Victoria By Daisy Goodwin

This is an advertisement for SheSpeaks/St. Martins Press. I received this book for free from SheSpeaks. All opinions are my own.

Fall has finally arrived! We have had some nice, cool nights where we could use our little electric fireplace and snuggle up under a blanker with a great book or while watching a movie. Clay, the kids and myself all enjoy reading and, for me, cool, crisp evenings are the perfect chance to sit down with a good book!

Clay and I went to the Smoky Mountains last weekend and our cabin had a wood fireplace. You better believe I curled up in front of that with a book when we were relaxing! We also snuggled up together and watched Christmas movies but when he was busy with other things, I enjoyed my current read: Victoria by Daisy Goodwin.

It was so relaxing!

When we got back home, I curled up in front of our electric fireplace to finish my book. It wasn’t the same as the wood burning fireplace but it was nice nonetheless! And I got in some good reading.

Looking at this book got me to thinking. This is a book that would make a great gift for the upcoming Holidays! I can see placing it in a big, gorgeous basket with a soft, fluffy blanket. Add to that a pretty bookmark with an inspirational quote, a big mug, fixing’s for hot cocoa, coffee or tea, depending on the recipient and some decadent, dark chocolate truffles. This would make the perfect gift for a book lover!

Ok, on to the book itself.

I absolutely love reading Historical Fiction. I love that a book can take a real life person from the past and give us a glimpse into what their life may have been like, while still giving us a story of romance or mystery, etc. Although, sometimes it is difficult to tell fact from fiction.

That is the case with Victoria by Daisy Goodwin. We know the basic history of Queen Victoria but I’ve always wondered what her life was actually like. What would it have been like to become the Queen of a country at such a young age?

While this isn’t a true account of her teenage-hood, it does give us a good imagining of what her life was probably like. And it lets us see Victoria in more of a down to Earth fashion.  Although, since I don’t know much about her, I’m not sure which parts are true and which parts are made up for the story. So I’ll have to do some research on the parts I’m unsure of.

She was still somewhat of a child when she was crowned the Queen of England. She was 18, had been sheltered her entire life. In this story, she was very immature in her dealings with her ladies and Prime Minister.  I can see where, at 18 and being raised the way she was, that she probably was very much like Daisy Goodwin has written her.

I can imagine myself at that age and how terrified I would have been to be thrown into this new role while, at the same time, being ready for a change from no freedom. She thought she would have the freedom to now do as she pleased but I didn’t realize that, as Queen, she would still be very restricted in the things she could say and do.

I feel like Daisy Goodwin really captured what it must have been like for Victoria as she sat out to sort of redefine herself as Queen. I love all the interactions she had with other Royal family members, her ladies, Lord Melbourne and, most especially, her dog Dash.  It makes sense that she would fall quickly for the first person to really listen to her and agree with much of what she had to say. She was pretty demanding too! At 18, she wanted what she wanted and didn’t quite realize that you need to use some tact in dealings with others.

I would have preferred to read more about her relationship with Prince Albert but since this is based on when she first became queen I see it as an overall good read.

See the Victoria book trailer below:

Anyway, I don’t want to give any spoilers so just let me say that this is a pretty good Historical Fiction novel. It is fun to read. There is no smut or vulgarity. It is an overall good, relaxing weekend read.

Interested in Victoria by Daisy Goodwin?

You can purchase the book here.

Pre-orders can be placed now, but the book is available for purchase on November 22.

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Do you enjoy reading Historical Fiction? How would you package a book like Victoria by Daisy Goodwin into a gift basket for family or friends?