way of SHOUTING (not unlike the internet), and italics give her prose stridency. Victoria utterly failed to take into account other people's feelings, viewing Prince Albert and John Brown through the prism of her own needs. She was scathingly dismissive of the Prince of Wales (the future Edward VII). After Prince Albert's death, she whiningly avoided official engagements for years. She fostered obsessional bonds with her Scottish and Indian servants.

So what were Queen Victoria's merits, if any? By dint of longevity she was the epoxy glue of the Age which took her name, and her progeny peopled the Royal houses of Europe. Surviving several assasination attempts, Victoria held her family and household in thrall, and the country in awe. Somehow she inspired the loyalty, if also exasperation, of her Governments.

Henry VIII or Elizabeth I she ain't, but the story is worth reading. Christopher Hibbert gives an urbane, accessible account, with mercifully short chapters.

Hibbert notches up another admirable achievement, 18 Mar 2002
Christopher Hibbert, now aged 77, has 34 books to his credit. This staggering total presumably includes one or two lemons, but this reviewer has yet to find any. Hibbert's latest volume belongs with his very best, and defies anyone to read a single chapter without immediately gobbling up the next half-dozen.

It might be thought that Queen Victoria's two finest pre-Hibbert biographers, Elizabeth Longford and Stanley Weintraub, had between them exhausted their theme. Hibbert, though, draws on Royal Archives material which no previous book-length study has used. While the result compels no spectacular revisions of accepted verdicts, it periodically shines instructive new beams of light.

How did Victoria survive? Partly through luck: she died just before Hearst- or Pulitzer-style gutter-journalism had emerged with the aim of routing all political authority save its own. Partly through the sheer strength of monarchism's position throughout Europe in the half-century before World War I: a period when only Switzerland, Portugal (after 1910), Spain (1873-75) and Third Republic France (itself crypto-monarchist) formally eschewed kingship. But partly through that most elusive of personal attributes: a charm that could, when she chose, thaw the frostiest critics. It thawed them posthumously as well: above all in the case of Lytton Strachey, who began his account of her life with every intention of dancing the Charleston on her grave, but whose reflexive sniggers she eventually silenced. It has clearly won over Hibbert too.

delightful, delectable and easily digestible, 22 Jan 2002
Christoper Hibbert once again shows himself to be one of the best popular historian writing today. In this personal portrait - for that is what it is, there are no complex political analyses here - he truthfully and intimately depicts one of the most significant world leaders of the post industrial world. By showing Victoria through the eyes of her family, household and ministers, Hibbert manages to deal impartially with the many "grey areas" of Victoria's life - the "John Brown" rumours, for example, are dealt with in a very informative and unbiased manner. Hibbert's method of using short, succinct chapters of no more than about 15 pages makes this an good book to read in bits to get a general feel for the issues and themes of Victoria's life and reign. A right good read!

Engagingly personal, 09 Jul 2001
This is a heavy book with lots of pages. The kind of book you look at and think, "I'll never get through this, but it might impress the friends".

However, it is so well written you find yourself moving quickly through the life of Victoria, Queen and Empress.

"Personal Biography" seems a strange title (surely all 'biography' is about a person) but it is very apt in this case. There are lots of books about Victoria which present her in a remote, almost institutionalised way. This book though gives us an intriguing look at her tempremant, joys, fears. The last chapter on her death and fraility is very moving.

The book does though too give a useful feel for the times both political and social that Victoria lived in (and shaped).

Similarities,& differences in the lives of Grandmama Europe's granddaughters, 23 Mar 2007
I was first sceptical as I always found compilations of biographies disappointing. They always seem to promise a lot and in the end give little. I should not have been.

I believe it is a marvelous book, very well written and entertaining. Mrs. Gerlardi manage to bring these 5 lives together which seems to be merely connected by the fact that all had in common "Grandma Queen" Queen Victoria. Julia Gerlardi showing similarities, differences and how intertwined the lives of these 5 princesses were.

But who are these women, all granddaughters of Queen Victoria?

- Alexandra Feodorovn, the last Empress of Russia, the most famous and most tragic
- Marie, Queen of Romania, the most flamboyant, the most heroic, the most political
- Victoria Eugenia, Queen of Spain, the most dignified but the most elusive
- Sophie, Queen of the Hellenes, the most unknown and
- Maud, Queen of Norway, the most shy and the most successful of all.

Julia Gelardi adopts the technique of showing the lives in parallels which is interesting and rather helpful. Mrs. Gerladi paints a pretty good picture of the five ladies, giving how they viewed themselves and how the outside world viewed them. Of course, there is much stuff open for discussion. The political role of the Greec Royal Family and why they lost their throne in regular intervals remains a bit flimsy but the effects on Queen Sophie's life are well described.

