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Serving Victoria: Life in the Royal Household – The Vulnerable Queen Through Her Servants' Intimate Letters
During her sixty-three-year reign, Queen Victoria gathered around herself a household dedicated to her service. For some, royal employment was the defining experience of their lives; for others it came as an unwelcome duty or as a prelude to greater things. Serving Victoria follows the lives of six members of her household, from the governess to the royal children, from her maid of honor to her chaplain and her personal physician.
Drawing on their letters and diaries—many hitherto unpublished—Serving Victoria offers a unique insight into the Victorian court, with all its frustrations and absurdities, as well as the Queen herself, sitting squarely at its center. Seen through the eyes of her household as she traveled among Windsor, Osborne, and Balmoral, and to the French and Belgian courts, Victoria emerges as more vulnerable, more emotional, more selfish, more comical, than the austere figure depicted in her famous portraits. We see a woman who was prone to fits of giggles, who wept easily and often, who gobbled her food and shrank from confrontation but insisted on controlling the lives of those around her. We witness her extraordinary and debilitating grief at the death of her husband, Albert, and her sympathy toward the tragedies that afflicted her household.
Witty, astute, and moving, Serving Victoria is a perfect foil to the pomp and circumstance—and prudery and conservatism—associated with Victoria's reign, and gives an unforgettable glimpse of what it meant to serve the Queen.
Drawing on their letters and diaries—many hitherto unpublished—Serving Victoria offers a unique insight into the Victorian court, with all its frustrations and absurdities, as well as the Queen herself, sitting squarely at its center. Seen through the eyes of her household as she traveled among Windsor, Osborne, and Balmoral, and to the French and Belgian courts, Victoria emerges as more vulnerable, more emotional, more selfish, more comical, than the austere figure depicted in her famous portraits. We see a woman who was prone to fits of giggles, who wept easily and often, who gobbled her food and shrank from confrontation but insisted on controlling the lives of those around her. We witness her extraordinary and debilitating grief at the death of her husband, Albert, and her sympathy toward the tragedies that afflicted her household.
Witty, astute, and moving, Serving Victoria is a perfect foil to the pomp and circumstance—and prudery and conservatism—associated with Victoria's reign, and gives an unforgettable glimpse of what it meant to serve the Queen.
546 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 1, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 165 reviews
June 10, 2013
Interesting idea, but not what I thought it would be based on the reviews or cover flap. There was more gossip and fluf than real, new, information. I was hoping for more about what the servant ladies actually DID. Why were they necessary at court? What did they actually do to earn their salaries? What were their duties? Oh well. If you are an Anglophile or in love with Victoria or her times, you will most likely enjoy at least part of the book. If you are a social or cultural historian, maybe not so much.
May 19, 2019
It's closer to a 3.5 star non-fiction undertaking, but of all 3 or 4 Queen Victoria cored I've read in the last year- this one "gets" the person herself the best. Because it comes from the practical applications of her reign within her own household. Many, many years of length and ending with nearly every single foundation upon which she leaned that was a human having passed before her. For some reason, the others. a couple within better writing/ prose flow and often intense nailing the core of the marriage (hers and Albert's) or her latter proclivities obsessions etc. STILL, they don't "get" Victoria's perception, her "eyes"- the way this book does.
She was actually from her babyhood, despite her position and placement, essentially a bourgeoisie. A person without the upper class sensibilities of wit, duplicity, ironic understandings etc. of her entire English nobility class. She had much more in common, the way she thought, valued, perceived with her economic middle class of that period. Especially those with skills and procedural habits of employments that could be critically observed and not "higher education" taught. Her stout body encompassed a mighty will and energy always flowing much more toward the "feeling" than to the "mind or logic" centered.
This book gets her by chronologically and minutely detailing the very essence of 6 different peoples' careers who worked for her as highest and middle level servants. Having direct contact and usually for decades too. Most dying in harness, or close to it. Maids in waiting worked 1 month at a time out of 4- the schedules for these people in travel and within their own "home" lives are truly interesting. How could they maintain the balance? Especially Caroline- who ends up with 6 plus years in India.
She was a micro-manager on the minutia of detail for her "best" England. And she always was and become even more so in age the scale for the "proper". Be it in form, in attitude, in aspect or placement for behaviors that in her values equated to societal "good" .
This book holds immense amounts of name-dropping and relationships to both blood and titles within dozens and dozens of people/ family lines and their households. And also quite a lot of architectural and building locale information. You may have intense difficulty in following it if you are not oversight (larger picture) informed of her era and within Europe's placements of that era, in general.
But after reading and seeing (DVD's) for so many of her actual clothes, different event interiors duplicated etc.- this was an excellent and enthralling read. She KNEW she was correct, if it "felt" correct. And was a more than difficult boss. And beyond all that, even when young, she GOT her own personal wanted "way". What surprised me the most was the Balmoral proclivities. Especially how much blind drunk behavior was tolerated within her Scottish horse and yards servants.
She was actually from her babyhood, despite her position and placement, essentially a bourgeoisie. A person without the upper class sensibilities of wit, duplicity, ironic understandings etc. of her entire English nobility class. She had much more in common, the way she thought, valued, perceived with her economic middle class of that period. Especially those with skills and procedural habits of employments that could be critically observed and not "higher education" taught. Her stout body encompassed a mighty will and energy always flowing much more toward the "feeling" than to the "mind or logic" centered.
This book gets her by chronologically and minutely detailing the very essence of 6 different peoples' careers who worked for her as highest and middle level servants. Having direct contact and usually for decades too. Most dying in harness, or close to it. Maids in waiting worked 1 month at a time out of 4- the schedules for these people in travel and within their own "home" lives are truly interesting. How could they maintain the balance? Especially Caroline- who ends up with 6 plus years in India.
She was a micro-manager on the minutia of detail for her "best" England. And she always was and become even more so in age the scale for the "proper". Be it in form, in attitude, in aspect or placement for behaviors that in her values equated to societal "good" .
This book holds immense amounts of name-dropping and relationships to both blood and titles within dozens and dozens of people/ family lines and their households. And also quite a lot of architectural and building locale information. You may have intense difficulty in following it if you are not oversight (larger picture) informed of her era and within Europe's placements of that era, in general.
