Book
Serving Victoria : life in the royal household / Kate Hubbard.
Record details
- ISBN: 9780062269911 (hc) :
- Physical Description: xii, 417 p., [16] p. of plates : ill., ports. ; 23 cm.
- Edition: 1st U.S. ed.
- Publisher: New York : Harper, c2013.
Content descriptions
| Bibliography, etc. Note: | Includes bibliographical references (p. [365]-396) and index. |
| Formatted Contents Note: | Pt. 1: 'A queen is a very happy woman'. Windsor 1838 ; A scandal and a crisis ; 'Love rules the court' ; Sarah Lyttelton: superintendent of the nursery ; Charlotte Canning: lady of the bedchamber ; 'Gone afloat' ; Osborne ; In the highlands ; 'The object of education' ; Departures ; Mary Ponsonby: maid-of-honour ; Glimpses of abroad ; Three deaths -- Pt. 2: 'My heart is utterly and completely broken'. 'Someone to lean on' ; Henry Ponsonby: private secretary ; Balmorality ; Eastern Questions and domestic affairs ; James Reid: resident medical attendant ; Randall Davidson: dean of Windsor ; Spring holidays ; Household bothers ; The year of the Munshi ; Accommodating Bipps ; 'A last look' ; Postscript: After Victoria. |
Search for related items by subject
Available copies
- 1 of 1 copy available at Tsuga Consortium.
Holds
- 0 current holds with 1 total copy.
| Location | Call Number / Copy Notes | Barcode | Shelving Location | Status | Due Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stroud Branch | 941.0810922 Hub | 31681002629863 | NONFIC | Available | - |
- Baker & Taylor
Drawing from letters and diaries, this vibrant portrait of Queen Victoria offers a unique insight into the Victorian court and the real woman behind the austere figure depicted in her famous portraits by following the lives of six members of her household. 25,000 first printing. - Baker & Taylor
Drawing from letters and diaries, a portrait of Queen Victoria and her court offers unique insight into the real woman behind the austere figure depicted in her famous portraits by following the lives of six members of her household. - HARPERCOLL
âA vivid, entertaining and often comical portrait of life at court.â âWall Street Journal
âCompelling. . . . The rhythm of court life at Windsor or Balmoral is the backdrop to a rich human drama, a story of people existing in uneasy intimacy with the royal family.â â Daily Telegraph (London)
Based on the letters and diaries of six members of Queen Victoria's household, Serving Victoria offers unique insight into the queen and her court. Seen through the eyes of her servantsâincluding the governess to the royal children, her maid of honor, her chaplain, and her personal physicianâVictoria emerges as more vulnerable, more emotional, more selfish, more comical than the austere figure depicted in her portraits.
We see a woman prone to fits of giggles, who wept easily and often, who shrank from confrontation yet insisted on controlling the lives of those around her. We witness her extraordinary and debilitating grief at the death of her husband, Albert, and her sympathy toward the tragedies that afflicted her household.
A perfect foil to the pomp and circumstance, prudery and conservatism that has become synonymous with Victoria's reign, Serving Victoria is an unforgettable glimpse of what it meant to serve the queen.
- HARPERCOLL
During her sixty-three-year reign, Queen Victoria gathered around herself a household dedicated to her service. For some, royal employment was the defining experience of their lives; for others it came as an unwelcome duty or as a prelude to greater things. Serving Victoria follows the lives of six members of her household, from the governess to the royal children, from her maid of 'honor to her chaplain and her personal physician.
Drawing on their letters and diaries'many hitherto unpublished'Serving Victoria offers a unique insight into the Victorian court, with all its frustrations and absurdities, as well as the Queen herself, sitting squarely at its center. Seen through the eyes of her household as she traveled among Windsor, Osborne, and Balmoral, and to the French and Belgian courts, Victoria emerges as more vulnerable, more emotional, more selfish, more comical, than the austere figure depicted in her famous portraits. We see a woman who was prone to fits of giggles, who wept easily and often, who gobbled her food and shrank from confrontation but insisted on controlling the lives of those around her. We witness her extraordinary and debilitating grief at the death of her husband, Albert, and her sympathy toward the tragedies that afflicted her household.
Witty, astute, and moving, Serving Victoria is a perfect foil to the pomp and circumstance'and prudery and conservatism'associated with Victoria's reign, and gives an unforgettable glimpse of what it meant to serve the Queen.