I found it interesting to see that while all having the same grandmother the differences come into the play through their different mothers. Empress Alexandra and Queen Marie were daughthers of strong mothers (Princess Alice and Grandduchess Marie of Russia respectively), women who in a man's world managed to controll men, like Queen Victoria did. Not to that extent but it still seems to apply to Queen Sophie, as daughter of the Empress Frederick. Queen Victoria Eugenia and Queen Maud were daughters of weaker woman (Princess Beatrice and Queen Alexandra) and that showed. Maud however might have led the most undramatic of lives, was shy person and a rather reluctant Queen, but in the end she was the most successful as the the Norway's monarchy survived while all others lost their thrones. Interesting to see that while being consorts of various different monarchs all were very English and remained it hrough their lives.

Gerladi is a very talentated author and her very first book is an excellent start for her writing career. However, I believe she could and should pay a bit more attention to details. Just a little example: she constantly refers to the Emperor and Empress of Germany. While this might be fine in casual conversations in a book on roylaty it is not. The Head of the German Empire was H.M The German Emperor, King of Prussia. And there is much behind this very title. Details od this kind are of importance as they were of importance especially to the royal person.

One last remark: what I did not understand why Mrs. Gilardi did not include the six grandaughter who became consort of a monarch, actually twice first as wife of the granduke of Hesse and later to to Grandduke Cyril of Russia, the Emperor without a throne. Actually a very interesting destiny whch should have been included.

However, all in all it is a book I enjoyed very much.


Not too bad worth a read 3 1/2 stars, 05 Jan 2007
This book did not disappoint me because I saw that it was the author's first book so I sort of knew what to expect and that said, it is not too bad well worth a read if you are interested in this sort of thing. The least interesting bits for me were the parts about Alexandra because I have already read several books about her in detail, in a way it is a shame she had to be included. I enjoyed reading about the other four princesses more because by comparison very little has been written about them and consequently I know comparatively little about them; I especially enjoyed reading about Ena of Spain and most of all Marie of Romania an incredible person whose character seemed to leap off the page at you. What this book has inspired me to do is read more about princesses Ena and Marie so it has been a useful springboard in that respect.

I didn't mind the book going backwards and forwards between the different princesses because it stopped me getting 'fed up' with any particular one although as I have already said I was tried to get through the Alexandra bits as quickly as possible but that is not the author's fault.

I would be interested to see what Julia Gelardi's next book is about and were it on a similar topic I would probably give it a try.

I would give this book 3 1/2 stars.

Well researched but let down by poor editing, 29 May 2006
I was looking forward to Gelardi's book on Queen Victoria's five granddaughters; and to give the author credit, she had a decent crack at interweaving what are essentially five very different personal, social and political histories. The premise is interesting, but in reality seems to hold back the author. In an effort to keep reminding us that this is a book about five people, not one, Gelardi often awkwardly does a "compare and contrast" exercise which means the book loses the mature, self-assured fluency a superior work would have. Most annoying are the countless cliffhangers the author seems to feel obliged to put at the end of paragraphs and chapters, e.g. "Little did she know..." or "...was none other than..." school of writing. It patronises the reader and detracts from what is otherwise an enthusiastic and fact-packed ride through one of the most exciting periods of history. For those just embarking on reading a Royal biographies then this is a good all-rounder, but go for individual biographies if you're a level or two beyond that.

5 Queens, 5 cousins, 5 women -, 24 Oct 2005
When I saw "Born to Rule" by Julia Gelardi first I was sceptical as I always found compilations of biographies disappointing. They always seem to promise a lot and in the end give little. So I was rather reluctant to buy this very book, especially as I have read quite extensively about Empress Alexandra of Russia and Queen Marie of Romania and a little less about Queen Victoria Eugenia of Spain. I should not have been.

I believe it is a marvelous book, very well written and entertaining. Mrs. Gerlardi manage to bring these 5 lives together which seems to be merely connected by the fact that all had in common "Grandma Queen" Queen Victoria. Julia Gerlardi showing similarities, differences and how intertwined the lives of these 5 princesses were.

But who are these women, all granddaughters of Queen Victoria?

- Alexandra Feodorovn, the last Empress of Russia, the most famous and most tragic
- Marie, Queen of Romania, the most flamboyant, the most heroic, the most political
- Victoria Eugenia, Queen of Spain, the most dignified but the most elusive
- Sophie, Queen of the Hellenes, the most unknown and
- Maud, Queen of Norway, the most shy and the most successful of all.

Julia Gelardi adopts the technique of showing the lives in parallels which is interesting and rather helpful. Mrs. Gerladi paints a pretty good picture of the five ladies, giving how they viewed themselves and how the outside world viewed them. Of course, there is much stuff open for discussion. The political role of the Greec Royal Family and why they lost their throne in regular intervals remains a bit flimsy but the effects on Queen Sophie's life are well described.

