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Queen Victoria Biography
Queen Victoria Biography | Julia Baird
121 posts | 58 read | 9 reading | 218 to read
For readers of Stacy Schiff's Cleopatra and Sally Bedell Smith's Elizabeth the Queen comes the story of the indefatigable British queen who built an empire and made the modern world: a sweeping, gorgeously written, page-turning new biography of Queen Victoria, with insights drawn from unpublished archives.
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melissajayne
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I am hosting a Victoria Day Weekend readathon this Friday through Sunday. For those outside of Canada, some of may be wondering what is the Victoria Day weekend. To sum it up, its the unofficial start of summer here in Canada. For a more broad definition of Victoria Day, you can go here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victoria_Day⤵️

melissajayne This will be a low key readathon, in that you can read as much or as little as you want. It just matters that you read. I hope you can join in. I do realize that this is extremely short notice, as many Canadians may already have plans. #victoriadayreadathon (edited) 1y
kwmg40 I'll join in! The Aurora Awards (for Canadian science-fiction and fantasy) just announced this year's nominees, so I'll be reading from that list. 1y
Dragon Sounds fun 🤩- I‘m going to listen to the end of the tagged audiobook on Libby 1y
rabbitprincess Super excited for a Victoria Day readathon! 😍 1y
21 likes4 comments
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melissajayne
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I read this book about 8 years ago and I really like it. I really liked the details of Victoria‘s life and found it really engrossing. #letterv #alphabetgame

Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Thank you for playing 🙌🏻📚 2y
14 likes1 comment
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jlhammar
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Excellent biography of Queen Victoria. Not at all dry. Baird really brings history alive.

#Royalty #BookMoods
@Eggs @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

Eggs Perfect 😍 2y
BiblioLitten Stacked! I have been looking for a royal related book. This is a chunkster! 2y
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks 🫅 👑❤️ 2y
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BookishRedhead
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Pickpick

I always love coming back to Queen Victoria.
This was a nice detailed book on her life.
I know more about young Victoria than older Victoria so it was nice to know more about later life.

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melissajayne
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It's me reading at the beach from a few years ago; you can see only my legs #beachselfie #summerfun @4thhouseontheleft @StayCurious

StayCurious I love what you‘re reading! 4y
alisiakae I also have many leg selfies. 😆 4y
melissajayne @StayCurious it is from several years ago; one of the few biographies I have read. 4y
23 likes4 comments
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Lcsmcat
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This is a #bookgiftedtome that I probably would not have read otherwise, but that I ended up loving and recommending all over the place. #GratefulReads @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @OriginalCyn620

Bookwormjillk I love it when that happens! 5y
Librarybelle I loved this book too! 5y
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks ❤️❤️❤️ 5y
OriginalCyn620 That‘s so cool when that happens! 😊 5y
TheBookHippie Stacking it! 5y
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gossamerchild
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Pickpick

Even though this may have taken almost two years to read, this book was fantastic. So well-researched. And doesn't shy away from some of the problematic aspects of Victoria's personality and reign. Y'know, like her disdain for suffragettes 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️. Ultimately a fascinating, complicated woman.

#theunreadshelfproject2019

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MrBook
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6 of today‘s replacements for my #LeftHanders Display! 😁

Have you read any of these?!

#LitsyLovesLibraries #MrBooksDisplays

MemoirsForMe Yay Lefties! 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻 5y
jb72 I‘ve read the Ward book but I didn‘t fully like it. 5y
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Lizpixie
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#BookMail Pt5 Finally for this stack of mail is this behemoth of a non fiction about Queen Victoria. It was actually my dad who recommended this to me, he said it was one of the best biographies he‘s ever read, and he‘s read a lot. Written by Sydney journalist Julia Baird, it uses historical documents & first person accounts to give a very frank account of the long lived queens life, including material that the Palace tried to stop her using.👸🏻

KarouBlue Lovely cover! 5y
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Joanster5
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Pickpick

Had fun finishing this today. I learned a lot about the Queen. I read it for the ATY challenge prompt #34 a book with a person‘s name in the title.
#ATY2019
#aroundtheworldin52books

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balletbookworm
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Pickpick

Baird has done a remarkable job reconstructing the inner life of a woman whose family and official biographers tried to mold into the myth she had become. Victoria was remarkably contradictory in her views, believing that she had the right to tell her ministers what to do and shape foreign policy yet felt inferior to her husband and didn‘t believe in women‘s suffrage, etc. (which I was surprised to learn). A book I picked up at BEA 2016.

balletbookworm The audiobook narrator was dreadfully slow - I had the speed kicked up to 2.25x by the end - and had terrible German pronunciation. 6y
32 likes1 comment
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Birdsong28
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Pickpick

Very good. Enjoyed reading all about a well known figure in a different light. Recommend. Thank you #NetGalley for the proof copy.

