BOOK REVIEW | Victoria by Daisy Goodwin

Title: Victoria
Author: Daisy Goodwin
Series or Standalone: Standalone at this point in time
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publication Date: 20/10/16
Format: e-ARC
Source: Publisher (Headline Review)/NetGalley
Star Rating: 3 stars
GOODREADS


Synopsis ->

In 1837, less than a month after her eighteenth birthday, Alexandrina Victoria - sheltered, small in stature, and female - became Queen of Great Britain and Ireland and from the moment William IV died, the young Queen startled everyone: abandoning her hated first name in favour of Victoria; insisting, for the first time in her life, on sleeping in a room apart from her mother; resolute about meeting with her ministers alone.
One of those ministers, Lord Melbourne, became Victoria's private secretary. Perhaps he might have become more than that, except everyone argued she was destined to marry her cousin, Prince Albert . But Victoria had met Albert as a child and found him stiff and critical: surely the last man she would want for a husband?
Drawing on Victoria's diaries as well as her own brilliant gifts for history and drama, Daisy Goodwin brings the inner life of the young queen even more richly to life in this magnificent novel. 

Victoria is a novelisation of Queen Victoria's ascension to the British throne in 1837. However, what you may or may not know, is that the author of this book is also the writer and creator of the ITV series (also titled Victoria) that coincides with it. I actually watched season 1 of the show first before reading the novel, so it's extremely difficult for me not to compare the two and to be honest, I much prefer the show to the novel. That's not to say it's a bad book, because it's not. It just lacked a few of the things that I adored from the show and even if I never watched the show, I still feel as though I would have the same issues with the book. 

So here is what I will tell you (if you don't want to know anything about the show or the book's plot and don't already know the history of Queen Victoria, then perhaps don't read on) - The novel only reaches the point of Victoria's engagement, whereas the show continues farther than that until the birth of her first child. This, combined with the fact that Prince Albert only enters the novel 80% of the way through, was my main issue. If you're a massive romance fan like I am, then you'll probably be reading this wondering when the HECK Albert is finally going to show up and woo you and this is exactly what happened. I was waiting and waiting and waiting and then it only leads up until their engagement??? ARE YOU KIDDING ME??? THEIR RELATIONSHIP IS LITERALLY WHAT I'M HERE FOR!

Don't get me wrong, the first 80% of the novel is still important, as it follows Victoria's ascension and relationship with Lord Melbourne, but it dragged on for far too long and, in my opinion, should have only taken up 40-50% of the novel MAX, and the rest to be focussed on Victoria and Albert, their relationship, and how they rule together and start a family. 

I would be fine with the novel how it is if it were the first in a series, but Daisy Goodwin has stated that her next novel will follow an entirely different main character and it will take place after Prince Albert dies SO THE WHOLE REASON I WANTED TO READ THESE BOOKS IS COMPLETELY OUT OF THE PICTURE. WHAT THE HECK. 

I did love seeing Victoria ruling by herself, standing up to all of her enemies and coming into her own, but Albert was such a HUGE part of her life and I really, REALLY wanted to read about them together, so I was super disappointed. 

In terms of the content, it's pretty historically accurate for the amount of information available and Daisy Goodwin relied on a hefty biography of Victoria's life so she knew what she was talking about, even if some aspects were embellished for the sake of TV drama. 

So yes, I recommend this book if you want to know more about the Queen's early reigning years, but I don't recommend it if you're purely here for her and Prince Albert's relationship. I would definitely recommend the TV show over the novel in any case. The acting is superb, the costumes and settings were incredible and PRINCE ALBERT IS IN MORE THAN HALF OF IT, SO THERE'S THAT. He comes in at the end of episode 3 and there's 8 episodes in total in the first season, so get on that! 

Overall I gave it a 3 out of 5 stars! 

Here's a picture of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert (from the ITV series) for your viewing pleasure ;)