Queen Victoria: The Life of the Founder of the "Empire on Which the Sun Never Sets"

Author: (British) Lytton Strachey
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2005-01-01
Features: Queen Victoria, born in 1819, was the daughter of Edward, Duke of Kent, the brother of King George IV (reigned 1820–1830), and her mother came from the historic German noble family of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Victoria ascended to the throne in 1837 and ruled for over 60 years, becoming the longest-reigning monarch in British history. During her reign, she had the "dominion over the seven seas," was known as the "Empire on which the sun never sets," and the nation reached its most prosperous state. However, the main reason this book became one of the most famous biographies in the West was not Victoria's remarkable achievements but rather the outstanding portrayal by Strachey (Giles Lytton Strachey). Strachey was a British biographer renowned alongside Henry James and Marcel Proust, and he graduated from Cambridge University. Victoria is his most celebrated work. Unlike traditional biographies, which were often lengthy, tedious, and solely laudatory, in his telling, the queen who stood high above others and seemed untouchable was also a lovable woman with human emotions. Strachey never excused her flaws and possessed a strong tendency to deconstruct idols. The book is beautifully written, rich in literary charm, and filled with a profound and cool British wit.