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comics_librarian
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Pickpick

Baird's meticulous biography of the Grandmother of Europe helps distinguish the woman from the legend, revealing Victoria to be just as complicatedly human as the rest of us while providing immersive context of Victoria's world, how it shaped her, and how she shaped it.

Linsy A great bio! 👍 6y
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LittleMummyMe
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"She was ready.
But when Victoria first sat on the throne, her feet did not touch the floor. Below the soaring arches of Westminster Abbey, she was a mere dot, burning under the curious gaze of the gathered crowd, trying not to dangle her legs. Thousands thronged the streets of London before sunrise, hoping to claim a vantage point from which to glimpse Britain's new queen, who was just eighteen years of age and less than five feet tall."

LittleMummyMe Part of today's kindle daily deal. I can buy it for $2.99 or borrow from the library 🤔 decisions, decisions... 6y
15 likes1 comment
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Linsy
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Pickpick

This bio will strip away those rose-colored glasses.

Victoria was a great woman, but her reign oversaw great horrors and tragedy, not least of which were glorified colonialism and rampant poverty.

Although she enjoyed a place at the table, she didn‘t believe other women should share the privilege. She did, however, advocate for their physical wellbeing. That was a very different time, but still.

And there‘s so much more!!

#bookreview #history

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Lcsmcat
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My go-to for #booksetinaqueendom, although any British novel from the last ~70 years would work too. 😀 #julyinbooks18 @bookisglee

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Insightsintobooks
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On sale for 1.99
#kindledeal

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monalyisha
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Mehso-so

Queen Victoria reigned for 63 years, 7 months, & 2 days. She lived for 81 years. I felt like I listened to this audiobook for *at least* that long. I admit, it was an ambitious undertaking for me; non-fic is not my preferred genre & this is an IN-DEPTH biography (at 21+ hours). But it could have been shorter! It was repetitive & contained many extraneous words (I wanted to take a red pen to every instance of “though”)! But I did learn a lot. 🤷‍♀️

TrishB 😂😂 that‘s a long listen!! 7y
monalyisha @TrishB I feel like I really accomplished something! 😅 7y
55 likes2 comments
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Grrlbrarian
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Not part of @DeweysReadathon but delighted to spend some time with Victoria. Fascinating queen, well-written bio. I deplore getting up early, but a good read takes out some of the sting!

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Grrlbrarian
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1. Done! SO GOOD ❤️
2. They caught the fellow from my hometown that shot up the Waffle House in TN. The whole town is relieved he‘s caught but horrified at the (preventable) tragedy.
3. Nope! Going to senior Game Design daughter‘s capstone & internship demo show
4. What did the Buddha say when he walked into a pizza parlor? “Make me one with everything.” This is an awful joke, I‘m sorry, that my Pipe Sergeant told me.
5. Will do!
#friyayintro

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Librarybelle
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Congratulations to @IheartYA for reaching the 15,000 Litfluence milestone, and thank you for this #15kgiveaway ! And, thank you for the tag, @SilversReviews !

1. Top 3 most anticipated books: The Word is Murder by Anthony Horowitz, The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton, and In Search of Mary Shelley by Fiona Sampson

2. Tagged book - great Queen Victoria bio!!

3. @erista @ferskner @ErinGoBragh1011

SilversReviews Those sound like good books. Thanks for sharing. 7y
LiteraryinPA The first 2 books you mentioned are also 2 of MY most anticipated books! Sounds like I need to look up the 3rd, which I‘ve never heard of. ☺️ 7y
Librarybelle @SilversReviews ❤️❤️❤️ 7y
Librarybelle @LiteraryinLititz Wow! I was actually looking at upcoming books tonight and saw the Mary Shelley one I listed. The author is a poet, so it intrigued me - a poet writing a biography. Lots of interesting looking Shelley books and Frankenstein books coming out for the 200th anniversary this year. 7y
SilversReviews @Librarybelle 😎😎♥️♥️ 7y
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monalyisha
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“She was so bored, she nearly unlearned laughing.”

