Children Of The Empire: The Extraordinary Lives of Queen Victoria’s Children and Grandchildren

by Michael Farah

Some lost their thrones. Others supported the s. Several suffered from haemophilia. One had to get a job, and two were executed! Written entirely in the first person, this is a concise introduction to the extraordinary lives, scandals, loves, triumphs and tragedies of the extended royal family that has stretched across Europe, some of them becoming Kings and Queens. In Children of The Empire , Michael Farah imagines how forty-seven children and grandchildren of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert would have each summarised the story of their life, from their early childhood to the very end. Complete with individual portraits and family trees, this is an easy and enjoyable gateway to the family of Queen Victoria, accessible to all. 

Genres: Nonfiction

173 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 8, 2020

Reviews

[Simon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very good introduction to Queen Victoria's life and legacy. Michael Farah has added a very neat twist by writing it in the first person. This may not be for the expert historian but, as the book says, is accessible to everyone. I enjoyed it. I imagine younger people would too.

[Lucy-Bookworm · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was described as:
“Written entirely in the first person and fully based on accurate historical accounts, Michael Farah imagines how this royal family would have described the events of their extraordinary existence, scandals, loves, triumphs and tragedies”

There is definitely a unique angle in that he writes in the first person, so we “hear the voices” of the people - I found myself thinking that these would make great little monologues & could imagine a good actor dressed in period costume sitting on a chair talking to the camera in this “voice”. These short monologues are written in very short sentences, in quite a repetitive way (all start with “My name is …. My parents were …”) and whilst this does make them accessible, it also makes them feel informal and quite childish in their tone. The author specialises in royal, church and European history, so I was excited that I would get new insights as I read, but unfortunately there was little evidence of research & certainly nothing new in this book. I was expecting a lot more.
Overall, if you know nothing about Queen Victoria’s children & Grandchildren, this is a nice overview and the short chapters make it accessible & not overwhelming, but you are literally getting a taster of the people with no more information than can be found in a quick Wikipedia search for Queen Victoria’s grandchildren. I was disappointed.

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book free via NetGalley. Whilst thanks go to the publisher for the opportunity to read it, all opinions are my own.
#ChildrenOfTheEmpire #NetGalley

[Kelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve always been quite fascinated with the reign of Queen Victoria, she came to the throne as a very young woman (18), had a large family and then married them off across Europe with the intention of gaining more influence across the continent. As a result she gained the epithet “Grandmother of Europe”.

The premise of this book intrigued me, the idea of first person accounts from forty seven different people... how on earth did the author manage that?

This is a history lesson, with a personal voice and without the dry ‘dates and places’ feel that may put you off reading a history book. Each member of the family has their own chapter describing the key milestones of their lives, from birth to death and how their lives intersect with the other members of the family and the Royal houses that they marry into.
It does get a little convoluted as you weave in and around the next generation, and I did find myself flicking back and forwards a little to remind myself how each person fit in.
There was also some repetition as you hear the retelling of an event from different points of view, but that was a minor annoyance that I easily overlooked. The first person retelling was very engaging and reads like a novel.

Overall I really enjoyed this book and have gained a better understanding of the history of this era and Queen Victoria’s reign. It has piqued my interest to seek out more books to further my reading.

Thank you to NetGalley and Troubadour publishing for allowing me to read and review this book.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a nice little omnibus about the children and grandchildren of Queen Victoria. There’s a unique angle in that each individual subject is “composing” a letter at the end of their life. The letter is created using source documents so very well done.

I think this is a good entry as a general history lesson, a good foundational update for those of us the love reading royal histories. Some of the entries get repetitive, when you’re on the 5th grandchild by child X and the opening is the same except for birth order and the name/birthplace but outside of that jar a nice little read.

I received an advance copy from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

[Kimberly Tierney · Rating 3 out of 5]

Children of the Empire is the history of Queen Victoria's children and grandchildren. It is probably the most in depth book about her heirs that I have come across.
The formatting is unusual as it takes each person and essentially has them tell their own life story. Each segment is short, like it could be a presentation being given.
What I appreciated most was that Farah included the emotional side of each person. He made sure to talk about how they (probably) felt and not just what they did.

[Zeb Kantrowitz · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is in no way a history book, but more like a compendium of the lives of Queen Victoria, her children and their children. They're mostly two or three page blurbs of the salient parts of their lives and the grandchildren's bios do feature their children.

Though this is not on the level of an encyclopedia, it's more than you would find in a dictionary. If you want to know who married who and became Queen of this or that, it's great for that.

[Louise · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading about Queen Victoria’s children and grandchildren in the first person. It really brought them alive and I thought it was a novel approach. A lot of them lived very interesting lives. The photos and family trees also helped link everyone together. I learned lots of interesting facts that I didn’t know before. I would recommend this book to anyone who would like to know more without wanting an in-depth biography of each individual.

[Mana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very informative overview of nine children and 38 grandchildren of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert and how would they describe their own lives in their own words as though they are writing short autobiography at the end of their lives.

Based on hystorical facts and sources, mainly letters,

As I already said, the facts are interesting, but the language is pretty dull, almost encyclopedic.

[Emy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was sent a free arc on Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this a lot! It offers a different perspective of Queen Victoria's children and grandchildren. I recommend it if you want to read from them, not about them.

The reason why I cannot give it 5 stars is because I think it could go deeper into what happened. It seemed simplified to me.

[Sandy Pavick · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not a fan of the format. It's written as if each of Queen Victoria's children and grandchildren wrote a high school essay about his or her life. However, the information about the lives of this far-reaching family is fascinating.

[Sam · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can indeed imagine these stories being read by an actor in costume. Clearly written for a general audience as an introduction to the legacies of this amazing royal family, this hits the target. Enjoyable and easy to read, either in long stretches or to dip into every now and then.

[Wassim · Rating 5 out of 5]

A pragmatic and interesting take at history, Michael Farah made a period in time accessible and alive. I loved that I can grab this book and re-read the chapters in any order, imagining getting ready to meet one of these royals with a briefing at hand. We'll finally have something to talk about!

[Emma Dargue · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was really good. Informative and written in a really interesting way as if Queen Victoria's children and grandchildren were creating their own autobiographies. I have read other things around victoria's family but this is a really good way of doing it.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting book about this storied family.
I enjoyed the format of focusing on one person, written in the first person perspective.
I voluntarily reviewed an advance reader copy of this book.

[Marguerite · Rating 3 out of 5]

very simplistic and without any real new information.

[Diane Green · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting if a little repetitive.