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Victoria's Daughters
The story of five women who shared one of the most extraordinary and privileged sisterhoods of all time.
Vicky, Alice, Helena, and Beatrice were historically unique sisters, born to a sovereign who ruled over a quarter of the earth's people and who gave her name to an Queen Victoria. Two of these princesses would themselves produce children of immense consequence. All five would curiously come to share many of the social restrictions and familial machinations borne by nineteenth-century women of less-exulted class.
Victoria and Albert's precocious firstborn child, Vicky, wed a Prussian prince in a political match her high-minded father hoped would bring about a more liberal Anglo-German order. That vision met with disaster when Vicky's son Wilhelm-- to be known as Kaiser Wilhelm-- turned against both England and his mother, keeping her out of the public eye for the rest of her life. Gentle, quiet Alice had a happier marriage, one that produced Alexandra, later to become Tsarina of Russia, and yet another Victoria, whose union with a Battenberg prince was to found the present Mountbatten clan. However, she suffered from melancholia and died at age thirty-five of what appears to have been a deliberate, grief-fueled exposure to the diphtheria germs that had carried away her youngest daughter. Middle child Helena struggled against obesity and drug addition but was to have lasting effect as Albert's literary executor. By contrast, her glittering and at times scandalous sister Louise, the most beautiful of the five siblings, escaped the claustrophobic stodginess of the European royal courts by marrying a handsome Scottish commoner, who became governor general of Canada, and eventually settled into artistic salon life as a respected sculptor. And as the baby of the royal brood of nine, rebelling only briefly to forge a short-lived marriage, Beatrice lived under the thumb of her mother as a kind of personal secretary until the queen's death.
Principally researched at the houses and palaces of its five subjects in London, Scotland, Berlin, Darmstadt, and Ottawa-- and entertainingly written by an experienced biographer whose last book concerned Victoria's final days-- Victoria's Daughters closely examines a generation of royal women who were dominated by their mother, married off as much for political advantage as for love, and finally passed over entirely with the accession of their n0 brother Bertie to the throne. Packard provides valuable insights into their complex, oft-tragic lives as daughters of their time.
Vicky, Alice, Helena, and Beatrice were historically unique sisters, born to a sovereign who ruled over a quarter of the earth's people and who gave her name to an Queen Victoria. Two of these princesses would themselves produce children of immense consequence. All five would curiously come to share many of the social restrictions and familial machinations borne by nineteenth-century women of less-exulted class.
Victoria and Albert's precocious firstborn child, Vicky, wed a Prussian prince in a political match her high-minded father hoped would bring about a more liberal Anglo-German order. That vision met with disaster when Vicky's son Wilhelm-- to be known as Kaiser Wilhelm-- turned against both England and his mother, keeping her out of the public eye for the rest of her life. Gentle, quiet Alice had a happier marriage, one that produced Alexandra, later to become Tsarina of Russia, and yet another Victoria, whose union with a Battenberg prince was to found the present Mountbatten clan. However, she suffered from melancholia and died at age thirty-five of what appears to have been a deliberate, grief-fueled exposure to the diphtheria germs that had carried away her youngest daughter. Middle child Helena struggled against obesity and drug addition but was to have lasting effect as Albert's literary executor. By contrast, her glittering and at times scandalous sister Louise, the most beautiful of the five siblings, escaped the claustrophobic stodginess of the European royal courts by marrying a handsome Scottish commoner, who became governor general of Canada, and eventually settled into artistic salon life as a respected sculptor. And as the baby of the royal brood of nine, rebelling only briefly to forge a short-lived marriage, Beatrice lived under the thumb of her mother as a kind of personal secretary until the queen's death.
Principally researched at the houses and palaces of its five subjects in London, Scotland, Berlin, Darmstadt, and Ottawa-- and entertainingly written by an experienced biographer whose last book concerned Victoria's final days-- Victoria's Daughters closely examines a generation of royal women who were dominated by their mother, married off as much for political advantage as for love, and finally passed over entirely with the accession of their n0 brother Bertie to the throne. Packard provides valuable insights into their complex, oft-tragic lives as daughters of their time.
370 pages, Hardcover
First published October 15, 1998
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August 9, 2010
Queen Victoria's eldest daughter was born 17 years before the youngest. Her daughters had drastically different relationships with their parents: their mother alternated between codependency and harsh dislike for each of them. Their father lavished attention on some and gave almost none to others: Vicky was her father's star pupil, and recieved his training before she married into the Prussian royal family, while Beatrice was only four when her father died. Vicky was an intellectual, Alice had an appetite for nursing and good works, Lenchen loved sports and engineering, Louise was a gifted artist, Beatrice devoted to family. Vicky married into the Prussian royal family, Alice to a German Grand-Duke (the equivalent of being the king of a small kingdom), Lenchen and Beatrice to landless German royals, and Louise to a British duke (the first English princess to marry within her country in 350 years). And yet, despite their different personalities, upbringings, marriages, and countries in which they spent their adulthood, the feeling I got from all of them was the same. Regardless of their capabilities, regardless of how much money they had or how many palaces, their lives seem so straitened to the modern eye. Victoria's daughters were born into an age in which the monarchy was fast fading from political importance. They were too royal and too female to be allowed to do almost anything.
Which is not to say they did not try. Vicky pushed for a more liberal, united Germany all her life, to the detriment of her reputation in Prussia and her relationship with her eldest son, the future Kaiser Wilhelm II. (Reading this book made me want to punch Bismark in the face like a billion times.) Alice founded hospitals and tended to the sick with her own hands; her influence lent credence to the emerging nursing style. Lenchen became a drug addict. Louise was the first British royal to be publicly educated (she forced her mother to let her take art classes) and became a beloved society dame who did a good deal of charity work. Beatrice was the Queen of England's right hand for decades.
But reading this book, I was not so much impressed by their accomplishments as by their tragedies. Child after child dead of hemophilia, disease, or killed in wars. Loveless marriages. Used as political pawns and figure-heads, with all the appearance of power and none of it. Vicky and Alice apparently had no friends (certainly they were allowed none in childhood); the younger daughters managed to make only a few. No control over where they lived. Bound by endless, astoundingly strict protocol. Vicky watched her husband die an agonized death that took years, then suffered through death by breast cancer under doctors who refused to give her pain killers. Assasination attempts (even on their wedding days). And hideous, horrifying clothing. No one needs that many ruffles!
The story of Queen Victoria's family is a fascinating one, filled with odd tidbits. (Such as, Louise's father-in-law wanted to be buried with his first wife. His third wife was so annoyed with this that she threatened to cut her late husband's heart out so she could bury part of him with her, too.) And I did enjoy this book: it's pretty well organized, the style is readable but not gossipy, and the research is definitely there. The problem is, Packard's biases shine through immediately. He hates women of intelligence or power--as controlling as Victoria was, sure there was *something* positive about her? And surely Alfred didn't do *all* the ruling for her? Their eldest, Vicky, is continually described in the most horrid terms possible: her intelligence is described as "flamboyant" and "egocentric;" even as a child Packard has nothing but harsh words for her. He blames her for the cluster-fuck that was the Prussian royal family--even though she was a TEENAGER when she entered it, her parents-in-law were monstrous, and Prussia was under control of the manipulative chancellor, who worked for decades to turn the country and her family against Vicky. (This is not supposition--it's a matter of historical record that the most powerful man in Prussia did everything in his power to cause her pain.) The only women Packard has kind words for are the ones who selflessly devoted themselves to other people in the least political fashion possible. And even those women, he makes careful note of their weight and how they looked like sausages.
The history of Victoria's daughters is a fascinating one, but this is not the book to read it in. Look for something a bit less overwhelmingly sexist.
Which is not to say they did not try. Vicky pushed for a more liberal, united Germany all her life, to the detriment of her reputation in Prussia and her relationship with her eldest son, the future Kaiser Wilhelm II. (Reading this book made me want to punch Bismark in the face like a billion times.) Alice founded hospitals and tended to the sick with her own hands; her influence lent credence to the emerging nursing style. Lenchen became a drug addict. Louise was the first British royal to be publicly educated (she forced her mother to let her take art classes) and became a beloved society dame who did a good deal of charity work. Beatrice was the Queen of England's right hand for decades.
