Queen Victoria at Home

Author Michael De-la-Noy takes us on a conducted tour of the many homes of Queen Victoria and crafts an intimate domestic portrayal that adds depth and complexity to her legend. Apart from Balmoral Castle, the home she loved best, there was Kensington Palace, where she was born; Buckingham Palace, where she was the first monarch to take up residence; Windsor Castle, the origins of which stretch back to William the Conqueror; the exotic Royal Pavilion in Brighton; and Osbourne House on the Isle of Wight, where she died. What emerges from this intimate domestic portrayal is, alongside her self-centeredness and obsession with the anniversaries of deaths, a great deal of humor, shrewdness and compassion. She often showed generosity and affection to her servants: not merely did she turn a blind eye to drunkenness below stairs but also showed real concern when they were ill. Although she drove the male members of her household to distraction by insisting on conducting business with them by correspondence, this very human and domestic queen retained the love and loyalty of all who served her. This book provides a revealing and thorough portrait of the domestic side of Queen Victoria's reign.