Queen Victoria was quite taken by her title of Empress of India. She was unable to visit India, so she brought India to England.

For her Golden Jubilee, several men from India were assigned to be her personal servants, including the twenty-four-year-old Abdul.

The lonely queen had lost her beloved Albert and her loyal servant John Brown. Queen Victoria fell in love with Abdul's stories about his exotic homeland of India. She formed a motherly attachment to Abdul, promoting him to her teacher.

During Queen Victoria's last ten years she studied Urdu under Abdul's guidance, becoming quite proficient. The Queen's dependence on her Munshi led to friction with her government and her family. Every power was pushing the Queen to abandon her interest in Abdul. Abdul was spied upon and defamed, but the Queen defended him and showered titles and gifts upon Abdul and his family.

Victoria & Abdul is an enlightening biography of Queen Victoria between her Golden and Diamond Jubilees. It tells of the human side of the queen and of her profound attachment to those she loved. It is the story of a humble man who rose to become a queen's most trusted friend, only to be vilified and his history erased after her death. And it is the story of racism and religious prejudice in Victorian England.

Detail of handkerchief celebrating Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee


The information is detailed and I felt I knew and understood Victoria and Abdul. There are wonderful photographs included.

This book is the basis for the upcoming movie Victoria & Abdul starring Judy Dench. I can't wait to see it!

View the trailer at https://youtu.be/3xo-EP_O5pQ

I received a free ebook from the publisher in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.

I totally enjoyed this book and learned a lot about the interaction of the British royalty regarding the people of India and how Victoria ruled them. I understand this is to be a movie soon and I did find the writing and the experiences portrayed to be engrossing and interesting.

We know so much about Queen Victoria and yet this very important facet of her life has been in a si sense underreported. Victoria developed an engrossing relationship with Abdul while incensing her staff, her family and those around her. Her care and concern for Abdul seemed limitless, while her family and her staffs' inability to accept him and those of his kind made for a disquieting read into racial equality and its worth in Victorian England.

Both main characters were charismatic. They infused each other with confidence and importance and developed an intense friendship which nothing was able to penetrate as hard as some tried to break it apart. It was sad to read of Abdul's demise in standing following Victoria's death and how his life of privilege while being nourished in the bosom of Victoria turned against him when she died. He, it seemed, truly loved and cherished her while she seemed to share the very same feelings towards him. She, the Queen of England during its rise in colonialism found it within her to take into her heart this Indian young man and by doing so thus embraced the Indian people which she tenderly ruled.

Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group for the opportunity to read this novel for an unbiased review.

This book provided a vivid glimpse into that relationship of epic historical contradiction between apparent friendliness and the power differentials inherent in colonialist arrangements.