But after reading and seeing (DVD's) for so many of her actual clothes, different event interiors duplicated etc.- this was an excellent and enthralling read. She KNEW she was correct, if it "felt" correct. And was a more than difficult boss. And beyond all that, even when young, she GOT her own personal wanted "way". What surprised me the most was the Balmoral proclivities. Especially how much blind drunk behavior was tolerated within her Scottish horse and yards servants.
May 10, 2014
Naive moi. I was under the assumption that this was an expose to the kitchen and eating habits of chubby Queen Victoria and kin as I had heard the author interviewed on a national radio cooking show -- "serving" actually translates to six household servants, three men and three women, and their tedious, to put it mildly, lifestyles in not intimidating the royal egos.
Each page is an amazing collection of research, who went where, who was present, the weather, the clothing, the children, etc. House guests arrive and disappear like smoke. How in the world does an author collect such in-depth specific information? Mind boggling. Try 364 pages of it.
Dear Queen Vic seems to never want to be alone and has her noble ladies-in-waiting perched on couches outside her door around the clock ready to do whatever ladies-in-waiting do when summoned. I was struck with the story of how the poor attendant (from nobilty none-the-less) had to orchestrate all the queens coats, wraps, blankets, hats, and who knows what else, and then had to stand behind her seat at the opera for four and a half hours. You would think the bloody queen could at least offer her a chair. Et tu Brute?
Also enlightening was the Queen's relationship with servant John Brown, a love affair really, after Albert had died. Brown, a rough and tumble brawny dude who ran the royal dogs, won her heart and as a result let his position intimidate just about everyone in the royal household. And as Hollywood would have enjoyed, just before her coffin was screwed tight for eternity, his photo and a lock his hair were placed in her hand per her request despite other royal wishes. Hmmmm. Wonder who washed the royal bedsheets?
So court life in many ways sounds quite tediously boring but also quite enlightening when told from the point of view of the servants. The velvet prison.
And one more thing, it's cold. She didn't like the castle warm so windows were left open, carriage rides were most always open air, and the idea of lighting a second fire was received with great demure enthusiasm but probably profound excitement around the corner.
Pass the roast beast. I'm freezing and the Mountbattens are due at four.
Each page is an amazing collection of research, who went where, who was present, the weather, the clothing, the children, etc. House guests arrive and disappear like smoke. How in the world does an author collect such in-depth specific information? Mind boggling. Try 364 pages of it.
Dear Queen Vic seems to never want to be alone and has her noble ladies-in-waiting perched on couches outside her door around the clock ready to do whatever ladies-in-waiting do when summoned. I was struck with the story of how the poor attendant (from nobilty none-the-less) had to orchestrate all the queens coats, wraps, blankets, hats, and who knows what else, and then had to stand behind her seat at the opera for four and a half hours. You would think the bloody queen could at least offer her a chair. Et tu Brute?
Also enlightening was the Queen's relationship with servant John Brown, a love affair really, after Albert had died. Brown, a rough and tumble brawny dude who ran the royal dogs, won her heart and as a result let his position intimidate just about everyone in the royal household. And as Hollywood would have enjoyed, just before her coffin was screwed tight for eternity, his photo and a lock his hair were placed in her hand per her request despite other royal wishes. Hmmmm. Wonder who washed the royal bedsheets?
So court life in many ways sounds quite tediously boring but also quite enlightening when told from the point of view of the servants. The velvet prison.
And one more thing, it's cold. She didn't like the castle warm so windows were left open, carriage rides were most always open air, and the idea of lighting a second fire was received with great demure enthusiasm but probably profound excitement around the corner.
Pass the roast beast. I'm freezing and the Mountbattens are due at four.
November 21, 2013
To a certain degree, Queen Victoria's reign cannot be compared to any other in British history, except perhaps that of Elizabeth I. Victoria utterly defined her age, not just as a convenient label for a period in time, but as a symbol, an institution, an enduring pillar of British life. It was under Victoria that the enduring bond between the monarch and the people was cemented, when the monarch came not just to head the government and reign over the people, but to serve as an emblem of Britishness, as the very personification of the country.
It was in this period that the concept of the role of monarch as duty rather than privilege came to be accepted, and Victoria's court, under her own and Prince Albert's influence, reflected not the riotous, somewhat degenerate, feckless life of the aristocracy as had been the case under the Georges, but the more stolid, traditional values of the rising middle-classes. It was this increasing bourgeoisie flavour to the court that was partly responsible for the esteem and affection she was held in by her public. Indeed, Victoria was to a very great respect a very middle-class monarch. Her tastes, likes and dislikes, were all quite simple, in fashion, food, affectations, pastimes, habits.
Reading this book, one feels great sympathy for her household, forced to suffer through endless tedious dinner parties, filled with small talk, all controversial topic verboten. Evenings at Victoria's court involved tableaux and games of whist; afternoons involved painting and drives in the country. Victoria avoided London like the plague, and there were few balls, few theatre and opera visits, especially so after Albert's death. Victoria loved the simple life at Balmoral, the direct honesty of her Highland servants.
This was a fascinating read, a real insight into what life as a member of Victoria's household was like. Duty was all, all personal desires and ambitions subsumed into serving one's monarch. Victoria took an endless interest in the lives of her servants and could be immensely thoughtful of their feelings but decided less so of their own desires and comforts, and particularly if she was in any way inconvenienced. She disliked her ladies and gentleman to marry, as this required a certain amount of adjustment in her household. Victoria was very much a creature of routine, to the point of utter tedium for her staff. And with her long reign the longest in British history, many of these poor souls lived out the years of their retirement and old age serving their somewhat childlike monarch through all her whims and fancies, many dying 'in the harness', so to speak. But as Victoria might have retorted, if she had to, so should they.
It was in this period that the concept of the role of monarch as duty rather than privilege came to be accepted, and Victoria's court, under her own and Prince Albert's influence, reflected not the riotous, somewhat degenerate, feckless life of the aristocracy as had been the case under the Georges, but the more stolid, traditional values of the rising middle-classes. It was this increasing bourgeoisie flavour to the court that was partly responsible for the esteem and affection she was held in by her public. Indeed, Victoria was to a very great respect a very middle-class monarch. Her tastes, likes and dislikes, were all quite simple, in fashion, food, affectations, pastimes, habits.