But reading this book, I was not so much impressed by their accomplishments as by their tragedies. Child after child dead of hemophilia, disease, or killed in wars. Loveless marriages. Used as political pawns and figure-heads, with all the appearance of power and none of it. Vicky and Alice apparently had no friends (certainly they were allowed none in childhood); the younger daughters managed to make only a few. No control over where they lived. Bound by endless, astoundingly strict protocol. Vicky watched her husband die an agonized death that took years, then suffered through death by breast cancer under doctors who refused to give her pain killers. Assasination attempts (even on their wedding days). And hideous, horrifying clothing. No one needs that many ruffles!
The story of Queen Victoria's family is a fascinating one, filled with odd tidbits. (Such as, Louise's father-in-law wanted to be buried with his first wife. His third wife was so annoyed with this that she threatened to cut her late husband's heart out so she could bury part of him with her, too.) And I did enjoy this book: it's pretty well organized, the style is readable but not gossipy, and the research is definitely there. The problem is, Packard's biases shine through immediately. He hates women of intelligence or power--as controlling as Victoria was, sure there was *something* positive about her? And surely Alfred didn't do *all* the ruling for her? Their eldest, Vicky, is continually described in the most horrid terms possible: her intelligence is described as "flamboyant" and "egocentric;" even as a child Packard has nothing but harsh words for her. He blames her for the cluster-fuck that was the Prussian royal family--even though she was a TEENAGER when she entered it, her parents-in-law were monstrous, and Prussia was under control of the manipulative chancellor, who worked for decades to turn the country and her family against Vicky. (This is not supposition--it's a matter of historical record that the most powerful man in Prussia did everything in his power to cause her pain.) The only women Packard has kind words for are the ones who selflessly devoted themselves to other people in the least political fashion possible. And even those women, he makes careful note of their weight and how they looked like sausages.
The history of Victoria's daughters is a fascinating one, but this is not the book to read it in. Look for something a bit less overwhelmingly sexist.
March 6, 2017
If the average of 4 stars for this book annoys me--it would have driven the previous owner of my copy completely mad. Opinionated garbage spackled with typos and errors. I appreciate marginalia so much and to the reader who went before me with this, special special kudos. I don't think I've ever seen a book marked up so much with angry amendments. But heck, on the flyleaf it says that Queen Mary died in 1923--when no, no she obviously didn't, and the many, many errors merrily roll on from there. So many dates are wrong (like 30%)--and sheesh, the person before me would cross out and write the correct date in the dark blue to the side, followed by exclamation points. In double-checking the penned in corrections each time the anonymous reader was correct, book wrong.
The many times the author gets names incorrect or especially family relationships is legion. I am aware that the Victorian family tree is very interconnected, and many authors keep messing it up (who doublechecks these things?!--I am a newcomer at best to this subject and the last 3 books can't keep nieces/nephews straight from daughters/sons), but this whole book is about a branch on that tree so I expect the author to keep the children and husbands correct at least and a magnificent fail. I don't know what the previous angry reader thought on this tonally--she or he seemed to control themselves to all the factual errors, which were as mentioned above everywhere. Based on the number of !!! and circlings, I would guess royally (haha) pissed off. The tone though is on the nasty side--the author contradicts himself all the time--was Victoria forever frozen in 1861 until death as crabbed widow or in chapters where in her 70s, she had 8 grandkids scampering all around, and living with much loud noise in the nursery right above her bedroom (all the things unthinkable 40 years earlier) as a mellow old granny.
Mr. Packard does not like Victoria and makes that bluntly clear throughout the book. For some reason, he seems almost personally affronted with her reaction of deep mourning in the wake of Alfred's death. He doesn't seem too fond of Vicky either--and dips his toe into some pretty sexist waters with his depictions of her. She was trapped in an impossible situation in Prussia's court, whatever she did would have caused some offense to someone with ramifications--as seen throughout her life. The only times he WOULD praise Victoria it was to bash Vicky. I mean if anything, the monster lurking below everything, the one person you could probably point a finger to and be like "Yep, you are the main cause of WW1" it would be Bismark.
All the sisters were trapped--Vicky, the most gifted, the most stuck. The fact that they were royal AND women made their aspirations a bit harder, but I guess it's good to remember that Vicky did make an impact on history (just the exact opposite of what she wanted), that Alice with her life and death did help make nursing a profession for women, and Louise's sculpture of Victoria is still front and center. As for the other sisters, who while were proficient as professionals in piano, engineering, and needlework, served as secretaries to their mother and translated books from German. (And needlessly censored and destroyed their mother's diaries and journals.)
The lesser sisters, Helena and Beatrice, I think deserve some consideration too--and I don't like the sneering summations of lives--when it seems to me that they did okay in the end. Rich, did their duties, loved their husbands, had kids, and had the money and fame to attract attention into topics they were interested in. One living long enough to play with the current Queen. And his depiction of Beatrice's looks verges on cruel. As a young woman pre-marriage: "Some people even assumed that the imperious cast on her often-sour face and lifting of her rapidly doubling chin when a man so much as looked at her meant that she must be frigid."
Do tell! What else do unnamed people have to say?
For having her weight mentioned so frequently in the book, the accompanying picture doesn't make her out to be anything other than normal, with perhaps a smaller waist than usual. Even photos of her as old lady show a relatively trim, moderately well fed woman. Maybe too much Hanover in her to be gorgeous, but nothing of the ugly obese simpleton that Packard makes her out to be. There's a lot of conjecture on what they were thinking (mostly spiteful things), and damned if they do, damned if they don't. Victoria was too cold and ignoring her children one chapter, too many letters the next. Vicky loves her children too little, then too much. Alice too brainy, but then brainy is what cemented her legacy. Louise too wild, but then too conventional. Not only were the hurdles impossible in their lifetime, but impossible in this book.
It's funny when authors though obviously hate their subjects--like why write a book on people you despise, unless it's like Hitler? Why bother spending time in archives, getting annoyed at their letters and journals and conveniently tucking back info to serve your narrative--all the speculations about Victoria's sanity and obsession with Alfred--I've read her letters and journals directly after his death and what struck me wasn't so much the lavish mourning (which was there and as stylized as Cicero) but the shift a few paragraphs later asking about politics in Portugal and what was happening in Paris or some George Eliot book she loved, accompanied by fanart. Interestingly enough, there is not a mention of John Brown in this book, whatsoever, and barely any mention of Victoria's other relatives (her mother/half-sister/uncle) which all played important roles in the family.
I guess the more you get to know a subject, the more you can spot and pinpoint those serving a special narrative--and not so much the truth at all--but something false built in their head. I still haven't entirely decided on my ultimate view of Queen Victoria. I think she was a lot smarter than is reported and even though the era of her reign bears her name she is grossly underrated. I also think the shift to the right she made later in life was due more towards personal considerations, perhaps than her attitude as a whole (which like her son was a lot more relaxed than her contemporaries) and I think she was conscious of her constitutional role and as "Mother of Europe." I think she's an interesting, multi-layered person beneath the caricature that again spanned flintlocks to dynamite/machine guns, besides the birth of art and technology. This book doesn't really help except for fact-checking practice.
The many times the author gets names incorrect or especially family relationships is legion. I am aware that the Victorian family tree is very interconnected, and many authors keep messing it up (who doublechecks these things?!--I am a newcomer at best to this subject and the last 3 books can't keep nieces/nephews straight from daughters/sons), but this whole book is about a branch on that tree so I expect the author to keep the children and husbands correct at least and a magnificent fail. I don't know what the previous angry reader thought on this tonally--she or he seemed to control themselves to all the factual errors, which were as mentioned above everywhere. Based on the number of !!! and circlings, I would guess royally (haha) pissed off. The tone though is on the nasty side--the author contradicts himself all the time--was Victoria forever frozen in 1861 until death as crabbed widow or in chapters where in her 70s, she had 8 grandkids scampering all around, and living with much loud noise in the nursery right above her bedroom (all the things unthinkable 40 years earlier) as a mellow old granny.
