I purposely waited until the beginning of the PBS series to write my review. I read the book in a matter of hours, it was that fascinating. I always enjoy a good biography, and this is one of my personal favorites. It is well written, well researched, engaging and easily readable. I will definitely seek out more books by Daisy Goodwin. Now, the reason I waited; Ms Goodwin was also responsible for the writing of the mini series now being telecast by PBS. The series is true to the book, and just as I imagined. Jenna Coleman is doing a fabulous job in the role of Queen Victoria.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a great biography, or is just interested in Queen Victoria. You will not be disappointed, I promise.

Wow, in depth detail. It is easier to sit back and imagine what it would like to be a princess or a queen but what I think we imagine is not what it is truly like. The life of Victoria, the fear, the learning curve, the loneliness, seems unimaginable.
I love to read about the more detailed lives of the people who have has such large impact on the world we know now.
I found this book so fascinating, and would recommend to other history lovers.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this book. Unfortunately, it was too dry for my taste.

Read this as a follow up to the tv series. Thoroughly enjoyed it

Excellent - I loved it! Very personal, if fictional, account of a most influential Queen. Extensively researched and delightfully readable, the novel takes you back to the start of the Victorian era, when an 18 year old girl becomes Queen of England.

Written at the same time as she was writing the television series Victoira, Goodwin’s book as been reviewed as delicious. It is! This historical recount of a Monarch’s journey from the moment she learned she was queen is a story of transition, erudition and recognition. Wonderfully written, the story demonstrates a young woman’s determination to maintain and surpass what others believe she is capable of. Goodwin gives the story a softness of femininity to a strong female character examining loyalty, leadership, love, and sensibility. Make time in your schedule. This book can’t be put down
This review can also be seen at Le Coeur de l'Artiste: .http://www.djadamson.com/le-coeur-de-lartiste

Having enjoyed the television series that aired recently I requested the book even though it's not my usual type of read. I'm so pleased I did! This is an excellent read with well-drawn characters and witty dialogue and I highly recommend it.

This was brilliant and so very enjoyable. As a history buff, it was a delightful piece of storytelling.

If her uncles had been less profligate, there would have been a dozen legitimate children between her and the throne, but they had been so distracted by the pleasures of the flesh that the crown had come to her. Victoria knew that there had been a reason for this, a divine purpose, and she was determined to prove worthy of it.

I loved this historical fiction. It was rich with wit and intrigue that I soon became in love with the setting and time of Queen Victoria. At a young age, Victoria lead a protected and sheltered life in the hopes of her landing the throne. With the help of mother and mother's confidante, Victoria was groomed to take the throne. Victoria had a confidence about her that she knew her own mind and took to heart the responsibility of queen. Her first order of becoming Queen was choosing a private secretary. By-passing and shunning the man who put himself in place as her mother's confidant, she chose Lord Melbourne. A man that respected the young woman and her title. They became great friends and Victoria found herself wanting more. This was a sweet relationship that drew on what was right for the heart and the throne. Victoria drew from Melbourne's wisdom and he from her wit. It would be interesting to know how true Goodwin's account was on this relationship.

A relationship driven plot, with Victoria's relationship with her mother, her governess, ladies in waiting, and finally her husband, each relationship brought you to the heart of Victoria. In most of her relationships, she was loyal but guarded and at times vulnerable.

Victoria had her scandals and was non conventional when it came to protocol but in her discovery of who she was and her destiny as queen, she worked through the aches and pain of life. This was a clean read and very enlighten to the time at hand. The narration was done in 3 parts and ended in her marriage. I would have loved to gone on with her life as a mother and wife but hopefully Ms. Goodwin will continue Victoria's story.

A Special Thank You to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for the ARC and the opportunity to post an honest review.

After reading Victoria by Daisy Goodwin, I can’t wait to watch the PBS production! I learned a lot reading this one and further expanded my vocabulary. I enjoyed the descriptions of the gowns worn in the book and that will be something to forward to seeing on TV series. The best part of the book though is definitely the banter and dialogue among the characters—especially Victoria and Melbourne.

I don’t know if Victoria and her Prime Minister were as close to each other in reality as they grew to be in this book, but their relationship was the highlight of this book for me. While I had hoped for a bit more scandalous behavior out of Melbourne based on his reputation, in the end I was happy he was an admirable gentleman and had the queen’s best interests at heart. Throughout the story, his interactions with the queen were touching, entertaining & at times flirty.

Goodwin was also witty in the descriptions and dialogue amongst the other characters as well. Victoria’s mother’s personality and her blind devotion to Conroy were comical—although a bit tragic as well. The parliament members and other politicians and movers & shakers were great fodder for comedy too! Overall, I would recommend this book. It’s especially entertaining if you enjoy historical fiction.