Reading this book, one feels great sympathy for her household, forced to suffer through endless tedious dinner parties, filled with small talk, all controversial topic verboten. Evenings at Victoria's court involved tableaux and games of whist; afternoons involved painting and drives in the country. Victoria avoided London like the plague, and there were few balls, few theatre and opera visits, especially so after Albert's death. Victoria loved the simple life at Balmoral, the direct honesty of her Highland servants.
This was a fascinating read, a real insight into what life as a member of Victoria's household was like. Duty was all, all personal desires and ambitions subsumed into serving one's monarch. Victoria took an endless interest in the lives of her servants and could be immensely thoughtful of their feelings but decided less so of their own desires and comforts, and particularly if she was in any way inconvenienced. She disliked her ladies and gentleman to marry, as this required a certain amount of adjustment in her household. Victoria was very much a creature of routine, to the point of utter tedium for her staff. And with her long reign the longest in British history, many of these poor souls lived out the years of their retirement and old age serving their somewhat childlike monarch through all her whims and fancies, many dying 'in the harness', so to speak. But as Victoria might have retorted, if she had to, so should they.
April 20, 2013
If you love all things British, this book may be just the ticket for you. With information gleaned from diaries and letters of Queen Victoria's staff, it is full of details about everything having to do with the Victorian court.
From linen room women, to ladies of the bedchamber, surveyor of pictures, chimney sweeps, the stove and fire lighter, all the way to the royal rat killer - the hundreds of servants of the court are brought to life. Queen Victoria was what we would refer to today as a micro-manager, or yes, even a control freak. Her instructions were neverending - what time to open the bedroom shutters, when to fetch a handkerchief, in what order to hand things to her, etc. Ironically, she was loathe to confront anyone face-to-face to address a transgression, but communicated her displeasure through a third party or with a note.
There was a small smattering of book titles of the day - Robinson Crusoe for one. There was much talk of a new novel entitled Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte apparently made reference to the Queen as 'a little, stout, vivacious lady, plainly dressed'.
The Queen had a horror of religious extremes. She disapproved of widows remarrying. She loved her husband, Prince Albert, and depended on him to a fault. After his death, the Queen never did fully recover her former spirit and a cloud of melancholy hung over the court. On one occasion, upon hearing laughter coming from the castle smoking room, Queen Victoria hurriedly sent a note by a servant to the gentlemen in the room saying that 'it would be well if Mr. Ponsonby were cautioned not to be so funny'.
Many little nuggets of information are to be had here. You must be ready to delve rather deeply into the minutiae of the innerworkings of the court, more than I would typically want. For all of that, it was a surprisingly easy read. This was a first-reads giveaway.
From linen room women, to ladies of the bedchamber, surveyor of pictures, chimney sweeps, the stove and fire lighter, all the way to the royal rat killer - the hundreds of servants of the court are brought to life. Queen Victoria was what we would refer to today as a micro-manager, or yes, even a control freak. Her instructions were neverending - what time to open the bedroom shutters, when to fetch a handkerchief, in what order to hand things to her, etc. Ironically, she was loathe to confront anyone face-to-face to address a transgression, but communicated her displeasure through a third party or with a note.
There was a small smattering of book titles of the day - Robinson Crusoe for one. There was much talk of a new novel entitled Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte apparently made reference to the Queen as 'a little, stout, vivacious lady, plainly dressed'.
The Queen had a horror of religious extremes. She disapproved of widows remarrying. She loved her husband, Prince Albert, and depended on him to a fault. After his death, the Queen never did fully recover her former spirit and a cloud of melancholy hung over the court. On one occasion, upon hearing laughter coming from the castle smoking room, Queen Victoria hurriedly sent a note by a servant to the gentlemen in the room saying that 'it would be well if Mr. Ponsonby were cautioned not to be so funny'.
Many little nuggets of information are to be had here. You must be ready to delve rather deeply into the minutiae of the innerworkings of the court, more than I would typically want. For all of that, it was a surprisingly easy read. This was a first-reads giveaway.
November 4, 2024
I can't remember the last time I read a book about Queen Victoria and her brood that I didn't enjoy, and this one was no different. That said, Serving Victoria was kind of all over the place. Nominally about life in the royal household, the book occasionally skated into biography and politics before skating back. This is a sharper, more pointed book than some others I've read, particularly towards the queen's children, who don't come out of this looking particularly nice. I suppose Hubbard's access to unpublished diaries and letters provided some new glimpses into the foibles of the Victorian royal family; Hubbard is particularly mean girlish about the numerous daughters of the queen, who sound like they are all modeled on the Queen of Hearts from Alice (or at very least the Duchess). If you've never read anything at all about Queen Victoria, this is probably not the place to start.
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11.3.24. I listened to his on audio. I stand by my ten year old review. It’s a solid audiobook, narrated by the author herself.
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11.3.24. I listened to his on audio. I stand by my ten year old review. It’s a solid audiobook, narrated by the author herself.
August 7, 2013
I quite enjoyed this. It was an interesting read, and took a different look at Victoria than many other biographies use, although it uses many of the same sources (the diaries and letters of her servants and attendants, primarily.)
This covered 6 major figures of Victoria's life - 3 from early in her reign, and 3 from late in her reign. It also delved into Victoria's personality, through the lenses of those who attended her most closely - ladies-in-waiting, maids-of-honour, her physician, the Dean of Windsor (her priest), and her private secretary.
It paints a picture of a woman who was both incredibly caring, and incredibly selfish. She would send gushing letters sympathising with former servants (or the families of former servants) when someone died, but became irate when her physician decided to marry, and denied him permission for some time.
The sources seemed to be good - I didn't read all the notes or footnotes, but the bibliography was certainly thorough.
This covered 6 major figures of Victoria's life - 3 from early in her reign, and 3 from late in her reign. It also delved into Victoria's personality, through the lenses of those who attended her most closely - ladies-in-waiting, maids-of-honour, her physician, the Dean of Windsor (her priest), and her private secretary.
It paints a picture of a woman who was both incredibly caring, and incredibly selfish. She would send gushing letters sympathising with former servants (or the families of former servants) when someone died, but became irate when her physician decided to marry, and denied him permission for some time.