Mr. Packard does not like Victoria and makes that bluntly clear throughout the book. For some reason, he seems almost personally affronted with her reaction of deep mourning in the wake of Alfred's death. He doesn't seem too fond of Vicky either--and dips his toe into some pretty sexist waters with his depictions of her. She was trapped in an impossible situation in Prussia's court, whatever she did would have caused some offense to someone with ramifications--as seen throughout her life. The only times he WOULD praise Victoria it was to bash Vicky. I mean if anything, the monster lurking below everything, the one person you could probably point a finger to and be like "Yep, you are the main cause of WW1" it would be Bismark.
All the sisters were trapped--Vicky, the most gifted, the most stuck. The fact that they were royal AND women made their aspirations a bit harder, but I guess it's good to remember that Vicky did make an impact on history (just the exact opposite of what she wanted), that Alice with her life and death did help make nursing a profession for women, and Louise's sculpture of Victoria is still front and center. As for the other sisters, who while were proficient as professionals in piano, engineering, and needlework, served as secretaries to their mother and translated books from German. (And needlessly censored and destroyed their mother's diaries and journals.)
The lesser sisters, Helena and Beatrice, I think deserve some consideration too--and I don't like the sneering summations of lives--when it seems to me that they did okay in the end. Rich, did their duties, loved their husbands, had kids, and had the money and fame to attract attention into topics they were interested in. One living long enough to play with the current Queen. And his depiction of Beatrice's looks verges on cruel. As a young woman pre-marriage: "Some people even assumed that the imperious cast on her often-sour face and lifting of her rapidly doubling chin when a man so much as looked at her meant that she must be frigid."
Do tell! What else do unnamed people have to say?
For having her weight mentioned so frequently in the book, the accompanying picture doesn't make her out to be anything other than normal, with perhaps a smaller waist than usual. Even photos of her as old lady show a relatively trim, moderately well fed woman. Maybe too much Hanover in her to be gorgeous, but nothing of the ugly obese simpleton that Packard makes her out to be. There's a lot of conjecture on what they were thinking (mostly spiteful things), and damned if they do, damned if they don't. Victoria was too cold and ignoring her children one chapter, too many letters the next. Vicky loves her children too little, then too much. Alice too brainy, but then brainy is what cemented her legacy. Louise too wild, but then too conventional. Not only were the hurdles impossible in their lifetime, but impossible in this book.
It's funny when authors though obviously hate their subjects--like why write a book on people you despise, unless it's like Hitler? Why bother spending time in archives, getting annoyed at their letters and journals and conveniently tucking back info to serve your narrative--all the speculations about Victoria's sanity and obsession with Alfred--I've read her letters and journals directly after his death and what struck me wasn't so much the lavish mourning (which was there and as stylized as Cicero) but the shift a few paragraphs later asking about politics in Portugal and what was happening in Paris or some George Eliot book she loved, accompanied by fanart. Interestingly enough, there is not a mention of John Brown in this book, whatsoever, and barely any mention of Victoria's other relatives (her mother/half-sister/uncle) which all played important roles in the family.
I guess the more you get to know a subject, the more you can spot and pinpoint those serving a special narrative--and not so much the truth at all--but something false built in their head. I still haven't entirely decided on my ultimate view of Queen Victoria. I think she was a lot smarter than is reported and even though the era of her reign bears her name she is grossly underrated. I also think the shift to the right she made later in life was due more towards personal considerations, perhaps than her attitude as a whole (which like her son was a lot more relaxed than her contemporaries) and I think she was conscious of her constitutional role and as "Mother of Europe." I think she's an interesting, multi-layered person beneath the caricature that again spanned flintlocks to dynamite/machine guns, besides the birth of art and technology. This book doesn't really help except for fact-checking practice.
April 15, 2018
How to review yet another book on good old Queen Victoria and her unique/eccentric/dysfunctional family - more specifically her daughters?
This is a book first published in 1998 - 20 years old - and a reread for me, so i knew going into it that new perspectives and snippets of new information have shown up in the meantime, making perhaps this read a waste of time?
Oh who am i kidding? Reading about QV and family is my personal version of gossip magazines with some more polish to it...my posh guilty pleasure?..lol.
With the amount of stuff that is yearly published on the topic, it all comes down to one's personal preferences of how (hi)story should be told - more somber serious tone with 70000 notes and 56 pages of bibliography or a slightly more down to earth tone with a hint of sarcasm and a few juicy tidbits to engage a reader?
Packard has a good mix of both - not perfect - but a decent enough starting point to make you want to carry on reading and researching.
This isnt Christopher Hibbert - a personal favorite of mine - but for entertainment factor alone i give it 4 stars...just keep in mind dear reader to always get a different point of view on the topic and then make up your mind....other than that, enjoy!
Happy Readings!
This is a book first published in 1998 - 20 years old - and a reread for me, so i knew going into it that new perspectives and snippets of new information have shown up in the meantime, making perhaps this read a waste of time?
Oh who am i kidding? Reading about QV and family is my personal version of gossip magazines with some more polish to it...my posh guilty pleasure?..lol.
With the amount of stuff that is yearly published on the topic, it all comes down to one's personal preferences of how (hi)story should be told - more somber serious tone with 70000 notes and 56 pages of bibliography or a slightly more down to earth tone with a hint of sarcasm and a few juicy tidbits to engage a reader?
Packard has a good mix of both - not perfect - but a decent enough starting point to make you want to carry on reading and researching.
This isnt Christopher Hibbert - a personal favorite of mine - but for entertainment factor alone i give it 4 stars...just keep in mind dear reader to always get a different point of view on the topic and then make up your mind....other than that, enjoy!
Happy Readings!
February 15, 2010
A hugely informative and entertaining book about Queen Victoria and Prince Consort Albert's five daughters (four sons also lived to maturity), who among them gave birth to a future kaiser (Wilhelm II), tsarina (Alexandra, she of the untimely end on 1918), and queen (Victoria Eugenia of Spain), as well as numerous princes, princesses, and other royalty. Without being racy or "as torn from the pages of "People" magazine, I found this to be a real page-turner. More photographs of the family plus some maps would have been nice, the latter would have been of help in locating all the various principalities and countries where Victoria and Albert's family and descendants landed, but neither (minor) deficiencies detract from the power of this informative and interesting book. In addition to the foregoing high praise, this is the type of history book that makes the reader want to read and learn more about it - I plan to read further about this family and their descendants.
Stepping back, what's also revealed is how, well, dull Victoria and her family were in ways, BUT how even dull families can be interesting when, for one, there are so many of them touching history, and two, when you take into account that even dull families have brushes with marital discord, illness (the infamous hemophilia plus the devastating effects of diphtheria and cancer, none of these being particularly treatable at the time), family squabbles - especially when one's family includes, say, a not particularly pleasant Kaiser - and homosexuality, which of course was not accepted at all in high or royal society at the time. Because the book focuses on Victoria and Albert's daughters, who, like their mother, were mostly (4 out of 5 of them) amazingly fertile, there is a lot of grist for this book's focus on the family, which was BIG, their personalities, and relationships. Given the large size of the royal family, Victoria and Albert's children and grandchildren went on to populate pretty much all of the European royal families (no French or Italians, but it seems like just about every other country or principality showed up at the altars of marriage into this family), which made WWI that much more horrible for them, personally - not to mention the other millions dead - as cousins of all degrees ended up battling each other on the field.
Personally, I don't share the fascination with royalty, but for any reader with an interest in British or European 19th into 20th C. history, this is a terrific read for the personal and dynastic information alone.
Stepping back, what's also revealed is how, well, dull Victoria and her family were in ways, BUT how even dull families can be interesting when, for one, there are so many of them touching history, and two, when you take into account that even dull families have brushes with marital discord, illness (the infamous hemophilia plus the devastating effects of diphtheria and cancer, none of these being particularly treatable at the time), family squabbles - especially when one's family includes, say, a not particularly pleasant Kaiser - and homosexuality, which of course was not accepted at all in high or royal society at the time. Because the book focuses on Victoria and Albert's daughters, who, like their mother, were mostly (4 out of 5 of them) amazingly fertile, there is a lot of grist for this book's focus on the family, which was BIG, their personalities, and relationships. Given the large size of the royal family, Victoria and Albert's children and grandchildren went on to populate pretty much all of the European royal families (no French or Italians, but it seems like just about every other country or principality showed up at the altars of marriage into this family), which made WWI that much more horrible for them, personally - not to mention the other millions dead - as cousins of all degrees ended up battling each other on the field.