😅😂😆 Love this phrase!

emilyhaldi And the perfect visual to go with it 😆🖤 7y
MeganAnn Love this! 😍 7y
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DivineDiana
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Thank you for the tag @rohit-sawant !
1. Couldn‘t decide between Wonder Woman (another Diana) or Elizabeth Bennett (everyone‘s favorite), so I chose Queen Victoria. I fancy it would be lovely to live in a palace and have a love like Albert.
2. I don‘t have a knack for remembering quotes (although I greatly admire those who can!), so the best I can do is The Wizard of Oz.
3. Taking a trip to New York or a used bookstore.
4. Someone new: @Suleika

JenlovesJT47 💚💚💚 7y
Suleika ♥️ 7y
Reggie I‘ll get you my pretty!!!(cackles)-I don‘t think we‘re in Kansas anymore Toto-If I only had a brain- Totally quotable. 7y
DivineDiana @Reggie There‘s no place like home! ❤️ 7y
69 likes4 comments
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PNWBookseller85
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1. Most recently cried my eyes out when Prince Albert died in the Victoria biography. Does he count as a character? Obviously, I knew it was coming...
2. Plaid
3. I‘m almost embarrassed to say that I prefer my fries without any embellishment. Not even ketchup. Just salt. So much salt. 🍟
4. I grew up saying pop and then decided that I prefer the sound of soda. 🥤 🤦🏼‍♀️

Johanna414 I‘m the same way with the fries! I do like both gravy and cheese, but prefer them plain. Also, I have a bit of a French fry addiction... 7y
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PNWBookseller85
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Pickpick

By some miracle I managed to finish this massive chronicle of Queen Victoria‘s life. I‘m not a huge reader of nonfiction - although I plan to branch out more this year - but I loved this book. It was surprisingly easy to read, full of history, politics, and fascinating people, and heartbreak. Definitely worth a read.

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PNWBookseller85
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Just over here bawling my eyes out while reading about a guy who died 157 years ago. 😭😭😭 RIP Prince Albert.

rubyslippersreads I need to read this. 👑 7y
PNWBookseller85 @rubyslippersreads I am loving it. And I‘m not a big nonfiction reader. I‘ll review it when I‘m done, but I can already tell you it‘s getting 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟. 7y
Suet624 Awwww....😩😩😩❤️❤️ 7y
ReadingRuby Oh Albert 😍 I just listened to Victoria: a Life by A N Wilson on audible which was really good too 7y
105 likes2 stack adds4 comments
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PNWBookseller85
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Those rare and precious moments when they play so well together that I‘m able to read a couple chapters in my book... 🙌🏻

Chelsea.Poole LOVE matching pjs! What‘s the age difference? I have two boys who are two years apart. 9 months old & the other is 2 years and 9 months old. 😊 7y
PNWBookseller85 @Chelsea.Poole Mine are just over two years apart. It‘s so fun! Also hard, but getting easier all the time. 7y
Chelsea.Poole @BeckyMerilatt sooo glad to hear it gets easier!! 😅 7y
See All 8 Comments
UrsulaMonarch @BeckyMerilatt @Chelsea.Poole looking forward to this... mine are almost 2 months & almost 2.5 years! 😂 (enjoying now too) 7y
PNWBookseller85 @UrsulaMonarch @Chelsea.Poole For me, that first year with 2 was absolutely brutal. Lol. It does get easier!! It‘s a serious game changer when they start playing together. 7y
Chelsea.Poole @BeckyMerilatt @UrsulaMonarch it‘s so crazy because they already somewhat play together...and roughhouse!! I had no idea a 9 month old could roughhouse, but little Max can definitely hold his own!! Makes me worried for the future state of our house. 🤪😳 7y
UrsulaMonarch @Chelsea.Poole 😂...Had NOT considered that!! 😳 7y
minkyb Too adorable! 7y
102 likes8 comments
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PNWBookseller85
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The best way to spend the half hour before my shift at work. #currentlyreading

mjdowens I loved this book! 7y
Jennifer3 Love this photo! 7y
134 likes2 stack adds2 comments
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Amie
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Pickpick

This is not an enthusiastic pick, but it wasn't bad. I did not like the narrator of the audiobook and there were some instances of the author dramatizing events, which is something I dislike in nonfiction. Luckily that didn't happen too often, and Queen Victoria is definitely an interesting person to learn about.

#litsyatoz #letterV

BarbaraTheBibliophage I liked this book a lot. But, man, it was long! Just like Victoria‘s life. 7y
Amie @BarbaraTheBibliophage it is long! It took me two weeks to listen to the whole thing, even with the speed turned up to 1.5x and 1.75x. It never takes me that long to listen to an audiobook! 7y
51 likes2 comments
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Lcsmcat
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#17in2017 @Cinfhen There was only room for 16 photos, but the tagged book makes 17. This was kind of like being asked to name your favorite child . . . Thanks for the tag @jdtchicago

Loric ❤️Tell the Wolves I'm Home 7y
GoneFishing I‘m still creeped out years later by the serial killer in devil in the white city. 7y
Hollie @Loric me, too! 7y
See All 8 Comments
Cinfhen Oooh, lots of Atwood!!! I LOVED 7y
Cinfhen I'm curious about 7y
Lcsmcat @Loric @Hollie Me too! (edited) 7y
Lcsmcat @Cinfhen Blind Assassin is amazing! I‘ve not read an Atwood book I didn‘t like, and I‘ve read quite a few. Cat‘s Eye is about art and friendship, “mean girls” and bullying, and memories and perception. Check it out. 7y
mgallo1968 DEVIL IN THE WHITE CITY, LUCY BARTON, TELL THE WOLVES 👍👍👍 7y
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Amie
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I started this thinking I could knock out a difficult letter for #litsyatoz right away, but I'm not sure what I think of it. I am definitely more intrigued about Victoria's life just from the little I've listened to, but I don't like the narrator and I don't care for the writing style. But I want to know more about her! I'll give it a little more time before I bail.