The sources seemed to be good - I didn't read all the notes or footnotes, but the bibliography was certainly thorough.
January 5, 2013
What a wonderful idea: the story of the sixty something years when Queen Victoria reigned, told through the experiences of the men and women who served her. The experiences of high-ranking courtiers, who were close enough to see how the queen and her family lived, who were not overawed by the world they found themselves in, and who, of course, left letters and diaries to speak for them.
And from those documents Kate Hubbard has built a wonderful story, vividly written, chock full of details, and utterly readable.
Lady Sarah Lytton was a widow with a family to support when she came, reluctantly, to court to become a lady of the bedchamber to a young, unwed Victoria, and later she would rise to become the superintendent of the royal nurseries. Charlotte Canning, a younger woman, with a fine mind and an artistic sensibility became a lady of the bedchamber some years later. Mary Bulteel was a maid of honour before she became the wife of the queen’s private secretary.
Henry Ponsonby was that private secretary, a job for life, and his path crossed with those of James Reid, physician in ordinary, and Randall Davidson, domestic chaplain.
Six very different characters, with different roles, and so the focus moves. From the life of the queen with her ladies; to her marriage and the raising of her children; to her homes – Windsor for duty, Balmoral for love, and Osborne for recreation – and her travels; to political crises and her varied relationships with her prime ministers; to the extended periods of mourning and seclusion that followed the death of Prince Albert; to her relationships with John Brown and Abdul Karim; to her slow decline, her death and finally to the laying out of her body.
It was all familiar, but the perspective made this such a very human story, with the lives of the queen’s courtiers set against their clear-sighted views of her life.
The daily life of the court depended upon the Victoria’s will, tempered a little by Albert while he lived, but becoming more rigid, more unthinking, and sometimes downright irrational in her later years. It might be sensible for maids of honour, single young women, to be restricted and chaperoned, but it seemed heartless that Lady Lyttleton was begrudgingly given so very little time to see her children and grandchildren, that James Reid was compelled to keep his engagement, late in life, to an eminently suitable lady-in-waiting secret …
There was always rules, conventions, proprieties that must be kept, and when the queen became a widow, as she grew older and frailer, she became more demanding and completely oblivious to the feelings of those around her. Henry Ponsonby struggled, as her sight failed, to make his writing bigger and clearer, to find heavier paper so that the ink would not show through …
But, in spite all of this, Victoria was an engaging human figure. She loved her husband, her home at Balmoral, her fresh air. She struggled with life as a widow. She was vulnerable, and sometimes she made bad choices, but she could never admit that she was fallible. I realised that she was a woman who knew no other life, saw very little of the world, and who maybe would have been happier if she had.
I felt as much, sometimes more, for the people around her. But I don’t want to say too much. Better to notice all of the details as you read. From details of meals to the Queen’s feelings about the prime minister of the day! From drunken servants to appointing bishops! And this is a book that I think will work for anyone who is interested, whether they’ve read everything or nothing about the period.
This is a book full of engaging characters, fascinating details of their lives, and fresh perspectives on familiar pieces of history.
The only thing it lacks are family trees and chronologies. With the shifting perspectives prime ministers, and princes, come and go, live, marry and die, and changes aren’t always noted.
But that’s a minor point, I was completely wrapped up in the lives of the Queen and her Court, and the story never lost its grip.
This really is a fascinating book – I could happily go back to the beginning and read it all over again – and one that I can recommend.
And from those documents Kate Hubbard has built a wonderful story, vividly written, chock full of details, and utterly readable.
Lady Sarah Lytton was a widow with a family to support when she came, reluctantly, to court to become a lady of the bedchamber to a young, unwed Victoria, and later she would rise to become the superintendent of the royal nurseries. Charlotte Canning, a younger woman, with a fine mind and an artistic sensibility became a lady of the bedchamber some years later. Mary Bulteel was a maid of honour before she became the wife of the queen’s private secretary.
Henry Ponsonby was that private secretary, a job for life, and his path crossed with those of James Reid, physician in ordinary, and Randall Davidson, domestic chaplain.
Six very different characters, with different roles, and so the focus moves. From the life of the queen with her ladies; to her marriage and the raising of her children; to her homes – Windsor for duty, Balmoral for love, and Osborne for recreation – and her travels; to political crises and her varied relationships with her prime ministers; to the extended periods of mourning and seclusion that followed the death of Prince Albert; to her relationships with John Brown and Abdul Karim; to her slow decline, her death and finally to the laying out of her body.
It was all familiar, but the perspective made this such a very human story, with the lives of the queen’s courtiers set against their clear-sighted views of her life.
The daily life of the court depended upon the Victoria’s will, tempered a little by Albert while he lived, but becoming more rigid, more unthinking, and sometimes downright irrational in her later years. It might be sensible for maids of honour, single young women, to be restricted and chaperoned, but it seemed heartless that Lady Lyttleton was begrudgingly given so very little time to see her children and grandchildren, that James Reid was compelled to keep his engagement, late in life, to an eminently suitable lady-in-waiting secret …
There was always rules, conventions, proprieties that must be kept, and when the queen became a widow, as she grew older and frailer, she became more demanding and completely oblivious to the feelings of those around her. Henry Ponsonby struggled, as her sight failed, to make his writing bigger and clearer, to find heavier paper so that the ink would not show through …
But, in spite all of this, Victoria was an engaging human figure. She loved her husband, her home at Balmoral, her fresh air. She struggled with life as a widow. She was vulnerable, and sometimes she made bad choices, but she could never admit that she was fallible. I realised that she was a woman who knew no other life, saw very little of the world, and who maybe would have been happier if she had.
I felt as much, sometimes more, for the people around her. But I don’t want to say too much. Better to notice all of the details as you read. From details of meals to the Queen’s feelings about the prime minister of the day! From drunken servants to appointing bishops! And this is a book that I think will work for anyone who is interested, whether they’ve read everything or nothing about the period.
This is a book full of engaging characters, fascinating details of their lives, and fresh perspectives on familiar pieces of history.
The only thing it lacks are family trees and chronologies. With the shifting perspectives prime ministers, and princes, come and go, live, marry and die, and changes aren’t always noted.