Personally, I don't share the fascination with royalty, but for any reader with an interest in British or European 19th into 20th C. history, this is a terrific read for the personal and dynastic information alone.
January 28, 2012
This could easily be a 4 1/2 -- it read like a novel -- so informative & educational while being totally entertaining.
May 11, 2021
3.75 stars
This is a nonfiction book about Queen Victoria and her daughters. Of course, there is info about her and her entire family, but the focus is on her five daughters: Vicky, Alice, Helena (known as Lenchen), Louise, and Beatrice. They all had very different personalities. Of course, Victoria wanted to keep one of her girls with her all her life – someone to be there and take care of her, particularly after she lost her husband, Albert, quite young.
3.5 stars for enjoyability – that is, it was good – but I gave it that little extra because of the sheer amount of information included. I do feel like this is a really good source to find information about Queen Victoria’s daughters. There were a few parts where I lost interest, mostly with German/Prussian politics, but I can see why it was included with Vicky married to a future Kaiser, so it absolutely affected her life.
Being Canadian myself, I was interested in Louise and Lorne’s years in Canada; also of interest were where a couple of the province and city names came from. I did find it started to get confusing when the focus started being on Victoria’s grandchildren. Partly because of the common, repeated names, but also just because there got to be so many! Luckily, the author did find ways to refresh my memory. I found it interesting at the end as the generations passed on to the next monarch(s) – something we usually don’t think about – those sisters became further and further away from the crown every time it passed on.
This is a nonfiction book about Queen Victoria and her daughters. Of course, there is info about her and her entire family, but the focus is on her five daughters: Vicky, Alice, Helena (known as Lenchen), Louise, and Beatrice. They all had very different personalities. Of course, Victoria wanted to keep one of her girls with her all her life – someone to be there and take care of her, particularly after she lost her husband, Albert, quite young.
3.5 stars for enjoyability – that is, it was good – but I gave it that little extra because of the sheer amount of information included. I do feel like this is a really good source to find information about Queen Victoria’s daughters. There were a few parts where I lost interest, mostly with German/Prussian politics, but I can see why it was included with Vicky married to a future Kaiser, so it absolutely affected her life.
Being Canadian myself, I was interested in Louise and Lorne’s years in Canada; also of interest were where a couple of the province and city names came from. I did find it started to get confusing when the focus started being on Victoria’s grandchildren. Partly because of the common, repeated names, but also just because there got to be so many! Luckily, the author did find ways to refresh my memory. I found it interesting at the end as the generations passed on to the next monarch(s) – something we usually don’t think about – those sisters became further and further away from the crown every time it passed on.
January 6, 2015
I've never found the Victorian monarchs quite so interesting as their Tudor ancestors and I wondered if this book would hold my attention. No worries; though the Victorian princesses often lead uneventful (sometimes stultifyingly boring) lives and they weren't particularly important as historical/dynastic figures, Packard was able to maintain my interest in them and I got a good sense of the personality of each one. It was not easy being a child of Queen Victoria, who comes off as a neurotic and imperious woman in this biography -- but then, it can't have been easy being Victoria either.
September 6, 2017
SIGH. As other reviewers have noted, this book has numerous inaccuracies. Dates or facts are outright wrong in spots.
For instance, at one point Packard claims that the future Kaiser Wilhelm II fell in love with Ella of Hesse after she was already engaged. This is...all kinds of confusing, as Ella didn't become engaged until 1883. Meanwhile, Willy himself got married in 1881. So that makes no sense. Packard also tried to write this off as a mere passing flirtation when, in fact, he proposed to Ella (and was soundly rejected) and would carry something of a torch for her for the rest of his life. (When the Russian Revolution(s) happened, Wilhelm II tried to convince Ella to leave Russia and offered her safe passage to Germany, I believe more than once. She turned him down.)
On top of that, Packard plays favorites pretty blatantly. And there's a lot of frankly weird and off-putting slams on people's appearances. You could make a drinking game out of how many times he refers to certain sisters--Beatrice and Vicky get the short end of this stick a lot--as "matronly" or even outright calls them ugly. Which...is incredibly superficial, inappropriate (IMHO) in a historical text like this one, and wastes space that could be spent on getting facts straight and talking about the sisters' actual accomplishments and complicated lives. Vicky in particular was an incredibly intelligent, complex woman whose relationships with her children and her Prussian in-laws had a significant impact on the political stage. And we're wasting page space talking about her looks? Really?
For instance, at one point Packard claims that the future Kaiser Wilhelm II fell in love with Ella of Hesse after she was already engaged. This is...all kinds of confusing, as Ella didn't become engaged until 1883. Meanwhile, Willy himself got married in 1881. So that makes no sense. Packard also tried to write this off as a mere passing flirtation when, in fact, he proposed to Ella (and was soundly rejected) and would carry something of a torch for her for the rest of his life. (When the Russian Revolution(s) happened, Wilhelm II tried to convince Ella to leave Russia and offered her safe passage to Germany, I believe more than once. She turned him down.)
On top of that, Packard plays favorites pretty blatantly. And there's a lot of frankly weird and off-putting slams on people's appearances. You could make a drinking game out of how many times he refers to certain sisters--Beatrice and Vicky get the short end of this stick a lot--as "matronly" or even outright calls them ugly. Which...is incredibly superficial, inappropriate (IMHO) in a historical text like this one, and wastes space that could be spent on getting facts straight and talking about the sisters' actual accomplishments and complicated lives. Vicky in particular was an incredibly intelligent, complex woman whose relationships with her children and her Prussian in-laws had a significant impact on the political stage. And we're wasting page space talking about her looks? Really?
July 5, 2022
4 stars - English Ebook
Five women who shared one of the most extraordinary and privileged sisterhoods of all time...
Vicky, Alice, Helena, Louise, and Beatrice were historically unique sisters, born to a sovereign who ruled over a quarter of the earth's people and who gave her name to an era: Queen Victoria. Two of these princesses would themselves produce children of immense consequence. All five would face the social restrictions and familial machinations borne by ninetheenth-century women of far less exalted class.
Researched at the houses and palaces of its five subjects, in London, Scotland, Berlin, Darmstadt, and Ottawa, Victoria's Daughters examines a generation of royal women who were dominated by their mother, married off as much for political advantage as for love, and passed over entirely when their brother Bertie ascended to the throne.
Packard, an experienced biographer whose last book chronicled Victoria's final days, provides valuable insights into their complex, oft-tragic lives as scions of Europe's most influential dynasty, and daughters of their own very troubled times.
Am a big history buff, especially about the English Royals and enjoyed this so much.
This is a great book filled with information about all of her children, but especially the girls and how their lives went before and after their marriages.
A few lived into the 20th century and what they did with their lives after their husbands died. Awesome read for anyone who loves to read Biographies and about Queen Victoria and that era.
Five women who shared one of the most extraordinary and privileged sisterhoods of all time...
Vicky, Alice, Helena, Louise, and Beatrice were historically unique sisters, born to a sovereign who ruled over a quarter of the earth's people and who gave her name to an era: Queen Victoria. Two of these princesses would themselves produce children of immense consequence. All five would face the social restrictions and familial machinations borne by ninetheenth-century women of far less exalted class.
Researched at the houses and palaces of its five subjects, in London, Scotland, Berlin, Darmstadt, and Ottawa, Victoria's Daughters examines a generation of royal women who were dominated by their mother, married off as much for political advantage as for love, and passed over entirely when their brother Bertie ascended to the throne.
Packard, an experienced biographer whose last book chronicled Victoria's final days, provides valuable insights into their complex, oft-tragic lives as scions of Europe's most influential dynasty, and daughters of their own very troubled times.
Am a big history buff, especially about the English Royals and enjoyed this so much.
This is a great book filled with information about all of her children, but especially the girls and how their lives went before and after their marriages.
A few lived into the 20th century and what they did with their lives after their husbands died. Awesome read for anyone who loves to read Biographies and about Queen Victoria and that era.