I found it interesting to see that while all having the same grandmother the differences come into the play through their different mothers. Empress Alexandra and Queen Marie were daughthers of strong mothers (Princess Alice and Grandduchess Marie of Russia respectively), women who in a man's world managed to controll men, like Queen Victoria did. Not to that extent but it still seems to apply to Queen Sophie, as daughter of the Empress Frederick. Queen Victoria Eugenia and Queen Maud were daughters of weaker woman (Princess Beatrice and Queen Alexandra) and that showed. Maud however might have led the most undramatic of lives, was shy person and a rather reluctant Queen, but in the end she was the most successful as the the Norway's monarchy survived while all others lost their thrones. Interesting to see that while being consorts of various different monarchs all were very English and remained it hrough their lives.

Gerladi is a very talentated author and her very first book is an excellent start for her writing career. However, I believe she could and should pay a bit more attention to details. Just a little example: she constantly refers to the Emperor and Empress of Germany. While this might be fine in casual conversations in a book on roylaty it is not. The Head of the German Empire was H.M The German Emperor, King of Prussia. And there is much behind this very title. Details od this kind are of importance as they were of importance especially to the royal person.

One last remark: what I did not understand why Mrs. Gilardi did not include the six grandaughter who became consort of a monarch, actually twice first as wife of the granduke of Hesse and later to to Grandduke Cyril of Russia, the Emperor without a throne. Actually a very interesting destiny whch should have been included.

However, all in all it is a book I enjoyed very much. 5 stars well deserved. I am looking forward to Mrs. Gilardi's second book.

5 Queens, 5 cousins, 5 women -, 20 Oct 2005
When I saw "Born to Rule" by Julia Gelardi first I was sceptical as I always found compilations of biographies disappointing. They always seem to promise a lot and in the end give little. So I was rather reluctant to buy this very book, especially as I have read quite extensively about Empress Alexandra of Russia and Queen Marie of Romania and a little less about Queen Victoria Eugenia of Spain. I should not have been.

I believe it is a marvelous book, very well written and entertaining. Mrs. Gerlardi manage to bring these 5 lives together which seems to be merely connected by the fact that all had in common "Grandma Queen" Queen Victoria. Julia Gerlardi showing similarities, differences and how intertwined the lives of these 5 princesses were.

But who are these women, all granddaughters of Queen Victoria?

- Alexandra Feodorovn, the last Empress of Russia, the most famous and most tragic
- Marie, Queen of Romania, the most flamboyant, the most heroic, the most political
- Victoria Eugenia, Queen of Spain, the most dignified but the most elusive
- Sophie, Queen of the Hellenes, the most unknown and
- Maud, Queen of Norway, the most shy and the most successful of all.

Julia Gelardi adopts the technique of showing the lives in parallels which is interesting and rather helpful. Mrs. Gerladi paints a pretty good picture of the five ladies, giving how they viewed themselves and how the outside world viewed them. Of course, there is much stuff open for discussion. The political role of the Greec Royal Family and why they lost their throne in regular intervals remains a bit flimsy but the effects on Queen Sophie's life are well described.

I found it interesting to see that while all having the same grandmother the differences come into the play through their different mothers. Empress Alexandra and Queen Marie were daughthers of strong mothers (Princess Alice and Grandduchess Marie of Russia respectively), women who in a man's world managed to controll men, like Queen Victoria did. Not to that extent but it still seems to apply to Queen Sophie, as daughter of the Empress Frederick. Queen Victoria Eugenia and Queen Maud were daughters of weaker woman (Princess Beatrice and Queen Alexandra) and that showed. Maud however might have led the most undramatic of lives, was shy person and a rather reluctant Queen, but in the end she was the most successful as the the Norway's monarchy survived while all others lost their thrones. Interesting to see that while being consorts of various different monarchs all were very English and remained it hrough their lives. And the links continued in the next generations.

Gerladi is a very talentated author and her very first book is an excellent start for her writing career. However, I believe she could and should pay a bit more attention to details. Just a little example: she constantly refers to the Emperor and Empress of Germany. While this might be fine in casual conversations in a book on roylaty it is not. The Head of the German Empire was H.M The German Emperor, King of Prussia. And there is much behind this very title. Details od this kind are of importance as they were of importance especially to the royal person.

One last remark: what I did not understand why Mrs. Gilardi did not include the six grandaughter who became consort of a monarch, actually twice first as wife of the granduke of Hesse and later to to Grandduke Cyril of Russia, the Emperor without a throne. Actually a very interesting destiny whch should have been included.

However, all in all it is a book I enjoyed very much. 5 stars well deserved. I am looking forward to Mrs. Gilardi's second book.

