How One Famous Socialite Volunteered During WWII

During WWII, novelist Nancy Mitford did quite a lot voluntary service to her country, in addition to working at the famous bookshop, Heywood Hill, where she entertained writers and bibliophiles alike in her makeshift salon, “Club Nancy,” along with sharing the love of books with those left in London.

While two of her sisters were actively courting friendship with Hitler, Nancy doubled down on her patriotic duties to Great Britain. She spent a very short time as an ARP ambulance driver during the Blitz which resulted in a small accident. Considering that there was a blackout at night in London during the blitz, her volunteering to drive was quite brave. All lights were extinguished during this time, and no headlamps were allowed to be used on vehicles, which of course resulted in an increase in accidents.

After the accident, Nancy sought a different type of service. She worked in a first aid post in Picadilly, rolling bandages and assisting those who came in needing aid, but she also used a blue indelible pencil to write identifying information on bodies that came in after the Luftwaffe attacks. 

She had a brief stint as a BBC broadcaster, teaching the people of London how to put out fires. However, listeners found her voice to be irritating enough that they wrote into the BBC complaining about it and asking that she be replaced. That didn't stop Nancy from aiding her fellow Brits. She also served on the fire watch herself, often at night after a long shift at Heywood Hill. 

When her family’s home, Rutland Gate, was used as a billet for about 70 Jewish refugees from the East End of London, she took up the care and running of the household and its new inhabitants. This included getting everyone's rations, making sure the house was maintained, making appointments for the refugees healthcare, etc... 

And, perhaps most intriguing of all, when a friend at the war office asked for her help in spying on the French who’d recently come to London, Nancy didn’t hesitate. She made friends with the Free French officers and got herself invited to their club so she could listen in on their conversations.

The resiliency of those on the home front during WWII has always fascinated me, and I made sure to add Nancy's service to my historical novel, THE MAYFAIR BOOKSHOP, to highlight that she was much more than the scandalous socialite she’s often made out to be. Nancy had a big heart, which was much too often broken.

To dig in further into Nancy's and her family's participation in WWII, including the two sisters who were cozy with Hitler, order the book today!

The Mayfair Bookshop: A Novel Of Nancy Mitford And The Pursuit Of Happiness…

From USA Today bestselling author Eliza Knight: a brilliant dual-narrative story about Nancy Mitford—one of 1930s London’s hottest socialites, authors, and a member of the scandalous Mitford Sisters—and a modern American book curator desperate for change, connected through time by a little London bookshop.

1938: She was one of the six sparkling Mitford sisters, known for her stinging quips, stylish dress, and bright green eyes. But Nancy Mitford’s seemingly sparkling life was really one of turmoil: with a perpetually unfaithful and broke husband, two Nazi sympathizer sisters, and her hopes of motherhood dashed forever. With war imminent, Nancy finds respite by taking a job at the Heywood Hill Bookshop in Mayfair, hoping to make ends meet, and discovers a new life.

Present Day: When book curator Lucy St. Clair lands a gig working at Heywood Hill she can’t get on the plane fast enough. Not only can she start the healing process from the loss of her mother, it’s a dream come true to set foot in the legendary store. Doubly exciting: she brings with her a first edition of Nancy’s work, one with a somewhat mysterious inscription from the author.  Soon, she discovers her life and Nancy’s are intertwined, and it all comes back to the little London bookshop—a place that changes the lives of two women from different eras in the most surprising ways. 

Order your copy!