September 2, 2012
This is a very poorly written book. The author jumps from one topic to the next, without any description as to how they link together. He is also consistently vague on details. It might have been better if there were a section on each daughter, without trying to blend them all together.
Packard is also incredibly subjective in his writing. There were moments where I was in shock at the vehemence of his dislike for certain personages; the negative bias he feels towards most of the cast of characters blares through every page.
I would not recommend this book for anyone interested in the subject. Readers new to Victoria's character and rule will leave with only a vague and biased understanding of the history, and those familiar will only end up disgusted with the writer's unmitigated subjectivity toward a topic he doesn't seem to really care about in the first place.
Packard is also incredibly subjective in his writing. There were moments where I was in shock at the vehemence of his dislike for certain personages; the negative bias he feels towards most of the cast of characters blares through every page.
I would not recommend this book for anyone interested in the subject. Readers new to Victoria's character and rule will leave with only a vague and biased understanding of the history, and those familiar will only end up disgusted with the writer's unmitigated subjectivity toward a topic he doesn't seem to really care about in the first place.
August 4, 2020
I have enjoyed it as much as possible because I knew enough about history to not feel confused but not so much to feel bored. So, to me, it was an interesting journey through time. I know now more not only about Victoria's family but also about e.g. German history (I just have to catch up with this topic).
I didn't like 'doom and gloom' that hanged over through the whole book. It was rather depressing (and probably not fully true). Those people had to have some happy moments too.
As a side effect of this book, I don't like Victoria now.
PS I have read just now a few reviews and I am a bit angry that there were errors. I can forgive Packard his partiality (it shouldn't be there, but, well, I can forgive it). But historical errors - no. So, I would have given it 4 stars, but now I have changed my rating.
I didn't like 'doom and gloom' that hanged over through the whole book. It was rather depressing (and probably not fully true). Those people had to have some happy moments too.
As a side effect of this book, I don't like Victoria now.
PS I have read just now a few reviews and I am a bit angry that there were errors. I can forgive Packard his partiality (it shouldn't be there, but, well, I can forgive it). But historical errors - no. So, I would have given it 4 stars, but now I have changed my rating.
August 3, 2014
An enjoyable read about Queen Victoria`s daughters. There was a lot of interesting references and correspondence but the author did take some liberties with his conjecture. I found the book very difficult to follow as the time frames and characters jumped back and forth. Further, it was confusing to keep track of the characters as the author used nicknames, titles or given names interchangeably. That's a lot of characters, titles, given names, geography and time frames to keep track of. Lastly, I thought the superior vocabulary of the author was used excessively. It was frustrating to have to look up words and I consider myself to have a wide vocabulary. Unnecessary.
Overall I would recommend reading this if you are interested in learning more about Victoria`s daughters. Just know it will be a long difficult read.
Overall I would recommend reading this if you are interested in learning more about Victoria`s daughters. Just know it will be a long difficult read.
February 24, 2018
I enjoyed this book. I have read a few books about Queen Victoria but they have mostly focused on her childhood, early years and relationship with Albert. I found this a quick read, it was entertaining. Often times it read as a novel, but with so, SO, SO many in this cast of characters even with a list of Principal Characters it can be difficult to keep track of who's who. The author does certainly have strong opinions, that were detracting & I certainly did not agree with, but they did not keep me from reading on. Reading Non-Fiction is different from reading fiction for pleasure. You should see all my red pencil notes in the margins.
My interests are piqued now in reading more about Queen Victoria's children and offspring. Fascinating family. I feel like I have so much more to learn after reading this book, for me that is a good book.
My interests are piqued now in reading more about Queen Victoria's children and offspring. Fascinating family. I feel like I have so much more to learn after reading this book, for me that is a good book.
October 26, 2010
Not riveting material, and I don't understand where the comments regarding the relative attractiveness of each daughter was coming from. Who decided that Lenchen is plain, for instance? Why is it necessary to comment repeatedly on how "matronly" Beatrice was? It made me wonder as I was reading it -- was this written by a man? Yes? well, there goes his credibility. If the opinion was based off of popular accounts, that's one thing, but it seemed more personal and intrusive than that.
He did do a good job of keeping the vast numbers of family members straight, and of maintaining a timeline over a lot of different courts and countries.
He did do a good job of keeping the vast numbers of family members straight, and of maintaining a timeline over a lot of different courts and countries.
June 16, 2009
So far this is for sure the most foreboding biography I've ever read. Every incident is a harbinger of later doom and gloom. Every character trait is deterministic of future disastrous consequences. I mean, good lord, I get it, royal lives weren't a walk in the park and half of these people basically caused WWI with poor mothering but seriously there must've been some happy moments, right?
ETA: Nope. No happy moments. Seriously the most psychologically causal history book I've ever read. I'm not sure what I expected, maybe more context?
ETA: Nope. No happy moments. Seriously the most psychologically causal history book I've ever read. I'm not sure what I expected, maybe more context?
September 29, 2009
Interesting if you like history, but not so well-written. Author seems to make lots of unsupported assertions, and there's a lot of "so and so, second cousin of Baroness etc., who was also the son of prince blah". Hard to follow how everyone is related, but that may be more the fault of the royal families of Europe than of the author!
June 3, 2014
After thoroughly enjoying We Two, the joint biography of Victoria and her husband Albert by Gillian Gill, I was very curious to learn more about the couple's large family. Although Victoria and Albert had nine children in total, Packard's book focuses on the lives of Queen Victoria's five daughters: Vicky, Alice, Helena (known as Lenchen), Louise, and Beatrice. Although none of her children are as well known today as Queen Victoria herself, they did give her forty grandchildren, whose descendants are scattered throughout almost all the royal families in Europe.
Although Victoria was to become a doting and relaxed grandmother, she was a formal and strict mother. Unfortunately for subsequent children, Victoria and Albert seem to have been dazzled by their firstborn, daughter Vicky, who turned out to be much brighter than the rest of her siblings. Bertie, the heir to Victoria's throne, suffered most greatly from comparison to his sister's intelligence and under the harsh childhood imposed upon him by his parents. This often cruel parenting style was inherited by several of Victoria's children, especially Vicky. I was particularly bothered by the cruel way many of the women spoke about their children in letters to one another. For example, in 1872 Vicky wrote her mother Victoria complaining about her son Henry saying, "Henry is awfully backward in everything, and does not grow - is hopelessly lazy - dull and idle about his lessons - but such a good-natured boy - everybody likes him though he is dreadfully provoking to teach from being so desperately slow" (174).
I was also particularly struck by the agonizing ordeal it was for appropriate marriages to be made for each of Victoria's daughters. It was a complicated decision based on royal rank, wealth, political relationships, religion, and Victoria's own personal desire to keep her daughters as close to her as possible. Vicky made the most brilliant marriage, to Frederick III, the German Emperor. Alice was married to Louis IV, the Grand Duke of Hesse-Darmstadt, Helena to the Prince of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg, Louise to the 9th Duke of Argyll, and Beatrice to the Prince of Battenberg. The royal relationships across Europe were frankly difficult for me to follow, complicated by intricate family trees with overlaps where cousins constantly married others.
Most shocking of the marriages was that of Louise, who was the first English Princess to marry a British subject in more than 350 years. "The last time it has happened was in 1515, when Henry VII's youngest daughter married the duke of Suffolk" (132). I was also surprised that Victoria relaxed her strict edict that Beatrice was not to marry, since she expected her younger daughter to remain a spinster in order to remain at home to serve her mother the queen. Victoria graciously relented, although her new son-in-law had to promise to live in Victoria's palace so Beatrice would always be available for the queen, effectively removing any possibility of him having a role to play or work to accomplish throughout his married life. Of course, Victoria only graciously relented after a stand off with Beatrice. "Beatrice still came to the queen's table to eat, but perfect silent was maintained as neither spoke to the other, instead shoving their notes across the table if there was something the other needed to know. This went on for six months" (228) - until Victoria decided maybe Beatrice should be allowed to marry after all.