But that’s a minor point, I was completely wrapped up in the lives of the Queen and her Court, and the story never lost its grip.
This really is a fascinating book – I could happily go back to the beginning and read it all over again – and one that I can recommend.
June 11, 2013
If you think there is a sheen of glamour around living at court and serving royalty, this book will open your eyes. Queen Victoria was a dull, humorless, demanding and thoughtless woman. She was totally devoted to her husband and family, but thought nothing of depriving her household staff of contact with their families for months at a time.
Most of them served her out a sense of duty and could not wait for their periods of service to come to an end. The atmosphere at court was claustrophobic, monotonous, and cold. Victoria thought cold air was healthy, so everyone shivered through their time there. She didn't approve of controversial conversation, so topics were limited to the weather and other equally inconsequential subjects.
When Albert died, it became even worse as the Queen went into deep mourning and never emerged. Her biggest delight was mourning the deaths of her very large extended family as they dropped off, and celebrating the anniversaries of their deaths year after year. That meant very few days were without some memento mori to bring tears to her eyes.
The few servants who were able to see the woman under the crown, Scottish John Brown and Hindu Munshi, were thoroughly hated and resented by the rest of the staff.
They may have been unhappy, but the reader of this well-written and well-researched book will enjoy reading about their misery and experiencing the schadenfreude of knowing that we are free of ever being pressed into similar service.
No wonder it took a deep soul-searching before anyone would enter her service.
Most of them served her out a sense of duty and could not wait for their periods of service to come to an end. The atmosphere at court was claustrophobic, monotonous, and cold. Victoria thought cold air was healthy, so everyone shivered through their time there. She didn't approve of controversial conversation, so topics were limited to the weather and other equally inconsequential subjects.
When Albert died, it became even worse as the Queen went into deep mourning and never emerged. Her biggest delight was mourning the deaths of her very large extended family as they dropped off, and celebrating the anniversaries of their deaths year after year. That meant very few days were without some memento mori to bring tears to her eyes.
The few servants who were able to see the woman under the crown, Scottish John Brown and Hindu Munshi, were thoroughly hated and resented by the rest of the staff.
They may have been unhappy, but the reader of this well-written and well-researched book will enjoy reading about their misery and experiencing the schadenfreude of knowing that we are free of ever being pressed into similar service.
No wonder it took a deep soul-searching before anyone would enter her service.
January 12, 2014
I think this could be a pretty good book. However, I am reading a 'free, uncorrected Chatto and Windus proof' and it's driving me nuts.
I thought I could cope with it, but sentences and passages keep repeating, the punctuation is all over the place, and it's no good, I can't carry on with it! There are no illustrations either as there would be once it was published properly.
I'll recycle this edition and return to a proof read one at a later date.
I thought I could cope with it, but sentences and passages keep repeating, the punctuation is all over the place, and it's no good, I can't carry on with it! There are no illustrations either as there would be once it was published properly.
I'll recycle this edition and return to a proof read one at a later date.
October 18, 2016
A fascinating read! Does it make me a total dork if I cried all through the description of Queen Victoria's death?
October 21, 2016
Queen Victoria presided over a vast household of servants but this is not a book about the drudgery of scullery maids and stable boys. Instead, Hubbard concentrates on the top tier, the ladies and gentlemen (often minor aristocracy) who were closest to the Queen. Hubbard’s unusual focus makes for fascinating reading. She follows the lives of six of members of the royal household in detail. Through their diaries, journals and letters, Hubbard shows us the often tedious and claustrophobic life they led.
There are some interesting looking job titles such as Lady of the Bedchamber, but in reality this involved being a constant, uncomplaining companion, watching the Queen play skittles and accompanying her on carriage rides. Victoria’s desire to control every aspect of her household is revealed, with a ‘horrid’ set of new rules appearing ‘framed and glazed’ in the lady-in-waiting’s rooms. Such rules dictated how far the ladies were allowed to travel, imposing a regime not dissimilar to a prison.
Hubbard also has an eye for detail. We read of the coldness of Balmoral, where even the cushions on the billiard table froze, but Victoria deplored heating, insisting the cold made her ‘brisk’.
Many books have been written about Victoria and her reign. Hubbard brings a fresh, meticulously researched perspective on a woman who was simultaneously all-controlling and emotionally needy. Victoria even left detailed plans for her own funeral, along with a list of objects to be placed in her coffin. Instructions were also left as to who could know about which objects. Her servants of course followed her instructions, loyal to the end.
Hubbard has captured the atmosphere and relationships within this unique court beautifully. Recommended.
I received a free review copy of this book via the Historical Novel Society. This review (or an edited version) has appeared in the Historical Novels Review
There are some interesting looking job titles such as Lady of the Bedchamber, but in reality this involved being a constant, uncomplaining companion, watching the Queen play skittles and accompanying her on carriage rides. Victoria’s desire to control every aspect of her household is revealed, with a ‘horrid’ set of new rules appearing ‘framed and glazed’ in the lady-in-waiting’s rooms. Such rules dictated how far the ladies were allowed to travel, imposing a regime not dissimilar to a prison.
Hubbard also has an eye for detail. We read of the coldness of Balmoral, where even the cushions on the billiard table froze, but Victoria deplored heating, insisting the cold made her ‘brisk’.
Many books have been written about Victoria and her reign. Hubbard brings a fresh, meticulously researched perspective on a woman who was simultaneously all-controlling and emotionally needy. Victoria even left detailed plans for her own funeral, along with a list of objects to be placed in her coffin. Instructions were also left as to who could know about which objects. Her servants of course followed her instructions, loyal to the end.
Hubbard has captured the atmosphere and relationships within this unique court beautifully. Recommended.
I received a free review copy of this book via the Historical Novel Society. This review (or an edited version) has appeared in the Historical Novels Review
June 2, 2013
This is collection of letters and diaries pieced together from various members of Victoria's household - the middle and upper class people who filled administrative and personal aide type positions. It's strongest point is that it provides a great look into daily life, both at court and generally of the era.
The picture it gives of Victoria herself is as a generally endearing, but sometimes annoying, great big whiner. The view, at least from these folks, who did know her quite intimately and in many cases, spent decades at court, gives the impression that she isn't at all shrewd or thoughtful beyond the petty details of her household (in contrast to some theories I have seen that her naivete was a tool she used to rule effectively).
