Book Review

I'm Back Babydolls!

I know I have not been posting as much lately. I find that I have been consumed by the time sucking vortex that is known as World of Warcraft.  I've known of these types of games for many years, there was a time when someone I knew was playing a MMORPG game called Everquest and wanted me to play. I wisely declined, I thought then that I wasn't nerdy enough to play these, guess I was wrong. Plus, I could not spare time for that as I had Sims to care for, which was cool and not geeky. Later on, I played and enjoyed Dark Age of Camelot. When I stopped playing that, I really didn't think much about it when suddenly I thought it would be fun to try one of these games again. I love it and find that all of my spare time when not at work or doing school work is spent questing with one of my many characters. I can't believe how excited I get every time I level up or find a cool item. But I have managed to squeeze in some reading and I will review this week 4 books that I have completed.

We Two -- Victoria and Albert: Rulers, Partners, Rivals by Gillian Gill

I think besides the Tudor dynasty, I find the rule of Queen Victoria to be the most fascinating. Since each book and author has their own take on this groundbreaking monarch,  it often makes me feel like Elizabeth Bennet trying to make out the character of Mr. Darcy, “I do not get on at all. I hear such different accounts of you as to puzzle me exceedingly.” Even though there is a profusion of documentary evidence, letters, photographs, diaries, newspaper articles, and first person accounts, the available data can be construed in any number of ways.

Author Gillian Gill places Victoria and Albert as firmly a product of their time. Victoria believed that women were subjects to their men and Albert was a misogynist who thought very little of women as a whole, although this was not a rare quality in upper middle class men of this era. It is this juxtaposition where the problems in their relationship lie. Before her marriage Victoria was a very gay young woman, who loved to stay up late, dance, play cards, go to plays, and concerts, and tuck into a good dinner.  Having been under the thumb of her domineering mother and the odious Sir John Conroy until she turned 18, the taste of freedom was very sweet to her. There were times that she liked to think that she would never marry at all. But, society was very different from her formidable virgin predecessor and she eventually bowed to convention and pressure to consent to a husband. It did not hurt that upon careful grooming of Albert as the “perfect” partner for Victoria and his striking good looks, that she, to use modern vernacular developed the hots for him. The English have always been an insular and xenophobic people, and although at first they were ready to begrudgingly accept Albert, his haughty demeanor, humorlessness, and ego quickly turned the public and even his own class against him.

The real problem was that Victoria was Queen, but Albert thought that because he was a man and her husband, that he should rule in her stead. Victoria was an extremely smart and educated woman herself, and was easily capable of rule and it was sad to see how eventually she began to lose even this. The duty of state was oftentimes shared between them though, in there dual desks. He tried for years to get Parliament to crown him King and they never acceded to this demand. This book talks much about their domestic lives. How the many children Victoria was forced to bear eventually harmed not only her health but threatened her sanity. I honestly think that this poor woman suffered for years from untreated post-partum depression, repeated 9 times, exacerbated by an uncaring and cold husband who had no time for these “women’s” issues.  That Albert blamed Victoria, at least partially, for his not being King and for his unpopularity, because to his mind he was without fault. Albert’s court was as cold and humorless as he was, and eventually, he managed to separate his wife and growing family from everyone. They lived alone in a fish bowl. Much of the joy and humor was slowly drained out of Victoria over the years in her quest to please her husband, turning her into an unforgiving and dour woman.

 

After his death, is when the myth of Albert was born. It grew over the years to become almost of worship of sorts. Many years after his death, some of the youthful Victoria emerged from a long slumber but she never really returned to what she once was. She had changed profoundly in their 20 year marriage, the shift was irrevocable. Albert was not all bad. He was a progressive and worked hard to improve the lot of the common man. He was intelligent and saw the future in a way that few did at that time culminating in the massive exposition of 1851 featuring all the modern glory of a powerful Britain. From reading this book, I think that Albert was fond of Victoria but he had no passion or respect for women period, and she was not an exception. For Victoria, despite their many rows, Albert was the love of her live. She loved him far more than he loved her. It is ironic, that the great love of Albert’s life was his eldest daughter Vicky, upon whom the sun rose and set, she was the one woman he respected as he raised her to be a female version of himself. Unfortunately, we will never know how much was lost as upon her death many letters of her mother and Albert’s were destroyed and Victoria’s diaries heavily edited, so much of their real thoughts and feelings will now never be known. I enjoyed reading this interpretation of their lives but as stated earlier, each author has their own tale to tale. I would recommend this book highly, as it is well written, interesting, and entertaining. But, be willing to read other authors as well and come to your own conclusion.

Many nice pictures and clocks in at a reasonable 383 pages for the paperback.