On the whole, the princesses had cloistered and rigid childhoods and the pinnacle of their lives were their marriages. Of course, some did break out of the mold, Alice to dedicated service work and Louise through pursuing her interest in art. But by far their greatest contribution to history was continuing the royal line of Victoria and scattering her descendants throughout Europe. For instance, Alice's daughter Alix would marry Nicholas II, Tsar of Russia, meaning that the well-known Russian Anastasia was Victoria's great-granddaughter. Additionally, this bloodline meant countless male victims of hemophilia throughout Europe's royal families, passed on by Victoria's daughters, many of whom were carriers of the often fatal blood disorder.
I still would like to know more about Victoria's sons, who were only glossed over in this book. Additionally, at times I found this book a bit difficult to follow, although the large family tree was at the root of this issue. Packard did an excellent job of packing a lot of detail into a relatively small book and providing a thorough overview of Victoria's relationship with her five daughters
Although Victoria was to become a doting and relaxed grandmother, she was a formal and strict mother. Unfortunately for subsequent children, Victoria and Albert seem to have been dazzled by their firstborn, daughter Vicky, who turned out to be much brighter than the rest of her siblings. Bertie, the heir to Victoria's throne, suffered most greatly from comparison to his sister's intelligence and under the harsh childhood imposed upon him by his parents. This often cruel parenting style was inherited by several of Victoria's children, especially Vicky. I was particularly bothered by the cruel way many of the women spoke about their children in letters to one another. For example, in 1872 Vicky wrote her mother Victoria complaining about her son Henry saying, "Henry is awfully backward in everything, and does not grow - is hopelessly lazy - dull and idle about his lessons - but such a good-natured boy - everybody likes him though he is dreadfully provoking to teach from being so desperately slow" (174).
I was also particularly struck by the agonizing ordeal it was for appropriate marriages to be made for each of Victoria's daughters. It was a complicated decision based on royal rank, wealth, political relationships, religion, and Victoria's own personal desire to keep her daughters as close to her as possible. Vicky made the most brilliant marriage, to Frederick III, the German Emperor. Alice was married to Louis IV, the Grand Duke of Hesse-Darmstadt, Helena to the Prince of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg, Louise to the 9th Duke of Argyll, and Beatrice to the Prince of Battenberg. The royal relationships across Europe were frankly difficult for me to follow, complicated by intricate family trees with overlaps where cousins constantly married others.
Most shocking of the marriages was that of Louise, who was the first English Princess to marry a British subject in more than 350 years. "The last time it has happened was in 1515, when Henry VII's youngest daughter married the duke of Suffolk" (132). I was also surprised that Victoria relaxed her strict edict that Beatrice was not to marry, since she expected her younger daughter to remain a spinster in order to remain at home to serve her mother the queen. Victoria graciously relented, although her new son-in-law had to promise to live in Victoria's palace so Beatrice would always be available for the queen, effectively removing any possibility of him having a role to play or work to accomplish throughout his married life. Of course, Victoria only graciously relented after a stand off with Beatrice. "Beatrice still came to the queen's table to eat, but perfect silent was maintained as neither spoke to the other, instead shoving their notes across the table if there was something the other needed to know. This went on for six months" (228) - until Victoria decided maybe Beatrice should be allowed to marry after all.
On the whole, the princesses had cloistered and rigid childhoods and the pinnacle of their lives were their marriages. Of course, some did break out of the mold, Alice to dedicated service work and Louise through pursuing her interest in art. But by far their greatest contribution to history was continuing the royal line of Victoria and scattering her descendants throughout Europe. For instance, Alice's daughter Alix would marry Nicholas II, Tsar of Russia, meaning that the well-known Russian Anastasia was Victoria's great-granddaughter. Additionally, this bloodline meant countless male victims of hemophilia throughout Europe's royal families, passed on by Victoria's daughters, many of whom were carriers of the often fatal blood disorder.
I still would like to know more about Victoria's sons, who were only glossed over in this book. Additionally, at times I found this book a bit difficult to follow, although the large family tree was at the root of this issue. Packard did an excellent job of packing a lot of detail into a relatively small book and providing a thorough overview of Victoria's relationship with her five daughters
March 31, 2014
I discovered Jerrold Packard’s book, Queen Victoria’s Daughters, at a library book sale and couldn’t pass it up. Five of Victoria and Albert’s children were girls, and she doted on several of them, particularly her eldest and possibly brightest child, Vicky. By contrast, she never warmed to her oldest son, Bertie, even though he was destined to be King Edward VII. Cozy domestic life is associated with the Victorian era, but the Queen wasn’t a terribly involved or nurturing mother. Later, when her girls were married, she provided bad political advice—to Vicky especially, whom she persuaded to maintain her Englishness after marriage to her Prussian husband, Fritz. This alienated his parents (the emperor and empress), the stifling Prussian court, and, worst, estranged her from her three oldest children, including the future Kaiser Wilhelm II, England’s great enemy in World War I.
Victoria searched for appropriate royal husbands for the girls among the minor and now bygone German royal houses. Compassionate Alice, second oldest, married Louis, Grand Duke of Hesse-Darmstadt, plain Helena married Christian, Prince of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg, and the youngest, Beatrice, married Henry, Prince of Battenberg. All the girls made royal marriages except Louise, the artistic fourth daughter and reportedly the most beautiful, who married John, future 9th Duke of Argyll. Although John’s father headed the Highland clan of Campbells, one of Britain’s oldest and most prominent families, the lack of royal blood created controversy across Europe.
Ironically, the issue of royal blood was no minor matter. Queen Victoria was a carrier of the hemophilia gene. Statistically, half her sons were likely to be afflicted, and any minor injury could bring on a fatal hemorrhage. Son Leopold inherited this damaged gene and died at age 30 after a fall. Of Victoria’s daughters, all but Helen proved to be carriers, while childless Louise’s status was unknown. The disease affected a number of Victoria’s 40 grandchildren in several royal families.
In addition to Vicky’s marriage to one German emperor and motherhood of another, her daughter Sophie married Constantine, king of Greece; Alice’s daughter Alexandra married Nicholas II, Tsar of Russia, both of them murdered by Bolsheviks in 1918, along with their four daughters and son (a hemophiliac); Beatrice’s daughter Victoria Eugenie became queen of Spain.
English royalty’s multigenerational affiliations with German families—the Hanovers, Victoria’s marriage to Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, and her children’s marriages—created political problems after the Great War. The wartime king, George V, renamed the Saxe-Coburg-Gotha family after the longtime home of the British monarchy, Windsor. Members of the Battenberg family, into which Princess Beatrice married, Anglicized its name to Mountbatten.
Victoria’s reign seems both long ago, in terms of the massive intervening cultural changes, and quite recent historically. Her last daughter, Beatrice, died in 1944, and her last grandchild, the unhappy queen of Spain, in 1969. Meanwhile, Victoria will be the great-great-great-great-great grandmother of William and Kate’s baby (baby-William-Charles-Elizabeth-George VI-George V-Edward VII-Victoria).
I recommend this highly readable and fascinating book for anyone interested in British history, women’s history, or the intricacies and political shenanigans of 19th c. royal households.
Victoria searched for appropriate royal husbands for the girls among the minor and now bygone German royal houses. Compassionate Alice, second oldest, married Louis, Grand Duke of Hesse-Darmstadt, plain Helena married Christian, Prince of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg, and the youngest, Beatrice, married Henry, Prince of Battenberg. All the girls made royal marriages except Louise, the artistic fourth daughter and reportedly the most beautiful, who married John, future 9th Duke of Argyll. Although John’s father headed the Highland clan of Campbells, one of Britain’s oldest and most prominent families, the lack of royal blood created controversy across Europe.
Ironically, the issue of royal blood was no minor matter. Queen Victoria was a carrier of the hemophilia gene. Statistically, half her sons were likely to be afflicted, and any minor injury could bring on a fatal hemorrhage. Son Leopold inherited this damaged gene and died at age 30 after a fall. Of Victoria’s daughters, all but Helen proved to be carriers, while childless Louise’s status was unknown. The disease affected a number of Victoria’s 40 grandchildren in several royal families.
In addition to Vicky’s marriage to one German emperor and motherhood of another, her daughter Sophie married Constantine, king of Greece; Alice’s daughter Alexandra married Nicholas II, Tsar of Russia, both of them murdered by Bolsheviks in 1918, along with their four daughters and son (a hemophiliac); Beatrice’s daughter Victoria Eugenie became queen of Spain.
