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Victoria's Daughters

Victoria's Daughters

List Price: $15.95
Your Price: $10.85
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Tells the Life of 5 forgotten princesses
Review: I hold this book accountable for my passion for the British monarchy. It's the first book I read on this topic and after I finished it I went out and bought as many biographies on Victoria as I could find.
I strongly reccomend this book to beginners or buffs. You won't be disappointed.
For more on Vicky see the biography by Hannah Pakula and I believe there is a biography of Helena (Lenchen) out there somewhere.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Promising Title Proves Shaky on the Facts
Review: I ordered this book thankful that something was being written about Queen Victoria's daughters. However, from the moment I began reading this book, I found myself doubting the legitimacy of a lot of the author's findings. Perhaps because of my training as a historian I was disappointed in the end notes--what should have been extensive notes about where the author was getting these excerpts from letters, other facts, etc., was not there. Like other reviewers, I found the author to contradict himself frequently. It was a fun read for the summer, but has no real historical merit.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: An absolute must read
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed this book! A must read for history buffs and royal watchers alike.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Victoria's Daughters
Review: I was impressed with the book. Having been interested in Victoria and her family for as long as I can remember, it was really nice to read at length about her daughters. Although I have read several books about Victoria's eldest daughter Vicky, I haven't read much about her other 4 daughters in detail until I read this book. It was also nice to find out that although they were princesses, they had feelings and opinions and dreams like we all do.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Loved It!
Review: I'm an avid reader of royal biographies. I prefer learning about how people lived the personal side of their lives. Of course, all of these people (given their positions) had some role in politics of the time. I never paid much attention to that aspect and only now realize what a mistake that was.

This book is wonderful simply for it's attention to royal women (some who are often overlooked by other authors) and especially for it's coverage of the family dynamics. But, I also appreciated the way the author described each family member's involvement in wide-reaching European politics. This information is so well weaved into the "story" of their lives, that I was not at all put-off (bored) by it as I usually am. I was quite surprised to finally understand the unification of Germany, the role of landgraves and all those little principalities, and the formation of Canada. Granted, a book of this scope can only touch the surface of these issues. Still, I found it entertaining and elightening.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Loved It!
Review: I'm an avid reader of royal biographies. I prefer learning about how people lived the personal side of their lives. Of course, all of these people (given their positions) had some role in politics of the time. I never paid much attention to that aspect and only now realize what a mistake that was.

This book is wonderful simply for it's attention to royal women (some who are often overlooked by other authors) and especially for it's coverage of the family dynamics. But, I also appreciated the way the author described each family member's involvement in wide-reaching European politics. This information is so well weaved into the "story" of their lives, that I was not at all put-off (bored) by it as I usually am. I was quite surprised to finally understand the unification of Germany, the role of landgraves and all those little principalities, and the formation of Canada. Granted, a book of this scope can only touch the surface of these issues. Still, I found it entertaining and elightening.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Learn about everyone a once
Review: If you need to learn about Queen Victoria, her court, her Beloved Albert, and her family all at once, this is the book for you. Although the emphasis is on her daughters and their lives, this book introduces several other aspects of Victorian life. For the first time, I was able to keep straight Victoria's children and understand why they turned out as they did; why they had specific problems and to find out, surprisingly, that Prince Albert was a much more devoted father than Queen Victoria was a mother.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A Good Starting Point for Information on Victoria's Family
Review: Jerrold M. Packard's multi-biography of Queen Victoria's five daughters is an absolute delight. His well researched portrayals of eldest daughter Vicky (an intellectual who became Empress of Germany and mother of Kaiser Wilhelm); tragic Alice; shy Helena; outgoing Louise and Mama's girl Beatrice (who was much-abused by her demanding mother) are fascinating. This elite sisterhood shared many triumphs and tragedies, and endured their royal mother's notorious brand of parenting with various degrees of success.

Packard employs a wonderfully readable writing style to present his research. He does a good job of providing a considerable amount of detail for each daughter, without becoming cumbersome. Think of "Victoria's Daughters" as "Victorian biographical history lite." He provides a decent overview without delving too much into the depths of politics or historical reference. The book focuses almost solely on the lives of the daughters and their interaction with their domineering mother, and does so very entertainingly. Packard weaves together each daughter's individual history to create a striking "group portrait" of Victoria's royal family. Queen Victoria's daughters were all accomplished in some area in their own right - the fact that they all survived their mother's barrage of verbal and psychological abuse certainly speaks for their collective character.

Packard's overview of the royal sisters was so intriguing that I was motivated to seek out more in-depth individual biographies (the best of which was "An Uncommon Woman," by Hannah Pakula, about Vicky). "Victoria's Daughters" is an immensely enjoyable read - this fascinating true account of five remarkable women will whet your appetite for more information about the Victorian era and this remarkable family.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Remarkable Women
Review: Mr. Packard makes Queen Victoria's daughters come alive with his informative and compassionate book. He really captured the poor-little-rich-girl(s) scenario. Bright, talented, giving and loving women born to lives of privelege, but each paying a heavy emotional price by living in the conservative, controlled and defined world of the court of Queen Victoria and serving their mother who was a demanding, undemonstrative and emotional queen. I felt a true sadness as each sister passed away.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Repetetive
Review: Packard's book held little suprises for those of us who are devoted Victoriana fans..It was more like a rehash of facts about Voctoria's daughters from forty other books i possess..However, for the generation of eager Victorian yet to have read past books; this book is an overall "primer" to explain the complex relation between VR and her daughters.Well written and interesting from beginning to end.


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