Victoria is a novelisation of Queen Victoria's ascension to the British throne in 1837. What you may or may not know, however, is that the author of this book is also the writer and creator of the ITV series (also titled Victoria) that coincides with it. I actually watched season 1 of the show first before reading the novel, so it's extremely difficult for me not to compare the two and to be honest, I much prefer the show to the novel. That's not to say it's a bad book, because it's not. It just lacked a few of the things that I adored from the show and even if I never watched the show, I still feel as though I would have the same issues with the book.
So here is what I will tell you (if you don't want to know anything about the show or the book's plot and don't already know the history of Queen Victoria, then perhaps don't read on) - The novel only reaches the point of Victoria's engagement, whereas the show continues farther than that until the birth of her first child. This, combined with the fact that Prince Albert only enters the novel 80% of the way through, was my main issue. If you're a massive romance fan like I am, then you'll probably be reading this wondering when the HECK Albert is finally going to show up and woo you and this is exactly what happened. I was waiting and waiting and waiting and then it only leads up until their engagement??? ARE YOU KIDDING ME??? THEIR RELATIONSHIP IS LITERALLY WHAT I'M HERE FOR!
Don't get me wrong, the first 80% of the novel is still important, as it follows Victoria's ascension and relationship with Lord Melbourne, but it dragged on for far too long and, in my opinion, should have only taken up 40-50% of the novel MAX, and the rest to be focussed on Victoria and Albert, their relationship, and how they rule together and start a family.
I would be fine with the novel how it is if it were the first in a series, but Daisy Goodwin has stated that her next novel will follow an entirely different main character and it will take place after Prince Albert dies SO THE WHOLE REASON I WANTED TO READ THESE BOOKS IS COMPLETELY OUT OF THE PICTURE. WHAT THE HECK.
I did love seeing Victoria ruling by herself, standing up to all of her enemies and coming into her own, but Albert was such a HUGE part of her life and I really, REALLY wanted to read about them together, so I was super disappointed.
In terms of the content, it's pretty historically accurate for the amount of information available and Daisy Goodwin relied on a hefty biography of Victoria's life so she knew what she was talking about, even if some aspects were embellished for the sake of TV drama.
So yes, I recommend this book if you want to know more about the Queen's early reigning years, but I don't recommend it if you're purely here for her and Prince Albert's relationship. I would definitely recommend the TV show over the novel in any case. The acting is superb, the costumes and settings were incredible and PRINCE ALBERT IS IN MORE THAN HALF OF IT, SO THERE'S THAT. He comes in at the end of episode 3 and there's 8 episodes in total in the first season, so get on that!
Overall I gave it a 3 out of 5 stars!

I loved this book – which is the basis of a series about to premiere on Masterpiece/PBS. Daisy Goodwin, a writer and television producer (and poetry anthologist says Wikipedia), does a marvelous job of bringing this iconic Queen to life, starting with her as a young girl required to step into the position.

Nicely fleshed out characters, making Victoria come alive, and giving the reader a whole different appreciation for the woman often only perceived as a stodgy old woman.

Read this book ASAP and then get ready for a delicious visual experience with the show. Yum.

I received this in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley.

An amazing book that brings history to life. I have always been fascinated with Queen Victoria and though this is historical fiction it is based off of her diaries. I would love if Daisy Goodwin made this into a book series especially since the new show on PBS stems from this book. Excellent book that continues to stay with me and will for many months to come.

Great read and easy to follow story line. Look forward to reading more from this author.

I can’t remember reading any books that were about Queen Victoria. And after reading this book I found myself wanting to know more, much more. I was pleased to find that the book was very accurate to what I read online about both Queen Victoria and the time period.

The setting and the characters were all very well written.

The thing that held this book back from being 5 stars would have to be the fact that it seemed to drag on. I thought the book was going to cover more of Queen Victoria’s life than it actually did.

Victoria by Daisy Goodwin is so well done that Goodwin has made history come alive. The research is incredible. By the end of the novel, I felt I had actually lived during Victoria's reign. For those of us that love historical novels, this is one not to miss..

This is the second book I've read about Queen Victoria recently and she is such a fascinating historical figure. This book focuses on the early years of Victoria's reign and the issues she faced in her personal and political life as she cemented her role as queen.


I enjoyed reading about the relationship between Victoria and her mother; it was fascinating to watch Victoria come into her own as an independent young woman. Her mother seemed like such a difficult person to deal with and for the most part, Victoria handled her well. The portrayal of their unique relationship made them both seem more normal and less like superior beings. I actually like this aspect of the story because it made Victoria relatable.


I'll admit that I didn't really like Prince Albert all that much. He was just so whiny and insufferable. I did feel bad for him since he had such a difficult childhood but he was just a big grouch for most of the story. The relationship seemed very rushed in the story and I would love to see a continuation of this book that focuses on the progression of Victoria and Albert's relationship through their married years.



Overall, I enjoyed this book. Victoria was portrayed as a much more interesting and complex than I had previously thought. This is a definitely a good read for those who enjoy reading about the person behind the crown. 3 stars.