This was a very comprehensive biography of Queen Victoria. However, with so many biographies out there of the queen, this book has very little new information. Still, I recommend this for fans of the Royals!

Great book for fans of Queen Victoria. I'm not a history buff on her but I definitely learned some interesting new things.

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review.

An interesting biography with many details about Victoria which I was unaware of. An easy read, covering numerous areas of Victoria's times. Chapters are short and concise, and I found good to have pictures illustrating the biography.
Thank you, NetGalley for letting me read this book for free in exchange for an honest review.

I love biographies with pictures and I have a special interest in everything about monarchy, so, it goes without saying, that I adored this book! It's interesting, well written, easy to read with short chapters and a lot of images. It's not a heavy read, it reads quicky and always keeps you engaged.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I love anything about this era, the whole book engrossed me I loved reading about queen Victoria’s personal life, I learned lots of things which I never knew before which fascinated me

Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I have for many years had a fascination with Queen Victoria and Victoriana in general. I loved this book full of detail. Well-written. Definitely recommended.

This is a lovely retrospective of Queen Victoria, who was the longest reigning Queen of England until the current Queen Elizabeth II surpassed her. I've read a few biographies on Queen Victoria over the decades (a favorite is "Her Little Majesty: The Life of Queen Victoria" ) and recently have been enchanted with PBS/Masterpiece Theatre's "Victoria". Victoria is one of my favorite English monarchs because of her fierce love for her husband Prince Albert, having a large family of 9 children, working as a team with Prince Albert to encourage various innovations, the promotion of celebrating Christmas by decorating a tree, and wearing a white dress when getting married. Quite tragically, her beloved Albert died at just 42 while Victoria lived another 40 years. For the rest of her life she wore mourning dresses, even though it was only required for a year or two.

This book would be wonderful in the hardcover format. It chronicles Queen Victoria's life accompanied by full page photos, mostly in color- as the narrative goes along. It is important to note that Queen Victoria was the first Queen of England to be photographed...before that there were only paintings. This tome covers so many aspects of her long reign such as ships she christened, places she visited, homes and castles she lived in, medals she awarded and designed, dresses she wore-and much much more. The book ends with her death and funeral, with a full compliment of photos depicting her casket on a gun carriage and her final resting place beside Prince Albert in their mausoleum at Frogmore, Windsor. I marveled at the detail given here of her deathbed, body preparation, and the secret instructions of what would be discreetly placed in her coffin. This wasn't a "heavy" read, which was a pleasure. It was simple and straightforward. If I wasn't interested in a topic (such as a particular ship) I could skim by it, look at the picture and move on. I read this as a protected pdf on my computer where I was really able to appreciate the photos. At just 240 pages, this was a concise presentation of the life of Queen Victoria.

Thank you to the publisher Pen & Sword / Frontline Books who provided an advance reader copy via NetGalley.

As Victoria was the fifth in line to the British throne, the odds of her ever becoming heir were slim. Yet in 1837 as a young teenager she ascended to the throne as successors died, including her uncle William IV. Queen Victoria was the longest-serving British monarch in history until Elizabeth II. This book describes her life, personal, political and social. She made history in other ways, too, such as implementing balcony acknowledgements and chloroform when both were new ideas; befriending Indian servants, thus tearing down cultural and class barriers; crocheting and sending scarves to the best private soldiers and colonial soldier representatives from Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa; sending tins with chocolates to cheer soldiers and visiting the wounded in hospitals; wearing a white wedding dress, a novelty; and creating the idea of the Victoria Cross medal and decorating soldiers herself,

Soon after becoming queen Britain became a democracy. Queen Victoria was beloved to her subjects except for several who tried to assassinate her (though she refused to be intimidated). She was seriously ill a few times and was involved in close-call accidents. Her stalwart support for soldiers, especially in Crimea, is touching. Widowed at 42 with nine young children, parted unexpectedly and shockingly from her dearest friend in life, Queen Victoria lived through tragedy after tragedy.

The photographs and illustrations are fascinating and compelling. One of my favourites is the painting by Wells informing Princess Victoria she was now queen. The author describes the first oath Queen Victoria signed. Relationships with those she looked to and trusted such as King Leopold of Belgium, Prime Minister Melbourne and John Brown are discussed.

Amongst the many stories one of my favourites is the Fox & Crown story, Queen Victoria's proposal to Prince Albert and wedding ceremony including her vows, Post Office Reform, Osborne Home, cane attack, chloroform details and photo, description of Balmoral ("pretty little castle"), Nightingale Jewel, garden parties in the grounds of Buckingham Palace, quirky and fun description of her saloon carriage forays (I don't blame her!) and meeting Charles Dickens.

Anyone interested in reading about Victoria the person and the queen should seek this out. Though I have read loads of books on the subject, this is brilliantly informative and immersive.

My sincere thank you to Pen & Sword and NetGalley for the privilege of reading this remarkable book.

Queen Victoria has almost become a household name, if I may use that word—even an era has been named after her, after all. She had one of the longest reigns ever and while on the throne witnessed the major scientific and technical breakthroughs of the nineteenth century. I was therefore really looking forward to reading an in-depth biography of that extraordinary monarch.

Unfortunately, this book, while an interesting read, turned out to be rather like a Queen Victoria photo album than a continuous and extensive biography. In fact, it is constructed like a series of anecdotes, illustrated with drawings and photos, that retrace the queen’s childhood and long reign. Not all of these short glimpses struck me as outstandingly important for readers who wanted to learn the milestones of her life. They were interesting, some of them probably unknown to the vast majority of amateur historians such as I, but really more in the realm of trivia than in that of anecdotes that could explain her character in an exemplary way.