My biggest complaint is that it assumes the reader has mastered a great deal of detail about Victoria's reign, which maybe was intentional because I can see how this would appeal to people who already have a lot of information. And I would even say I have a fair bit of Victoriana under my belt. It was still challenging, for example, when the book would refer to the youngest child, but it wasn't clear what year it was or who would have been the youngest at that time. Or the Prime Ministers -- I know the main platforms of the famous ones, like Disraeli and Gladstone, but come on, throw me a bone on Palmerston at least.
Overall, I would recommend to people who are, in fact, THAT interested in Victoria, but it would be extremely tedious as an introduction.
The picture it gives of Victoria herself is as a generally endearing, but sometimes annoying, great big whiner. The view, at least from these folks, who did know her quite intimately and in many cases, spent decades at court, gives the impression that she isn't at all shrewd or thoughtful beyond the petty details of her household (in contrast to some theories I have seen that her naivete was a tool she used to rule effectively).
My biggest complaint is that it assumes the reader has mastered a great deal of detail about Victoria's reign, which maybe was intentional because I can see how this would appeal to people who already have a lot of information. And I would even say I have a fair bit of Victoriana under my belt. It was still challenging, for example, when the book would refer to the youngest child, but it wasn't clear what year it was or who would have been the youngest at that time. Or the Prime Ministers -- I know the main platforms of the famous ones, like Disraeli and Gladstone, but come on, throw me a bone on Palmerston at least.
Overall, I would recommend to people who are, in fact, THAT interested in Victoria, but it would be extremely tedious as an introduction.
March 10, 2016
Enormously researched yet lacking in clarity, at least for those not well-versed in the life of Queen Victoria and her court, this is an interesting and rare take on a life and time of which so much has been written. The book paints portraits of many important members of the Queen's court, and highlights the extraordinary dullness and tiresome lack of logical order with which they had to put up.
To make things difficult for novices to Victoria's court, the book leaps right into its chronicling without explaining the roles of the lady-in-waiting, maid of honour, and other court people whose lives this book is about. How are we supposed to know all these things unless the author gives us SOME explanation of them!?
It would also have been helpful to have family trees, and a list and brief description of the main players—so many names are listed, and it would be easier on the reader to have a list to consult, instead of incessantly flipping back and forth to remember whether some Lord or other was chamberlain or foreign secretary or lord-in-waiting or something else entirely! The constant names (and name changes) and staff changes are difficult to follow.
Irksomely, the book occasionally jumps back and forth chronologically. This makes for a challenging read for those not well-versed in the events of Queen Victoria's—and Albert's and the children's and all the various peers'—life.
In the end, this book is overly verbose, detailed and yet very often lacking explanation, and yet as much as possible with those faults, a solid piece of biography.
To make things difficult for novices to Victoria's court, the book leaps right into its chronicling without explaining the roles of the lady-in-waiting, maid of honour, and other court people whose lives this book is about. How are we supposed to know all these things unless the author gives us SOME explanation of them!?
It would also have been helpful to have family trees, and a list and brief description of the main players—so many names are listed, and it would be easier on the reader to have a list to consult, instead of incessantly flipping back and forth to remember whether some Lord or other was chamberlain or foreign secretary or lord-in-waiting or something else entirely! The constant names (and name changes) and staff changes are difficult to follow.
Irksomely, the book occasionally jumps back and forth chronologically. This makes for a challenging read for those not well-versed in the events of Queen Victoria's—and Albert's and the children's and all the various peers'—life.
In the end, this book is overly verbose, detailed and yet very often lacking explanation, and yet as much as possible with those faults, a solid piece of biography.
November 15, 2014
This book about Queen Victoria's household, started off a little slowly. Once Victoria came into her own as queen, it picked up. Victoria emerged as a sort of beady eyed headmistress who was obsessed with household rules and regulations. Albert managed to keep her somewhat under control, but once he died, she became really obsessive.
Her need to have her servants near at all times led to them calling their time with her "incarceration". Victoria worked her titled ladies so hard that many of them had nervous breakdowns. Victoria loved the cold and would've been happy living in a freezer. She kept things so cold ("bracing") that even the felt on the billiard table froze.
The book is interesting because we see Victoria's reactions to the people of her time: Prime ministers, writers, and events like The Great Exhibition. There are a lot of juicy tidbits on John Brown and his brothers....all alcoholics. The court seemed to be a place of horrible boredom where "rows" and gossiping were the main forms of entertainment.
Victoria was no intellectual. After Albert's death she took little interest in governing and became fixated on her own needs, instead of what the country needed. She needed a strong man in her life, whether it was Albert, John Brown, the Munshi or Dr. Reid. In everything, her needs were the most important. Even the engagement of a servant would vex her for weeks. When she died, she was almost blind and unable to walk.
Her need to have her servants near at all times led to them calling their time with her "incarceration". Victoria worked her titled ladies so hard that many of them had nervous breakdowns. Victoria loved the cold and would've been happy living in a freezer. She kept things so cold ("bracing") that even the felt on the billiard table froze.
The book is interesting because we see Victoria's reactions to the people of her time: Prime ministers, writers, and events like The Great Exhibition. There are a lot of juicy tidbits on John Brown and his brothers....all alcoholics. The court seemed to be a place of horrible boredom where "rows" and gossiping were the main forms of entertainment.
Victoria was no intellectual. After Albert's death she took little interest in governing and became fixated on her own needs, instead of what the country needed. She needed a strong man in her life, whether it was Albert, John Brown, the Munshi or Dr. Reid. In everything, her needs were the most important. Even the engagement of a servant would vex her for weeks. When she died, she was almost blind and unable to walk.