Was Anyone Ever This Selfless?, 19 Aug 2008
Princess Beatrice gave up her private life, her health and most of her happiness in order to be the secretary, confidante and companion of her widowed mother. Starting with the death of her father, Prince Albert, when she was only four years old, her life was a constant reminder of funereal gloom. As her older sisters married and moved away, Princess Beatrice became the Queen's slave in most matters public and private. Such was the Queen's paranoia that her youngest daughter might grow up and want a life of her own, she forbade all talk of marriage in front of the Princess, and punished the girl by not speaking to her for eight months when she dared to fall in love and announced her wish to wed. The marriage was only allowed to go forward, and the Princess forgiven, when the couple agreed to live with the Queen for their married life, with very limited travel (their honeymoon lasted only five days, and the Queen visited for two of them).

I don't think I'd realized just how selfish Queen Victoria was until I read this meticulously researched volume. Princess Beatrice was a far more forgiving and patient woman than I could have ever been, and I veer between being in awe of her, and pitying her.

Matthew Dennison's writing style takes a while to get used to - sometimes he moves back and forth in eras and you have to go back in order to determine just what time frame he's referring to. The text is at times dangerously close to "scholarly" and for this alone I give the book four stars instead of five. I do recommend it, however, for the insights it gives into this complex, frustrating relationship.

Princess Beatrice, 17 Oct 2007
I really enjoyed this book. Beatrice, although the youngest and, to some contemporary views, of the least dynastic importance, certainly played the most important role to the Queen of all her children.

The book is easy to read yet does not gloss over the facts. It is honest and frank, although I would have liked to know more about the sometimes strained relationship she shared with her sister Louise. What I particularly enjoy about biographies about Queen Victoria's children is that it opens up a whole new facet of her character, as it is true to say that her relationship with each one was so remarkably different. Beatrice's biography gives excellent examples of the best and the worst of Victoria's personality traits. It also gives excellent background information for anyone wishing to read further about Beatrice's daughter Victoria-Eugenie, who became Queen of Spain.

In short I thoroughly recommend this book. Enjoy!

enjoyable , 08 Apr 2007
I enjoyed reading this book very much, though I don't think I learned much that was new about the Princess. Like most biographies of Queen Victoria's children, the bulk of the book was about the princess's life when her mother was alive. I wanted to know much, much more about the period after the Queen's death. Certain areas , of course, are touched on, for example the death of the Prince Maurice in action in 1914, and also of the marriage of the Princess Ena to the king of Spain, but I would have liked more detail about the final years. Maybe there's no documentation to hand?? I would recommend this book though - one of the better royal books of recent years.

In the shadow of the Queen - the life of the youngest daughter of Queen Victoria rediscovered, 28 Jan 2007
HRH The Princess Beatrice was the youngest daughter and child of Queen Victoria and the Prince Consort and the last of their children of die. She was married to Prince Henry of Battenberg and mother of four children: one of them Ena became Queen of Spain (the present Spanish King's grandmother). Her real historical significance however lies in the editing of Queen Victoria's journal.

Beatrice spends most of her life in the shadow of the Queen, during the Queen's lifetime but as well after her death. More than any other of the Queen's children Beatrice was absolutely dominated by her mother. This biography is therefore as well a biography on Queen Victoria and a mother-daughter relationship. Matthew Dennison delivers quite a psychological portrait of Beatrice - the effects on her by her mother's domineering and quite selfish behaviour. Therefore, it might be just that why during the book not very much emerges about Princess Beatrice herself. To a certain extend she remains a personality very difficult to grab and I suppose that is what she exactly was. There is an element of pity one feels for her. Matthew Dennison is not abstaining from criticism, especially as the does not have been a very good mother, putting her mother always first, even before her own children. The book is anyway very weak on the relationship of The Princess with her children. Her eldest son Drino Lord Carisbrooke who was pompous and effeminate or as diarist James Lees-Milne put it "really and old queen" and of whom the PoW said in 1919 "I hear that Irene Carisbrooke is great with child and Drino has retired to bed for the duration". Hardly any words on granddaughter Iris, who married for the first time in 1941 and therefore during Princess Beatrice`s lifetime.

All in all, it is lovely that after nearly 50 years a new biography of the Princess has been published and her relationship with the Queen thoroughly exposed and examined. Rightly Dennison sums up: that she was an essential component in the smooth-running of Victoria's queenship. I enjoyed this book very much as it complemented my studies of the rule and personality of Queen Victoria perfectly. For all who are interested in this period it will add much to the understanding of Queen Victoria. All in all: a book to be recommended.


The Last Princess, 19 Jan 2007
A delightful book; although an enjoyable and easy read, it has clearly been widely and carefully researched, and provides challengingly thoughtful ideas about this princess who has been much ignored by history. An intriguing portrait of the retiring, dominated Beatrice, but just as interesting for its portrayal of Queen Victoria. The complexity and contradictions of the Queen's character are particularly well explored, with many insights which I have not come across in previous books about the monarch. A 'must' for anyone interested in the era, and well worth the price. Treat a friend!

