Victoria & Albert: A Royal Love Affair
Summary (from the publisher): The official companion to the second season of the PBS/Masterpiece drama Victoria by award-winning creator and screenwriter Daisy Goodwin.
More than 16 million viewers watched the first season of the Masterpiece presentation of Victoria, created and written by Daisy Goodwin--the highest-rated PBS drama in twenty years, second only to Downton Abbey. But what happened after the Queen married her handsome prince? Did they live happily ever after, or did their marriage, like so many royal marriages past and present, fizzle into a loveless round of duty?
This all-new companion book by Daisy Goodwin and Sara Sheridan transports us to the private world of Victoria and Albert. Though first cousins, they could not have been more different: Victoria was impulsive, emotional, and capricious, Albert cautious, self-controlled, and logical. But together they forged a bond with each other and with their people that would change the world. Drawing on letters and diaries and fresh insights into royal history, this gorgeous book charts the constant ebb and flow of power within the couple's surprisingly ardent and modern marriage.
Sumptuously illustrated and full of rich insider detail, Victoria and Albert takes us behind the scenes of the magnificent TV drama, including fascinating, in-depth information on the actors, the props, and the costumes - and bringing an extraordinary royal marriage even more fully to life.
More than 16 million viewers watched the first season of the Masterpiece presentation of Victoria, created and written by Daisy Goodwin--the highest-rated PBS drama in twenty years, second only to Downton Abbey. But what happened after the Queen married her handsome prince? Did they live happily ever after, or did their marriage, like so many royal marriages past and present, fizzle into a loveless round of duty?
This all-new companion book by Daisy Goodwin and Sara Sheridan transports us to the private world of Victoria and Albert. Though first cousins, they could not have been more different: Victoria was impulsive, emotional, and capricious, Albert cautious, self-controlled, and logical. But together they forged a bond with each other and with their people that would change the world. Drawing on letters and diaries and fresh insights into royal history, this gorgeous book charts the constant ebb and flow of power within the couple's surprisingly ardent and modern marriage.
Sumptuously illustrated and full of rich insider detail, Victoria and Albert takes us behind the scenes of the magnificent TV drama, including fascinating, in-depth information on the actors, the props, and the costumes - and bringing an extraordinary royal marriage even more fully to life.
Review: I won a copy of this book as a giveaway on Goodreads.
This book is a companion piece to the PBS Masterpiece drama Victoria and is filled with photos from the show. In it, Daisy Goodwin, author of the novel upon which the show was based as well as the screenwriter for the show, provides historical background on the couple fictionalized in the television series. The book covers Victoria and Albert as a couple, their home life, the royal household, as well as brief insights into Victoria's rule and her empire at the time of her reign. Additionally, the book provides background information on the making of the show, including how sets were made, costumes, and the difficulties of filming scenes with young children.
Although this is certainly not a comprehensive biography, I still learned details about Victoria and Albert's life that I had not previously read about. For example, while much is made about Victoria's devotion to her husband, he was also capable of romantic gestures: "When Victoria gave him a flower as they were dancing at a ball during their courtship, he found he had nowhere to put it, so he took a knife, cut a slit in his uniform over his heart and slipped the bloom in there" (47). The book also gave an interesting comparison on prince consorts then and now, comparing Albert to the current Queen's husband, Philip Mountbatten. Interestingly, Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip are both the great-great-grandchildren of Victoria and Albert (177). The book also gives brief overviews on interesting topics like the queen's hygiene and the differences between Victoria and Albert's appetites.
My one slight criticism of this book is the fact that while focusing on the real people behind the television show, it is filled throughout with pictures of the actors on set. Although there are some historical drawings and photographs, it is mainly television shots featured. Of course this book was designed for fans of the show, yet it seemed odd for a historical text to be so dominated by fictional depictions. On the other hand, I did like that the book intentionally spends time talking about significant plot points from the show like the Irish famine and the Boy Jones that helps provide background context for fans.
Stars: 4
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