Birdsong28 This might be better for you. 7y
Amie @Birdsong28 thanks! I'm going to take a look at the one by Wilson and see if it might be more to my taste in case I bail on this one. 7y
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Mamashep
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Also, this is only $2.99! So great!

annahenke Picked this up for myself this morning! 7y
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rebeccavoy
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rebeccavoy
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Pickpick

I‘m not usually a big reader of biographies, as I often find them a little dry and long winded. But despite the whopping 752 page word count, the same can not be said of this work about Queen Victoria. Granted, I am partial to royalty, but this was engaging, insightful and even witty at times. Highly recommended!

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rebeccavoy
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Pickpick

I‘m not usually a big reader of biographies, as I often find them a little dry and long winded. But despite the whopping 752 page word count, the same can not be said of this work about Queen Victoria. Granted, I am partial to royalty, but this was engaging, insightful and even witty at times. Highly recommended!

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BooksAtNight
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Pickpick

I really loved this audiobook! It was engaging, fun, and really gave me insights into Victoria as a woman instead of just the queen. The narrator (Lucy Rayner) was great too!

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Joanne1
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My most reliable #travel companion, my kindle. Great for Christmas holiday travel or any other variety. And the tagged book I intend to read on the beach this January.
#reindeerreads

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MallenNC
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I'm so happy with my #totebagswap. I waited so I could have it to look forward to at the end of the day! Thank you, @aroc for being so thoughtful! I can't wait to read all three of the books. The tote bag and extras are great too, right down to the tea tucked into the side pocket. Thank you to @cobwebmoth for organizing this swap. This was my first one, and it was a great experience!

aroc Hi @MallenNC ! I am so glad! Enjoy! 7y
MallenNC @aroc You did great! Thank you!!! 7y
aroc 😁😁😁😁😁 7y
JoeStalksBeck Omg I love that tote 7y
MallenNC @JoeStalksBeck It's such a true statement on it! Never too many books. 7y
28 likes5 comments
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BooksAtNight
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Finally starting this chunkster on audiobook. Anyone else prefer longer books in the cold months?

14 likes2 stack adds
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nrheckel
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Feeling ambitious on my lunch break today

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BookishRedhead
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Didn't expect it to be this big lol

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melissajayne
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Pickpick

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Excellent read. One interesting bit about Victoria is that she hated wearing corsets and wouldn't wear them a lot after about 1867, because she found them very uncomfortable. And despite the fact that she was queen, she was a beacon for those wanting women's suffrage, despite she herself not liking it.

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melissajayne
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Onto the final part of this amazing biography of Queen Victoria.

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melissajayne
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#beachread still working on the book, but it is getting closer to the end. Such an amazing woman. #queenvictoria #royalty #19thcentury #biography #19thcenturywomen #greatbritain #librarybooks

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melissajayne
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Wonder what happened to Anethesia and wonder if it was male or female.

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melissajayne
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Of the millions of people who filed past these creations, staring at them in wonder, very few comprehended how much these mechanisms would transform their lives in the decades to come.

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melissajayne
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Wow. 😳

mdbstar12 Some of those inventions would amaze me today! A bed that turns into a suitcase?? 7y
melissajayne Yep. 7y
melissajayne I would want the floating deck chairs. 7y
charissharpe I'd quite like my own charvoulant... 7y
12 likes4 comments
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mboots
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Pickpick

I found this biography very interesting. It also shattered what I thought of Queen Victoria and especially of Prince Albert and their legacies.

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ladyclassics
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Pickpick

Wow, finishing this book was so bittersweet. I couldn't put it down, but never wanted it to end at the same time! What a thoughtful, well-researched, intimate portrait of Queen Victoria's life and reign. As a researcher of the Victorian era, my reading of the Queen's biography was long past due. I am so grateful that I waited for the right moment and the right book to truly understand this woman from a deeper perspective. This is a MUST read! ♡♡♡

Laura317 I just got this! Glad to know it's a winner. 7y
ladyclassics Loved every bit of it!! Hope you enjoy it as much as I did :) @Laura317 7y
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