An Interesting Book, 24 Jul 2005
The Victorian era was probably one of the most extraordinary in British History. The country went through enormous changes due to the impact of Industrialisation and Politic and Economic change. Queen Victoria and Prince Albert produced nine children and most of them had an impact not only on British History, but European History as well since many of them married into European Families such as the Hohenzollerns which had such an effect on the growing militarism leading to World War 1 in 1914. It must not be forgotten that Victoria's children were human, and they experienced the triumphs and tragedies which befall so many families. Indeed she outlived at least three of them, Alice, Leopold and Alfred who all died tragically young. And of course, her eldest son Bertie, Prince of Wales, whom she kept frustrated throughout most of his adult life by denying him a more important role in British and European affairs, became acknowledged as the Uncle of Europe and the Peacemaker of Europe. A fascinating volume, not an academic study though, very easy to read which will appeal to many readers who wish to find out more about the Victorian family. Supplemented with many good photographs too.

A Very Interesting Book About A Human Family, 20 Jul 2005
Over many decades now, the Royal Family have always been put on a pedestal except perhaps during the past 20 years or so when a certain Diana Spencer married into the Royal Family in 1981. Of course, in Queen Victoria's time, media exposure of the sort to which we are acusstomed to nowadays did not exist. So the public came to acknowledge that the Royals, because they were remote figures, were special people with extraordinary talents. We now know of course this was not true. What books like this does though is convey to the reader is that the Royals are human just the same as we are. Of course, they are priviledged, but they are not immune to the ups and downs like so many of us are. In fact, they have the triumphs and tragedies same as we do although in a different manner. This book reveals the very human side of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert's nine children, all of whom in more ways than one, had such influence on European History. Who could have known for example that upon Queen Victoria's death in January 1901, that two of her grandsons George V and Kaiser Wilhelm II and a blood relation Tsar Nicholas II would all become embroiled in a terrible European War in 1914? A fascinating book about a fascinating family. Armchair Historians would welcome this without a doubt. Very well researched and an easy to read format makes it a very good buy indeed.

A moving account of power, love and sadness., 29 Nov 2004
John Van Der Kiste should be congratulated on this thoughtful and well written biography of Victoria and her children.

The book appears to be written emphatically and really conveys the heartbroken Queen Victoria as a deeply sad widow but at the same time sees her as a defiant politician during a turbulent time in history as well as being a proud, loving and protective Mother.

The pace of Van Der Kiste's book is perfect, dealing with each child in turn and allowing the reader to embrace each child's character, life and mainly the relationship with their mother.

A brilliant book that i read within days of buying it.

Entertaining portrait, 15 Jul 2004
After reading Jerrold Packard's book about the Queen's daughters, I was glad to be able to buy an updated edition of John Van der Kiste's work about all nine children. Daphne Bennett wrote one with the same title in 1980, but it only covered them until their marriages. This one covers the whole story from the birth of the Princess Royal in 1840 (with a prologue on the early life of Victoria and Albert) to the death of Beatrice in 1944. The spotlight falls individually on each in turn, in a way which I don't think anyone has attempted before. It's good to see the younger siblings getting some attention as well as their better-known elders - there can't be much more to say about the Empress Frederick or Edward VII. It's an entertaining portrait, written with warmth, sympathy, and soundly researched - and a book I for one will certainly treasure on my royalty bookshelves.

Victoria, warts and all, 17 Jun 2003
After reading some glittering medieval and Tudor biographies, I wanted to fill in the gaps closer to our own day. Christopher Hibbert's comprehensive, readable biography is a good starting-point. However, as detractors have pointed out, it is short on political analysis. The emphasis is on "royal".

Hibbert sets the stage for Victoria's accession with a marvellous summary of how her various royal forebears failed to provide an heir, so that she succeeded by default. He delineates Queen Victoria's complex relationships with several Prime Ministers: her neediness with Lord Melbourne and Disraeli, antipathy towards Palmerston and Gladstone, respect for Salisbury. Unfortunately he does not clearly enough differentiate between Whigs and Tories. But he does acquaint the reader with the major political personalities and put you in a position to explore further. A useful reference alongside this book is "The Prime Ministers from Walpole to Macmillan" (possibly only available in the UK, and in danger of going out of print).

Skilfully interweaving Victoria's personal history with national and international landmark events, Hibbert provides handy, if underwritten, overviews of the Indian Mutiny, the Crimean War, the Great Exhibition, and Chartism. He also sketches contemporary European royals like Napoleon III, exploring tensions between France, Italy and Austria.

Co-dependency, egotism and self-pity characterised Victoria's personal contacts. Her henpecking of her intelligent, unpopular consort Albert, and later selfish blocking of her children's marriages in order to keep them around, echo her own repressive childhood. But Victoria's households at Balmoral and Osborne were beacons of domesticity, and she was well-travelled and sophisticated.