English royalty’s multigenerational affiliations with German families—the Hanovers, Victoria’s marriage to Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, and her children’s marriages—created political problems after the Great War. The wartime king, George V, renamed the Saxe-Coburg-Gotha family after the longtime home of the British monarchy, Windsor. Members of the Battenberg family, into which Princess Beatrice married, Anglicized its name to Mountbatten.
Victoria’s reign seems both long ago, in terms of the massive intervening cultural changes, and quite recent historically. Her last daughter, Beatrice, died in 1944, and her last grandchild, the unhappy queen of Spain, in 1969. Meanwhile, Victoria will be the great-great-great-great-great grandmother of William and Kate’s baby (baby-William-Charles-Elizabeth-George VI-George V-Edward VII-Victoria).
I recommend this highly readable and fascinating book for anyone interested in British history, women’s history, or the intricacies and political shenanigans of 19th c. royal households.
October 23, 2016
There were five of them: Vicky, Alice, Helena, Louise, and Beatrix, as well as four sons. For all her reputation as a prude, Queen Victoria was a person who enjoyed the pleasures of the marriage bed. Not so much the resulting children. All her love was reserved for Alfred with very little left over for the children.
Packer's book is fascinating in spite of his bias against independent, intelligent women. He blames Vicky for the problems in Prussia, in spite of her efforts to head off the worst of Bismarck's efforts to form the country and turn her son, the eventual Kaiser Wilhelm, against her.
All five of them attempted each in her own way to break away from Victoria's overwhelming personality. Louise, a gifted sculptor, was the most successful. She was allowed to attend a public art school and married, not a German prince, but a Scottish noble. Still, even she felt her mother's approval or disapproval shaping her life.
Life as a princess wasn't easy. They were under constant scrutiny, and expected to put their mother ahead of their own family when their mother needed them. Beatriz acted as her private secretary most of her life, until her mother's death released her.
This book isn't an easy read unless you stop trying to follow the author as he bounces around from daughter to another. Then there's the question of names. In addition to her birth name, each princess has at least one family nickname, and after her marriage, another title. It's virtually impossible to track them, and when it came to granddaughters, I gave up. It seemed every one of them carried Victoria as one of her names. Not for nothing was Victoria called the grandmother of Europe. She had 42 grandchildren, 20 grandsons and 22 granddaughters.
In spite of its shortcomings, I enjoyed this book, even if it didn't have enough pictures. A very scanty picture of each daughter, most of whom unfortunately took after their mother, and one or two of the granddaughters and/or their husbands, left me bouncing back and forth between the book and the Internet.cccccc
Actually the girls and their husbands weren't worth looking at, but the book itself was very entertaining.
Packer's book is fascinating in spite of his bias against independent, intelligent women. He blames Vicky for the problems in Prussia, in spite of her efforts to head off the worst of Bismarck's efforts to form the country and turn her son, the eventual Kaiser Wilhelm, against her.
All five of them attempted each in her own way to break away from Victoria's overwhelming personality. Louise, a gifted sculptor, was the most successful. She was allowed to attend a public art school and married, not a German prince, but a Scottish noble. Still, even she felt her mother's approval or disapproval shaping her life.
Life as a princess wasn't easy. They were under constant scrutiny, and expected to put their mother ahead of their own family when their mother needed them. Beatriz acted as her private secretary most of her life, until her mother's death released her.
This book isn't an easy read unless you stop trying to follow the author as he bounces around from daughter to another. Then there's the question of names. In addition to her birth name, each princess has at least one family nickname, and after her marriage, another title. It's virtually impossible to track them, and when it came to granddaughters, I gave up. It seemed every one of them carried Victoria as one of her names. Not for nothing was Victoria called the grandmother of Europe. She had 42 grandchildren, 20 grandsons and 22 granddaughters.
In spite of its shortcomings, I enjoyed this book, even if it didn't have enough pictures. A very scanty picture of each daughter, most of whom unfortunately took after their mother, and one or two of the granddaughters and/or their husbands, left me bouncing back and forth between the book and the Internet.cccccc
Actually the girls and their husbands weren't worth looking at, but the book itself was very entertaining.
March 2, 2015
“Victoria’s Daughters” sheds light on one of the most prodigious dynasties in memory, and it focuses on a side of the story you don’t often hear about—that of the Queen’s five daughters. Interesting subject matter; for while these women did not rule in their own right, they did assert a great influence on history. By marrying into royal houses across Europe, spawning children who would go on to rule, or otherwise occupying places of confidence, these women had significant, if not obvious, sway over the course of European affairs.
In addition to their political role, I also found the personal, more intimate side of their lives fascinating. Bittersweet I might say, although, perhaps more bitter than sweet. There is a lot of sadness in this book, and I found myself shocked at how cruel these family members could be to one another, and their cruelty’s cyclical nature.
Victoria, as matriarch, was a demanding mother, capable of great, almost smothering affection or severe antipathy and disapproval. Her overbearing personality certainly shaped her daughters’ lives and in the book we can see how birth order also determined much of what was to come. The same goes for Victoria’s sons, whom Packard also keeps tabs on in the book.
The occasional intrusion of the author’s perspective did not bother me at all. In fact, I felt like Packard’s style ensured I walked away with an intimate portrait of this family; that I felt their pains and joys, understood their motivations (even if I didn’t agree with them) and appreciated their fundamental dedication to and dependence on one another.
This book accomplishes the best of both worlds: it teaches you—and might I say leaves you with a voracious appetite for even more information about these people and the era they occupied—and it makes you feel. High points to a book that can do that.
In addition to their political role, I also found the personal, more intimate side of their lives fascinating. Bittersweet I might say, although, perhaps more bitter than sweet. There is a lot of sadness in this book, and I found myself shocked at how cruel these family members could be to one another, and their cruelty’s cyclical nature.
Victoria, as matriarch, was a demanding mother, capable of great, almost smothering affection or severe antipathy and disapproval. Her overbearing personality certainly shaped her daughters’ lives and in the book we can see how birth order also determined much of what was to come. The same goes for Victoria’s sons, whom Packard also keeps tabs on in the book.
The occasional intrusion of the author’s perspective did not bother me at all. In fact, I felt like Packard’s style ensured I walked away with an intimate portrait of this family; that I felt their pains and joys, understood their motivations (even if I didn’t agree with them) and appreciated their fundamental dedication to and dependence on one another.
This book accomplishes the best of both worlds: it teaches you—and might I say leaves you with a voracious appetite for even more information about these people and the era they occupied—and it makes you feel. High points to a book that can do that.
April 20, 2018
Another serendipitous find at the SPCA thrift store.
Probably just me, but I found it difficult to remember who was who in the sweep-of-history sections of this book. All those people with the same names, and then there were all those nicknames, too.
However, I cheerfully wallowed in the startling-behaviors-of-the-ruling-class sections, emitting startled shrieks of laughter each time I encountered a fresh example of entitlement and social power.
Reading this in October inspired me to think that if more little girls were told about the true treatment of princesses, sales of Disney princess costumes would go way way down. Example: this fraught treatment began at birth, when it was considered perfectly polite to send a message to the royal parents to say "congratulations on the birth of the princess, and what a pity she wasn't a boy instead." (!)
And that was just a beginning to the twisting paths these young women's lives would take.
An afterthought: have you ever read a book that you used as inspiration for your very own Halloween costume? Actually, I have. (And it wasn't a princess.)
* * * * * * * * * *
Postscript: okay, it's almost 4 years later, and no one has insisted that I reveal the nature of my literature-inspired Halloween costume-- so I'll tell you anyway. "Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norell" was my favorite novel for many a year, so when Halloween rolled around I dressed as A Lady Captured by the Gentleman with Thistledown Hair. (This called for a bizarrely fashioned black formal gown, opera gloves, a stylish black chapeau that I trimmed with funereal black feathers and black circles around my eyes. *I* liked it.)
Probably just me, but I found it difficult to remember who was who in the sweep-of-history sections of this book. All those people with the same names, and then there were all those nicknames, too.