August 20, 2013
Queen Victoria was on the throne of Great Britain for 63 years and during that time she surrounded herself with a loyal household staff. Serving Victoria highlights the life and service of six members of her staff over the years and draws on their letters and diaries to construct a picture of court life. Three female staff members and three male staff members were profiled. Lady Sarah Lyttelton supervised the nursery, Lady Charlotte Canning was a Lady of the Bedchamber, and the Honorable Mary Ponsonby, an early feminist, was a Maid-of-Honor. On the male side, Sir Henry Ponsoby was Queen Victoria's private secretary, Dr. James Reid was her personal physician, and Rev. Randall Davidson, later the Archbishop of Canterbury, was her personal chaplain. There was also quite a bit of information about John Brown, a Scottish servant who became a favorite of the Queen after the death of her husband. In the pages of this book, court life is revealed to be dull and Queen Victoria emerges as an essentially selfish woman, who both giggled and wept easily, who avoided confrontation at all costs, and who wanted to control the lives of all of the individuals around her.
October 13, 2014
I have a wish list of 10 people I would most like to meet and Queen Victoria is at the top. Lord Rosebery (briefly one of her Prime Minister's, said that only two people frightened him...Bismarck and Victoria. It is said to be a fear shared by the Queen's children and most of her household. Interestingly enough, the Queen considered her quite large household as family and went out of her way to micromanage and care for them all. She had to be busy...remember this was the time of "the sun never set on the British Empire". That being said this book was dry dry dry. The amount of research that must have gone into this non-fiction work has to be astronomical...reading all those letters and journals from those that put the Queen before their every need. Victoria was obsessed with death, never recovering from Prince Albert's demise and even leaving precise instructions on her own funeral. This is the first book I've read that said what things went into the coffin with her and for all you fellow Scots out there-a sprig of heather from Balmoral-was one of them.
July 13, 2013
A great book about Queen Victoria and the people who served as her maids-of-honour, ladies-in-waiting not to mention her private secretaries, footmen and the like. Including the notorious John Brown. Plenty of entertaining stories, a few sad ones, and in the center of it all, the United Kingdom's longest reigning monarch -- up to now, it is -- Queen Victoria. Plenty of photographs, a fine bibliography, and a good read. Four stars overall and a happy recommend for royal watchers.
For the longer review, please go here:
http://www.epinions.com/review/Kate_H...
For the longer review, please go here:
http://www.epinions.com/review/Kate_H...
August 7, 2015
Another one I didn't finish. Got through just one chapter, truth be told. My interest in the functioning of royal households isn't as keen as I thought it was, it turns out. (Really, the only thing about royal households that interests me is Queen Elizabeth's corgis.)
May 27, 2015
Didn't go into nearly as much detail as one could wish. Felt more like six mini-biographies joined together than a description of the workings of Victoria's Court. Which may be what it was supposed to be, but not what I was looking for.
January 4, 2016
Did not finish. I did not like it.
June 4, 2014
Struggled with this one. So many names & so much info.
January 26, 2015
Dry, but still fascinating.
February 25, 2019
A slow read, but a fascinating one. The author's weaving together of "known facts" from published history, together with stories from letters and journals written by the people themselves, gives a wonderfully detailed feeling for a time long gone by but still very much with us in important ways. A good antidote to the PBS version of Victoria.
abandoned
January 23, 2021DNF
I have read much of this material in other sources, but I always hope to discover even one new nugget of information; however, the writing was so uninspiring that I just couldn't continue...
I have read much of this material in other sources, but I always hope to discover even one new nugget of information; however, the writing was so uninspiring that I just couldn't continue...
May 10, 2021
This book makes Victoria feel more like a real person than a straightforward biography would.
It gets grimmer as the book goes on, for in my opinion Victoria becomes a less sympathetic character as she aged. I found myself worrying about the fate of her children, even as I knew what would happen to them.
It gets grimmer as the book goes on, for in my opinion Victoria becomes a less sympathetic character as she aged. I found myself worrying about the fate of her children, even as I knew what would happen to them.
March 10, 2017
Don't be misled by the "Upstairs, Downstairs" references on the cover. This book is based on letters, journals, and reminiscences of members of Victoria's "household"--Ladies in Waiting, Physician in Ordinary, etc., not servants.
Nothing super new here, but an interesting perspective. My favorite nugget was an account of the Prince Consort saying he would have to do Scottish dancing (I.e., hop about to keep warm) while reading some papers in a very cold room in Balmoral. Much more playful than the general picture we have of Albert.
Nothing super new here, but an interesting perspective. My favorite nugget was an account of the Prince Consort saying he would have to do Scottish dancing (I.e., hop about to keep warm) while reading some papers in a very cold room in Balmoral. Much more playful than the general picture we have of Albert.
February 18, 2017
I wish I could give this a better rating. I was looking forward to reading this book since I find it interesting to read about the people who was in service to Royalty. For me this book could be a bit boring and read like a text book. I thought it was supposed to be through the eyes of the persons who was in service to Queen Victoria. Although the writer took some of her writing from diaries and writings of the persons who worked for the Queen it read nothing like what I thought.
It writes about the persons and their positions to the Queen and Consort. Such as Sarah Littleton who worked in the nursery. Charlotte Canning,Lady of the bedchamber.Mary Ponsonby, Maid of Honor. The first part of the book focuses on the women who worked for the Queen. The second part is about the men who worked for Queen Victoria after her husband Consort Albert died. and the men who worked for her. Henry Ponsonby,private secretary. and james Reid the resident doctor.
Certain parts were pretty good but wish I could have "heard" the voices of those who actually worked for Queen Victoria.
It writes about the persons and their positions to the Queen and Consort. Such as Sarah Littleton who worked in the nursery. Charlotte Canning,Lady of the bedchamber.Mary Ponsonby, Maid of Honor. The first part of the book focuses on the women who worked for the Queen. The second part is about the men who worked for Queen Victoria after her husband Consort Albert died. and the men who worked for her. Henry Ponsonby,private secretary. and james Reid the resident doctor.
Certain parts were pretty good but wish I could have "heard" the voices of those who actually worked for Queen Victoria.
June 4, 2013
Lacking the juicy, insider-only details and clear narrative organization that come with a truly engrossing nonfiction book, Serving Victoria is a dry account of Queen Victoria's staff throughout her sixty-plus year reign. Author Kate Hubbard tediously portrays six staff people, from the ladies-in-waiting to the royal doctor based off of their private correspondence but fails to link together the story in a compelling way, leaving just the facts, and to be honest, they are pretty boring.