One last word: I was granted an ebook copy, and I’m sorry to say that the layout, even though it undoubtedly works just fine for the hardcover copy, is not suited for electronic reading devices, alas. No chapter breaks, photos and captions oddly placed (in the middle of the running text more often than not), which became somewhat of a nuisance after a while.

All in all, an interesting and well-researched if disappointing read—as explained, I expected this to be a biography. I’d still recommend it, nonetheless, but to those already familiar with this outstanding queen’s life.

Perfect book for someone like me who doesn't know much about Queen Victoria and want something simple that isn't too heavy too read. Shorter chapters with images!

I would read books about other topics in this style from the same author in the future

One can argue over who was the best monarch of Great Britain, but many conclude it is Queen Victoria, for whom an era was named. I've long been fascinated by the queen and her life, so when NetGalley offered me a chance to read an Advanced Reader's copy of Queen Victoria-Her Life and Legacy by Paul Kendall, I was glad to take them up on the offer. I was given an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A glossy book (if you can call a Kindle book glossy), there is an abundance of visual material in the book. What one could simply take as coffee table book on the life of the queen is much more than that. There's a depth that most picture books don't have, and seeing photographed items that Queen Victoria actually used made the text come to life.

If you're looking for an in-depth biography of Queen Victoria, this isn't it, but if you're looking for more about the queen and the times in which she lived, this book offers up plenty of useful information.

A no-frills biography presented in austere, short chapters. I dare say her highness, Queen Victoria, would have approved of the no-drama writing style. Images portray major events, persons, and locations of Queen Victoria's life to help set the scene. A good, basic biography that is easy to read. 2-4 page chapters make for easy pickup and set down for those with a busy lifestyle. A great starting point for those researching Queen Victoria and her time period. Sources are meticulously cited within text for both information and images.

Between 1837 and 1901, Queen Victoria reigned through a period which saw Britain and the empire transformed beyond all recognition. Victoria and her reign are subjects which have been covered many times before but Paul Kendall's nicely illustrated and well-researched books contains enough fresh insights into the details of her life to ensure it always remains interesting..

Arguably Britain’s greatest ever monarch, Queen Victoria’s era is regarded by many as a golden age in British history, and it is hard to argue with that after reading Paul Kendall’s excellent pictorial history, “Queen Victoria - Her Life and Legacy”.
This book is a visual document of the locations associated with Victoria’s reign, from her place of birth in Kensington Palace, to her death bed; objects used by her and notable events. There is captivating photography throughout and while it may appear to be a superficial book on the surface, upon reading it becomes clear that this work is a thorough and scholarly history of Queen Victoria’s entire life. Each chapter has a short write-up about the history of the subject, and each passage has real historical depth.
We get a vivid picture of Victoria’s life, especially her tentative, nervous and grief-laden early years when she assumed the throne aged just 18. Surviving several assassination attempts, she became a powerful monarch who ruled over one of the biggest empires the world had yet seen, creating many institutions and cultural changes which still resonate today.
A very accessible book that can be understood and enjoyed by all ages, Paul Kendall’s “Queen Victoria - Her Life and Legacy” is richly informative and a joy to read. It is a fitting record of one of the greatest monarchs in British history.

280 Pages

5 stars

This book does not lend itself to Kindle formatting. I hope this can be corrected before final publication.

This book starts out at the time of Victoria’s birth. Since, at the time of her birth, she was fifth in line for the British throne, she was not expected to ascend to the throne. However, a series of unfortunate deaths led to her becoming Queen Victoria when she was one month shy of her eighteenth birthday. She was to sit on the throne for sixty-three years and seven months. Her reign led its name to the “Victorian Age.”

This book has fantastic pictures of various palaces and other places of interest related to Victoria’s reign. It also has copious footnotes, so that the reader may further explore her life and times. It outlines the assassination attempts on her life, of which there were many.

It describes the fairytale story of her romance with Prince Albert, a cousin of hers. It sounds absolutely wonderful. The reader is told about her nine children, beginning with her first daughter Victoria or “Vicky.” (Although she hated being pregnant.) Albert loved and doted on his children.

Victoria’s reign was to engender many, many firsts in Britain, such as postage stamps, railroads and so on. She and her daughters, and the household staff knitted stockings for soldiers fighting the Crimean War. She took her position as head of the armed services seriously and did all she could to support the men. She was the first Queen to use chloroform in 1853 beginning with the birth of her sixth child, Prince Leopold. She was the first to use the Buckingham Palace balcony as a way of greeting her subjects.

I wish I could portal back to 1851 Britain and see the Crystal Palace with its 300,000 panes of glass. It must have been absolutely gorgeous. Prince Albert really created a masterpiece.

Mr. Kendall ends his book with, “No woman was ever held in higher honour. No Queen was ever loved so well.”

Aside from the Kindle formatting problems, this book is fascinating. It is well written and laid out pretty linearly. The reader gets a sense of Victoria through his words and the photographs. It is a wonderful picture of a much loved Queen.

I want to thank NetGalley and Pen & Sword/Frontline Books for forwarding to me a copy of this very good book for me to read, enjoy and review. The opinions expressed here are solely my own.

******This book is not yet Available on GoodReads or BookBub for me to review. I will watch both of these sites so that I may add my review.