She hated pregnancy, resented her children, and was scathingly dismissive of the Prince of Wales (the future Edward VII). After Prince Albert's untimely death, she avoided official engagements for years, to the consternation of her government and people. She fostered obsessional bonds with her Scottish and Indian servants.

Her prolific writings reveal a needy, infantile and self-obsessed woman. Her USE of CAPITALS in an age before the telephone, is a way of SHOUTING (not unlike the internet), and italics give her prose stridency.

So what were Queen Victoria's merits, if any? By dint of longevity she was the epoxy glue of the Age which took her name, and her progeny peopled the Royal houses of Europe. Surviving several assasination attempts, Victoria held her family and household in thrall, and the country in awe. Somehow she inspired the loyalty, if also exasperation, of her Governments.

Henry VIII or Elizabeth I she ain't, but the story is worth reading. Christopher Hibbert gives an urbane, accessible account, with mercifully short chapters.

Victoria, warts and all, 29 May 2003
After reading some glittering medieval and Tudor biographies, I wanted to fill in the gaps closer to our own day. Christopher Hibbert's comprehensive, readable biography is a good starting-point.

He sets the stage for Victoria's accession with a marvellous summary of how her various royal forebears failed to provide an heir, so that she succeeded by default.

Hibbert delineates Queen Victoria's complex relationships with several Prime Ministers: her neediness with Lord Melbourne and Disraeli, antipathy towards Palmerston and Gladstone, respect for Salisbury. Unfortunately he does not clearly enough differentiate between Whigs and Tories. But he does acquaint the reader with the major political personalities and put you in a position to explore further. A useful reference alongside this book is "The Prime Ministers from Walpole to Macmillan" (possibly only available in the UK, and in danger of going out of print).

Hibbert skilfully interweaves Victoria's personal history with national and international landmark events. He provides excellent overviews of the Indian Mutiny, the Crimean War, the Great Exhibition, and Chartism. He also sketches contemporary European royals like Napoleon III, exploring tensions between France, Italy and Austria.

Co-dependency, egotism and self-pity charactertised Victoria's personal contacts. Her henpecking of her intelligent, unpopular consort Albert, and later selfish blocking of her children's marriages in order to keep them around, echo her repressive childhood. But Victoria's households at Balmoral and Osborne were beacons of domesticity, and she was well-travelled and sophisticated.

Her own writings reveal an infantile and self-obsessed woman. Her USE of CAPITALS in an age before the telephone, is a way of SHOUTING (not unlike the internet), and italics give her prose stridency. Victoria utterly failed to take into account other people's feelings, viewing Prince Albert and John Brown through the prism of her own needs. She was scathingly dismissive of the Prince of Wales (the future Edward VII). After Prince Albert's death, she whiningly avoided official engagements for years. She fostered obsessional bonds with her Scottish and Indian servants.

So what were Queen Victoria's merits, if any? By dint of longevity she was the epoxy glue of the Age which took her name, and her progeny peopled the Royal houses of Europe. Surviving several assasination attempts, Victoria held her family and household in thrall, and the country in awe. Somehow she inspired the loyalty, if also exasperation, of her Governments.

Henry VIII or Elizabeth I she ain't, but the story is worth reading. Christopher Hibbert gives an urbane, accessible account, with mercifully short chapters.

Hibbert notches up another admirable achievement, 18 Mar 2002
Christopher Hibbert, now aged 77, has 34 books to his credit. This staggering total presumably includes one or two lemons, but this reviewer has yet to find any. Hibbert's latest volume belongs with his very best, and defies anyone to read a single chapter without immediately gobbling up the next half-dozen.

It might be thought that Queen Victoria's two finest pre-Hibbert biographers, Elizabeth Longford and Stanley Weintraub, had between them exhausted their theme. Hibbert, though, draws on Royal Archives material which no previous book-length study has used. While the result compels no spectacular revisions of accepted verdicts, it periodically shines instructive new beams of light.

How did Victoria survive? Partly through luck: she died just before Hearst- or Pulitzer-style gutter-journalism had emerged with the aim of routing all political authority save its own. Partly through the sheer strength of monarchism's position throughout Europe in the half-century before World War I: a period when only Switzerland, Portugal (after 1910), Spain (1873-75) and Third Republic France (itself crypto-monarchist) formally eschewed kingship. But partly through that most elusive of personal attributes: a charm that could, when she chose, thaw the frostiest critics. It thawed them posthumously as well: above all in the case of Lytton Strachey, who began his account of her life with every intention of dancing the Charleston on her grave, but whose reflexive sniggers she eventually silenced. It has clearly won over Hibbert too.

delightful, delectable and easily digestible, 22 Jan 2002
Christoper Hibbert once again shows himself to be one of the best popular historian writing today. In this personal portrait - for that is what it is, there are no complex political analyses here - he truthfully and intimately depicts one of the most significant world leaders of the post industrial world. By showing Victoria through the eyes of her family, household and ministers, Hibbert manages to deal impartially with the many "grey areas" of Victoria's life - the "John Brown" rumours, for example, are dealt with in a very informative and unbiased manner. Hibbert's method of using short, succinct chapters of no more than about 15 pages makes this an good book to read in bits to get a general feel for the issues and themes of Victoria's life and reign. A right good read!

