"Victoria's Daughters" by Jerrold M Packard

[Fireweaver]

I picked this book up at a used bookstore, and I must say, I'm so impressed with it. It does get a bit confusing, as a lot of people have similar names (a problem in a lot of royal families). It gave me a lot of insight on Queen Victoria that I did not have before.

[Alexandria]

Sounds like a good read. Who is the author?

[Fireweaver]

Jerrold M. Packard wrote it.
I was very pleased that they had a "who is who" in the front.
I've decided that royal family trees are worse then family trees on soap opera's though. I gave up trying to figure out all the ways everyone was related :)

[Elspeth]

I read it a few years ago and found it very instructive and enjoyable. I hadn't realised that Princess Louise was quite so individual!

Is that the book which has pictures of all the daughters in little frames on the front cover? I vaguely remember not being able to tell any of them apart even after reading the book!

[Fashionista100]

Yes, I am currently reading this book. I agree it can be a bit confusing. The author wrote about all the daughters at the same time. So sometimes it was easy to confuse them. I wish that he would just write about one daughters life, then once finished with that one move on to the next. But I suppose he had to write about all at the same time to give the reader an idea of family dynamics. All I can say is I'm glad Queen Victoria was not my parent. She comes across as very demanding, and immature. A bit like throwing a temper tantrum as an adult.

Another good book which takes place in the same time peroid is "The Empress of Farewells: The story of Empress Charlotte of Mexico" by Prince Michael of Greece. The beginning of the book is slow, but it gets really good toward the second half of the book.

[trinny]

I was just looking at this book on the 'net yesterday!!

I was going to order it when I get a chance so it's good to know it's as good as I hoped it would be! :)

[Chanel]

I have been eyeballing this book at Borders for months. I have been wanting to read it and read it, so it looks like I will have to...

[morgaine]

Its a great very informative Book.

[Lady Marmalade]

chanel.....you should read it..it was an excellent portrayal of her daughters. I never realized the degree of hell Princess Victoria's (Vicky) son, the future Kaiser, put on her and her husband.

I think out of all of them, Princess Louise really broke with convention in so many ways. She was somewhat of an early feminist for her time just through her actions..

[Warren]

Sydney Sun-Herald 25 March 2007
A new book on Princess Beatrice

The Last Princess: The Devoted Life of Queen Victoria's Youngest Daughter
Matthew Dennison
Weidenfeld & Nicolson

a short extract of the review:

"The widowed Queen Victoria's dependence on her youngest daughter Beatrice was obsessive. Eventually given permission to marry, Princess Beatrice tragically lost her husband and son within a decade. Despite the Queen's reliance on her, Beatrice's only historical significance lies in the criticism of her ruthless editing of the Queen's memoirs [diaries]. Dennison's extensively researched biography is beautifully narrated and sensitively detailed..."

[RubyPrincess168]

I tried to read my mother's copy of Victoria's daughters, but I got bogged down and bored with it (which happens when the story doesn't move along at a decent pace for me). But my mother gave her copy to me when she thinned her collection so someday I may finish it.