Several times during the book, Hubbard tells the movements of the court but lacks the additional information to connect the dots. They go from Windsor to Osborne and back again, but nothing different really happens each time and it's a lot of noise while trying to describe the particular chapter's employee. The day-to-day activity was glossed over or not explained leading the reader to want for some basic descriptions of live in the 19th century. Occasionally there was an interesting tidbit, but I would've liked if at least a "day in the life" of the Queen was detailed or if just a few points were focused on throughout the whole book. Hubbard tries to cover the Queen's entire reign, and rushes past key events, leading to a confusing timetable. It seemed like some of the staff were redundant, but I would like to have definitive differences between the ladies of the bedchamber and the ladies-in-waiting, or the dressers and the wardrobe maids were explained.
I did enjoy the details about how much people got paid, but I wasn't able to see how money was connected to the Queen - did she have to ask Parliament for money whenever she needed it? Or was she allowed a certain amount? It is implied that the reader should know how the Queen interacted with Parliament. Also, the chapter on the Munshi was probably the best one, but again, it was hard to truly focus on why everyone hated him when there wasn't a true narrative. At the end of the book, it's glossed over that Munshi goes back to India, but after reading how he was so upset about not getting to sit with the Queen, how did he take it? That would have been an fitting closure to that chapter, but it was buried in the end.
The Queen kept a pretty tame court, without a lot of intrigue or scandal, but there probably was something worth writing about. The employees the books follows are very boring in their own way, occasionally making a snide comment about the Queen or her husband, Prince Albert, but the way they were presented lacked the emotional depth. The entire book could have been reorganized and edited down and I think the point would have come across in a lot more of an interesting manner.
Several times during the book, Hubbard tells the movements of the court but lacks the additional information to connect the dots. They go from Windsor to Osborne and back again, but nothing different really happens each time and it's a lot of noise while trying to describe the particular chapter's employee. The day-to-day activity was glossed over or not explained leading the reader to want for some basic descriptions of live in the 19th century. Occasionally there was an interesting tidbit, but I would've liked if at least a "day in the life" of the Queen was detailed or if just a few points were focused on throughout the whole book. Hubbard tries to cover the Queen's entire reign, and rushes past key events, leading to a confusing timetable. It seemed like some of the staff were redundant, but I would like to have definitive differences between the ladies of the bedchamber and the ladies-in-waiting, or the dressers and the wardrobe maids were explained.
I did enjoy the details about how much people got paid, but I wasn't able to see how money was connected to the Queen - did she have to ask Parliament for money whenever she needed it? Or was she allowed a certain amount? It is implied that the reader should know how the Queen interacted with Parliament. Also, the chapter on the Munshi was probably the best one, but again, it was hard to truly focus on why everyone hated him when there wasn't a true narrative. At the end of the book, it's glossed over that Munshi goes back to India, but after reading how he was so upset about not getting to sit with the Queen, how did he take it? That would have been an fitting closure to that chapter, but it was buried in the end.
The Queen kept a pretty tame court, without a lot of intrigue or scandal, but there probably was something worth writing about. The employees the books follows are very boring in their own way, occasionally making a snide comment about the Queen or her husband, Prince Albert, but the way they were presented lacked the emotional depth. The entire book could have been reorganized and edited down and I think the point would have come across in a lot more of an interesting manner.
October 1, 2013
Not bad, although Hubbard's narrative proceeds in fits and starts. It's generally a linear history of Victoria's reign, but it will help if the reader is familiar with the larger outline and the important personages, especially toward the latter part, when royals multiply --- as do servants. Her problem is that the servants she has chosen, Lyttleton (royal governess), Canning (lady-in-waiting), Ponsonby (Private Secretary), Reid (physician), her chaplain and her mother's legacy, Augusta Stanley, somewhat overlap, but their stories don't tie up neatly and then cause them to disappear. So Hubbard frequently goes off on a tangent with the news that Charlotte Canning has turned up her toes in Calcutta (hard cheese for her, she was almost on the boat back to England). It can get a little overstuffed, much like a Victorian sitting room.
The second issue is probably personal to each reader. How interesting does he or she find the Queen? Hubbard clearly thinks that Victoria was a massive pain in the rear, which seems to be the unspoken opinion of virtually everyone who served her. Most couch it differently, using the flowery language of devoted servants, but it is obvious that being around Victoria as part of her Household was more like being incarcerated than anything else: lots of silly rules at the whim of the warden (that would be VRI), deadly dull recreation, cut off from family and friends, and literally nothing of interest to do. The Queen considered a good day to be one that passed exactly like the one before it, and considering that her main occupations seem to have been kvetching about dear Albert's death, eating massive amounts and then kvetching about her resultant digestive issues (including flatulence, which must have added to the general gaiety of a courtier's life), and taking long rides in dismal cold weather in open carriages, we are talking days of stupefying dullness.
Which is the problem with the book. Hubbard is a good writer, with genuine flashes of wit peppered throughout, but even she cannot really disguise the fact that the real title of the book could just as easily have been How to Hang Out With a Nasty, Self-Centered Bitch and Not Lose Your Mind. The easy answer? Quit, and don't. Regrettably for them, the six people profiled here did not.
The second issue is probably personal to each reader. How interesting does he or she find the Queen? Hubbard clearly thinks that Victoria was a massive pain in the rear, which seems to be the unspoken opinion of virtually everyone who served her. Most couch it differently, using the flowery language of devoted servants, but it is obvious that being around Victoria as part of her Household was more like being incarcerated than anything else: lots of silly rules at the whim of the warden (that would be VRI), deadly dull recreation, cut off from family and friends, and literally nothing of interest to do. The Queen considered a good day to be one that passed exactly like the one before it, and considering that her main occupations seem to have been kvetching about dear Albert's death, eating massive amounts and then kvetching about her resultant digestive issues (including flatulence, which must have added to the general gaiety of a courtier's life), and taking long rides in dismal cold weather in open carriages, we are talking days of stupefying dullness.
Which is the problem with the book. Hubbard is a good writer, with genuine flashes of wit peppered throughout, but even she cannot really disguise the fact that the real title of the book could just as easily have been How to Hang Out With a Nasty, Self-Centered Bitch and Not Lose Your Mind. The easy answer? Quit, and don't. Regrettably for them, the six people profiled here did not.
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