Engagingly personal, 09 Jul 2001
This is a heavy book with lots of pages. The kind of book you look at and think, "I'll never get through this, but it might impress the friends".

However, it is so well written you find yourself moving quickly through the life of Victoria, Queen and Empress.

"Personal Biography" seems a strange title (surely all 'biography' is about a person) but it is very apt in this case. There are lots of books about Victoria which present her in a remote, almost institutionalised way. This book though gives us an intriguing look at her tempremant, joys, fears. The last chapter on her death and fraility is very moving.

The book does though too give a useful feel for the times both political and social that Victoria lived in (and shaped).

Similarities,& differences in the lives of Grandmama Europe's granddaughters, 23 Mar 2007
I was first sceptical as I always found compilations of biographies disappointing. They always seem to promise a lot and in the end give little. I should not have been.

I believe it is a marvelous book, very well written and entertaining. Mrs. Gerlardi manage to bring these 5 lives together which seems to be merely connected by the fact that all had in common "Grandma Queen" Queen Victoria. Julia Gerlardi showing similarities, differences and how intertwined the lives of these 5 princesses were.

But who are these women, all granddaughters of Queen Victoria?

- Alexandra Feodorovn, the last Empress of Russia, the most famous and most tragic
- Marie, Queen of Romania, the most flamboyant, the most heroic, the most political
- Victoria Eugenia, Queen of Spain, the most dignified but the most elusive
- Sophie, Queen of the Hellenes, the most unknown and
- Maud, Queen of Norway, the most shy and the most successful of all.

Julia Gelardi adopts the technique of showing the lives in parallels which is interesting and rather helpful. Mrs. Gerladi paints a pretty good picture of the five ladies, giving how they viewed themselves and how the outside world viewed them. Of course, there is much stuff open for discussion. The political role of the Greec Royal Family and why they lost their throne in regular intervals remains a bit flimsy but the effects on Queen Sophie's life are well described.

I found it interesting to see that while all having the same grandmother the differences come into the play through their different mothers. Empress Alexandra and Queen Marie were daughthers of strong mothers (Princess Alice and Grandduchess Marie of Russia respectively), women who in a man's world managed to controll men, like Queen Victoria did. Not to that extent but it still seems to apply to Queen Sophie, as daughter of the Empress Frederick. Queen Victoria Eugenia and Queen Maud were daughters of weaker woman (Princess Beatrice and Queen Alexandra) and that showed. Maud however might have led the most undramatic of lives, was shy person and a rather reluctant Queen, but in the end she was the most successful as the the Norway's monarchy survived while all others lost their thrones. Interesting to see that while being consorts of various different monarchs all were very English and remained it hrough their lives.

Gerladi is a very talentated author and her very first book is an excellent start for her writing career. However, I believe she could and should pay a bit more attention to details. Just a little example: she constantly refers to the Emperor and Empress of Germany. While this might be fine in casual conversations in a book on roylaty it is not. The Head of the German Empire was H.M The German Emperor, King of Prussia. And there is much behind this very title. Details od this kind are of importance as they were of importance especially to the royal person.

One last remark: what I did not understand why Mrs. Gilardi did not include the six grandaughter who became consort of a monarch, actually twice first as wife of the granduke of Hesse and later to to Grandduke Cyril of Russia, the Emperor without a throne. Actually a very interesting destiny whch should have been included.

However, all in all it is a book I enjoyed very much.


Not too bad worth a read 3 1/2 stars, 05 Jan 2007
This book did not disappoint me because I saw that it was the author's first book so I sort of knew what to expect and that said, it is not too bad well worth a read if you are interested in this sort of thing. The least interesting bits for me were the parts about Alexandra because I have already read several books about her in detail, in a way it is a shame she had to be included. I enjoyed reading about the other four princesses more because by comparison very little has been written about them and consequently I know comparatively little about them; I especially enjoyed reading about Ena of Spain and most of all Marie of Romania an incredible person whose character seemed to leap off the page at you. What this book has inspired me to do is read more about princesses Ena and Marie so it has been a useful springboard in that respect.

I didn't mind the book going backwards and forwards between the different princesses because it stopped me getting 'fed up' with any particular one although as I have already said I was tried to get through the Alexandra bits as quickly as possible but that is not the author's fault.

I would be interested to see what Julia Gelardi's next book is about and were it on a similar topic I would probably give it a try.

I would give this book 3 1/2 stars.

