A N Wilson

Victoria: a Life A N Wilson

Publisher Marketing: Acclaimed historian A. N. Wilson gives a sweeping, definitive biography of one of the most recognizable yet enigmatic monarchs of all time. The longest reigning British monarch and female sovereign in history, Queen Victoria was a figure of profound paradox who has mystified historians for over a century. Now in this magisterial biography, A. N. Wilson rebukes the conventional wisdom about her life that she was merely a funny little woman in a bonnet who did next to nothing to show she was in fact intensely involved in state affairs despite a public facade of inaction. More than just the stock image of a stuffy, unsmiling widow in mourning, Wilson s complete immersion in Victoria s countless letters and journals reveals a carefully nuanced portrait of a monarch possessed by family immigrant insecurities, a reluctant public figure who learned to exploit public display, a mother who hated pregnancy, and above all, a political luminary who created and controlled the story of her life, true or otherwise."Victoria" brings to life its subject in all her many moods and phases: her so-called miserable childhood, her early years of political inexperience as a pawn to advisers and statesmen, her passionate marriage to Prince Albert and the incessant public criticism, her famed mourning period after Albert s early death, and finally, the captivating last decades of her rule as Empress of India. After nearly two decades as an eccentric, reclusive mourner, she emerged, self-confident and robust, as an out-and-out imperialist who harnessed royalty with British foreign policy and as the figurehead of military and economic world domination. Wilson tells a story of victory against painful odds and gives the portrait of a woman battling with demons and overcoming them, largely alone. Despite everything, she came to embody the British people s experience of their own lives. For those hundreds of thousands of people throughout the world, Queen Victoria transcended autocracy; she became the model for all future constitutional monarchies, a beloved leader who reflected back to the people their own experiences of passing time, their own values, and their own sense of the world. With dramatic sweep and novelistic style, "Victoria: A Life" is an accomplished work from one of our greatest biographers." Review Citations: Library Journal Prepub Alert 06/15/2014 pg. 65 (EAN 9781594205996, Hardcover) Publishers Weekly 08/25/2014 (EAN 9781594205996, Hardcover) Kirkus Reviews 09/01/2014 (EAN 9781594205996, Hardcover) - *Starred Review Library Journal 09/15/2014 pg. 88 (EAN 9781594205996, Hardcover) - *Starred Review Booklist 09/01/2014 pg. 32 (EAN 9781594205996, Hardcover) - *Starred Review New York Times Book Review 12/14/2014 pg. 34 (EAN 9781594205996, Hardcover) Books & Culture 01/01/2015 pg. 11 (EAN 9781594205996, Hardcover) Booklist Editors Choice/Adult 01/01/2015 pg. 8 (EAN 9781594205996, Hardcover) Contributor Bio:  Wilson, A N A. N. WILSON is an English writer and journalist who has written numerous critical biographies, novels, essays, and popular histories. He is an occasional columnist for the "Daily Mail", "The" "Times Literary Supplement", "New Statesman", "The Spectator", and "The Observer". His books "The Victorians, " "Dante in Love", and "After the Victorians", have garnered considerable critical and popular praise. He lives in London.