However, I cheerfully wallowed in the startling-behaviors-of-the-ruling-class sections, emitting startled shrieks of laughter each time I encountered a fresh example of entitlement and social power.
Reading this in October inspired me to think that if more little girls were told about the true treatment of princesses, sales of Disney princess costumes would go way way down. Example: this fraught treatment began at birth, when it was considered perfectly polite to send a message to the royal parents to say "congratulations on the birth of the princess, and what a pity she wasn't a boy instead." (!)
And that was just a beginning to the twisting paths these young women's lives would take.
An afterthought: have you ever read a book that you used as inspiration for your very own Halloween costume? Actually, I have. (And it wasn't a princess.)
* * * * * * * * * *
Postscript: okay, it's almost 4 years later, and no one has insisted that I reveal the nature of my literature-inspired Halloween costume-- so I'll tell you anyway. "Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norell" was my favorite novel for many a year, so when Halloween rolled around I dressed as A Lady Captured by the Gentleman with Thistledown Hair. (This called for a bizarrely fashioned black formal gown, opera gloves, a stylish black chapeau that I trimmed with funereal black feathers and black circles around my eyes. *I* liked it.)
October 11, 2017
I enjoyed this read, especially since I knew little about these women. Discovering their distinct personalities, their challenges, their lifestyles, and their families is fascinating and I give Packard huge kudos for telling their stories in succinct, engaging ways.
There are two reasons I only give it three stars: (1) While Packard did a great job making each of the 5 daughters distinct, I had a really difficult time telling the other various characters apart, especially when it gets into the era of Victoria's grandchildren and great-grandchildren. There were perhaps too many characters once these five women are adults with families and too many similar names.
(2) I didn't really understand WHY it's enlightening or useful or necessary to separate out Victoria's daughters from her sons. Other than the fact that none of them were destined to succeed their mother -- and all were expected to expand the royal family's influence. What do we gain from looking at the daughters separate from the sons? Or is this just convenient for a book?
Having said that, it was full of fascinating stories and useful information. I would recommend it to someone with an interest in Victoria, the British monarchy, or Europe in the second half of the 19th century.
I am curious to know if Princess Elizabeth (future Queen Elizabeth II) went to the funeral of Princess Beatrice, who died in 1944. It startled me to think of Queen Elizabeth II attending the funeral of one of Queen Victoria's children.
There are two reasons I only give it three stars: (1) While Packard did a great job making each of the 5 daughters distinct, I had a really difficult time telling the other various characters apart, especially when it gets into the era of Victoria's grandchildren and great-grandchildren. There were perhaps too many characters once these five women are adults with families and too many similar names.
(2) I didn't really understand WHY it's enlightening or useful or necessary to separate out Victoria's daughters from her sons. Other than the fact that none of them were destined to succeed their mother -- and all were expected to expand the royal family's influence. What do we gain from looking at the daughters separate from the sons? Or is this just convenient for a book?
Having said that, it was full of fascinating stories and useful information. I would recommend it to someone with an interest in Victoria, the British monarchy, or Europe in the second half of the 19th century.
I am curious to know if Princess Elizabeth (future Queen Elizabeth II) went to the funeral of Princess Beatrice, who died in 1944. It startled me to think of Queen Elizabeth II attending the funeral of one of Queen Victoria's children.
February 26, 2013
You mustn’t think that I did not like this book because it took me over half a year to read it! It took that long because it was on my Ipod so I would only read a few paragraphs at a time. Nevertheless, I loved it; every time I picked it up I was interested. It’s the PERFECT biography book for me, or in this case the biography of 5 people. FULL of interesting information and never once did I start fading out because it was too dreary or just a bunch of dry names and dates… of course, I am willing to admit that my sporadic reading might have something to do with that.
It put me in the mood to revisit places like Rideau Hall in Ottawa and Inveraray Castle in Scotland and the Neues Palais in Potsdam Germany now that I know more about them; a perfect example of why I added this book to my ‘for the traveler’ shelf.
I learned a lot of new things, which for a Royalphile like me is a treat! Sometimes when I read a book like this I wonder why I bothered because it’s just a rehash of the same old same old. Not this time!! I also enjoyed the vocabulary; the dictionary feature on my Ipod came in very handy! How many of these words are in your everyday lingo? Perspicacious, paean, turgid, sybaritic, “ability to winnow chaff from the grain”, inimical, lubricious, gainsay, punctilio, torpor, sinecure, calumny, eponymous, mummery, saturine….
It put me in the mood to revisit places like Rideau Hall in Ottawa and Inveraray Castle in Scotland and the Neues Palais in Potsdam Germany now that I know more about them; a perfect example of why I added this book to my ‘for the traveler’ shelf.
I learned a lot of new things, which for a Royalphile like me is a treat! Sometimes when I read a book like this I wonder why I bothered because it’s just a rehash of the same old same old. Not this time!! I also enjoyed the vocabulary; the dictionary feature on my Ipod came in very handy! How many of these words are in your everyday lingo? Perspicacious, paean, turgid, sybaritic, “ability to winnow chaff from the grain”, inimical, lubricious, gainsay, punctilio, torpor, sinecure, calumny, eponymous, mummery, saturine….
June 8, 2009
This book was really great. I love the Victorian Age, especially learning about Victoria's family. This book obviously leads you through the lives of Victoria's five daughters, which was exciting for me, because except for Wikipedia, I really didn't know much about them. From each of their births, to their marriages, childrens' births and marriages, and their deaths, this book covers it all. Now I kind of wish that I can find a similar book about Victoria's sons, excluding Bertie, of which a lot is already written.
The only flaw this book has is not enough pictures. Each princess only had a couple pictures each, plus a random pic of one's husband and of one's daughter. As I read, I found myself constantly rushing to Wikipedia so I could put a face to the names of husbands and children. I was doing it so much that I just left the article on Queen Victoria open in its own tab and searched from there. I don't know, maybe it cost too much to add a lot of photo pages, but I would have liked a better look at everyone.
Despite that, I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in Victoria's family, or in the royalty of Europe at a time when they started to lose their power before the Great War.
The only flaw this book has is not enough pictures. Each princess only had a couple pictures each, plus a random pic of one's husband and of one's daughter. As I read, I found myself constantly rushing to Wikipedia so I could put a face to the names of husbands and children. I was doing it so much that I just left the article on Queen Victoria open in its own tab and searched from there. I don't know, maybe it cost too much to add a lot of photo pages, but I would have liked a better look at everyone.
Despite that, I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in Victoria's family, or in the royalty of Europe at a time when they started to lose their power before the Great War.
June 16, 2017
Totally absorbing and filled with fascinating information on the five daughters and less, of course, on the sons. Couldn't help but see some parallels to the way the Mitford sisters were raised: both families discouraged from having outside friends and were educated at home. Queen Victoria comes off as all-controlling and humorless. No talking at meals and continual mourning for Albert is a constant theme she imposes on everyone. One finishes the book wanting to know more about these daughters and there are books about most of them daughters. More and better photos would have been nice.
February 9, 2019
Loads of interesting details about the lives of Victoria's daughters but also a great deal of insight about the sovereign and her extended family. Not at all what I expected. The lives of Vicky, Alice, Lenchen, Louise and Beatrice were filled with disappointments and heartaches. It is easy for me to imagine that they must have felt both blessed and cursed to be part of such a powerful dynasty.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 14, 2019
A very informative & interesting read on the children of Queen Victoria. There is a lot of interesting tid bits in here. The relationships they have with their mother, the Queen, is varied with each child, & over time (as with most mother-child relationships). The entire concept of Royalty & what that imposes on their personal relationships, thoughts, ideas is very interesting to me.
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October 1, 2020I thought it was good fun. Queen Victoria might not have been a model mother (especially by contemporary standards) but she was wicked good at marrying off members of her family. I was fascinated by her devotion to (obsession with?) her husband.
February 5, 2018
This book has a lot of information in it!! The author covers the political scene, letters between the individuals and offers his opinion as well.
I did learn a lot but it is a dense read!!
Great book to read if you needed to do a report/paper on any of these people.
I did learn a lot but it is a dense read!!
Great book to read if you needed to do a report/paper on any of these people.
April 6, 2008
This is a great book for anyone interested in the history of English/European royalty.
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