Well researched but let down by poor editing, 29 May 2006
I was looking forward to Gelardi's book on Queen Victoria's five granddaughters; and to give the author credit, she had a decent crack at interweaving what are essentially five very different personal, social and political histories. The premise is interesting, but in reality seems to hold back the author. In an effort to keep reminding us that this is a book about five people, not one, Gelardi often awkwardly does a "compare and contrast" exercise which means the book loses the mature, self-assured fluency a superior work would have. Most annoying are the countless cliffhangers the author seems to feel obliged to put at the end of paragraphs and chapters, e.g. "Little did she know..." or "...was none other than..." school of writing. It patronises the reader and detracts from what is otherwise an enthusiastic and fact-packed ride through one of the most exciting periods of history. For those just embarking on reading a Royal biographies then this is a good all-rounder, but go for individual biographies if you're a level or two beyond that.

5 Queens, 5 cousins, 5 women -, 24 Oct 2005
When I saw "Born to Rule" by Julia Gelardi first I was sceptical as I always found compilations of biographies disappointing. They always seem to promise a lot and in the end give little. So I was rather reluctant to buy this very book, especially as I have read quite extensively about Empress Alexandra of Russia and Queen Marie of Romania and a little less about Queen Victoria Eugenia of Spain. I should not have been.

I believe it is a marvelous book, very well written and entertaining. Mrs. Gerlardi manage to bring these 5 lives together which seems to be merely connected by the fact that all had in common "Grandma Queen" Queen Victoria. Julia Gerlardi showing similarities, differences and how intertwined the lives of these 5 princesses were.

But who are these women, all granddaughters of Queen Victoria?

- Alexandra Feodorovn, the last Empress of Russia, the most famous and most tragic
- Marie, Queen of Romania, the most flamboyant, the most heroic, the most political
- Victoria Eugenia, Queen of Spain, the most dignified but the most elusive
- Sophie, Queen of the Hellenes, the most unknown and
- Maud, Queen of Norway, the most shy and the most successful of all.

Julia Gelardi adopts the technique of showing the lives in parallels which is interesting and rather helpful. Mrs. Gerladi paints a pretty good picture of the five ladies, giving how they viewed themselves and how the outside world viewed them. Of course, there is much stuff open for discussion. The political role of the Greec Royal Family and why they lost their throne in regular intervals remains a bit flimsy but the effects on Queen Sophie's life are well described.

I found it interesting to see that while all having the same grandmother the differences come into the play through their different mothers. Empress Alexandra and Queen Marie were daughthers of strong mothers (Princess Alice and Grandduchess Marie of Russia respectively), women who in a man's world managed to controll men, like Queen Victoria did. Not to that extent but it still seems to apply to Queen Sophie, as daughter of the Empress Frederick. Queen Victoria Eugenia and Queen Maud were daughters of weaker woman (Princess Beatrice and Queen Alexandra) and that showed. Maud however might have led the most undramatic of lives, was shy person and a rather reluctant Queen, but in the end she was the most successful as the the Norway's monarchy survived while all others lost their thrones. Interesting to see that while being consorts of various different monarchs all were very English and remained it hrough their lives.

Gerladi is a very talentated author and her very first book is an excellent start for her writing career. However, I believe she could and should pay a bit more attention to details. Just a little example: she constantly refers to the Emperor and Empress of Germany. While this might be fine in casual conversations in a book on roylaty it is not. The Head of the German Empire was H.M The German Emperor, King of Prussia. And there is much behind this very title. Details od this kind are of importance as they were of importance especially to the royal person.

One last remark: what I did not understand why Mrs. Gilardi did not include the six grandaughter who became consort of a monarch, actually twice first as wife of the granduke of Hesse and later to to Grandduke Cyril of Russia, the Emperor without a throne. Actually a very interesting destiny whch should have been included.

However, all in all it is a book I enjoyed very much. 5 stars well deserved. I am looking forward to Mrs. Gilardi's second book.

5 Queens, 5 cousins, 5 women -, 20 Oct 2005
When I saw "Born to Rule" by Julia Gelardi first I was sceptical as I always found compilations of biographies disappointing. They always seem to promise a lot and in the end give little. So I was rather reluctant to buy this very book, especially as I have read quite extensively about Empress Alexandra of Russia and Queen Marie of Romania and a little less about Queen Victoria Eugenia of Spain. I should not have been.

I believe it is a marvelous book, very well written and entertaining. Mrs. Gerlardi manage to bring these 5 lives together which seems to be merely connected by the fact that all had in common "Grandma Queen" Queen Victoria. Julia Gerlardi showing similarities, differences and how intertwined the lives of these 5 princesses were.

But who are these women, all granddaughters of Queen Victoria?

- Alexandra Feodorovn, the last Empress of Russia, the most famous and most tragic
- Marie, Queen of Romania,