Personalized Signed Copies: https://www.sykesvillebooks.com/eliza-knight

Harpercollins: https://bit.ly/TheMayfairBookshop

Bookshop: https://bit.ly/TheMayfair_Bookshop

IndieBound: https://bit.ly/TheMayfairBookshop_BuyIndie

Books-a-Million: bit.ly/TheMayfairBookshop_BAM

Amazon Print: https://bit.ly/MayfairBookshop

Amazon Ebook: https://bit.ly/TheMayfairBookshop_Ebook

Amazon Canada: https://bit.ly/MayfairBookshop_CA

Barnes & Noble: https://bit.ly/TheMayfairBookshop_BN

Kobo: https://bit.ly/TheMayfairBookshop_Kobo

Apple: https://apple.co/3AhR8fV

Chapters: https://bit.ly/TheMayfairBookshop_Chapters

Audible: https://bit.ly/TheMayfairBookshop_Listen

THE MAYFAIR BOOKSHOP Giveaway

My wonderful publisher, William Morrow, is giving away a print copy of The Mayfair Bookshop: A Novel Of Nancy Mitford And The Pursuit Of Happiness…

USA Today bestselling author Eliza Knight a brilliant dual-narrative story about Nancy Mitford—one of 1930s London’s hottest socialites, authors, and a member of the scandalous Mitford Sisters—and a modern American desperate for change, connected through time by a little London bookshop.

1938: She was one of the six sparkling Mitford sisters, known for her stinging quips, stylish dress, and bright green eyes. But Nancy Mitford’s seemingly sparkling life was really one of turmoil: with a perpetually unfaithful and broke husband, two Nazi sympathizer sisters, and her hopes of motherhood dashed forever. With war imminent, Nancy finds respite by taking a job at the Heywood Hill Bookshop in Mayfair, hoping to make ends meet, and discovers a new life.

Present Day: When book curator Lucy St. Clair lands a gig working at Heywood Hill she can’t get on the plane fast enough. Not only can she start the healing process from the loss of her mother, it’s a dream come true to set foot in the legendary store. Doubly exciting: she brings with her a first edition of Nancy’s work, one with a somewhat mysterious inscription from the author.  Soon, she discovers her life and Nancy’s are intertwined, and it all comes back to the little London bookshop—a place that changes the lives of two women from different eras in the most surprising ways. 

The contest ends tomorrow. If you want to enter, click here.

Pre-Order your copy!

Harpercollins: https://bit.ly/TheMayfairBookshop

Bookshop: https://bit.ly/TheMayfair_Bookshop

IndieBound: https://bit.ly/TheMayfairBookshop_BuyIndie

Books-a-Million: bit.ly/TheMayfairBookshop_BAM

Amazon Print: https://bit.ly/MayfairBookshop

Amazon Ebook: https://bit.ly/TheMayfairBookshop_Ebook

Amazon Canada: https://bit.ly/MayfairBookshop_CA

Barnes & Noble: https://bit.ly/TheMayfairBookshop_BN

Kobo: https://bit.ly/TheMayfairBookshop_Kobo

Chapters: https://bit.ly/TheMayfairBookshop_Chapters

Audible: https://bit.ly/TheMayfairBookshop_Listen

Add THE MAYFAIR BOOKSHOP to your reading lists!

Goodreads: https://bit.ly/Read_TheMayfairBookshop

BookBub: https://bit.ly/Share_TheMayfairBookshop

Praise For The Mayfair Bookshop…

"Eliza Knight’s wonderfully descriptive novel is a window into the riveting life of Nancy Mitford, not as an untouchable socialite, but as a woman who has her share of struggles on a very real, very relatable level—an absolute must read!"

— Madeline Martin, New York Times bestselling author of The Last Bookshop in London

"The force of nature that was Nancy Mitford dazzles in The Mayfair Bookshop, first as one of society's 'bright young things' between the World Wars and then as a wildly successful writer. Both Nancy's razor-sharp wit and hidden heartaches make for riveting reading!" 

— Stephanie Marie Thornton, USA Today bestselling author of A Most Clever Girl

"Knight brings vividly to life the war years, the troubling associations of Nancy Mitford's aristocratic family, and the ripple effect of their misdeeds throughout England and beyond. A rich portrait of a fascinating woman, The Mayfair Bookshop hits all the right notes: intrigue, great heart, and hope. Not to be missed!"

— Heather Webb, USA Today bestselling author of The Next Ship Home 

"Eliza Knight’s The Mayfair Bookshop takes readers into the legendary Nancy Mitford’s head, and more importantly her heart...Twining two timelines together, Knight reminds us that women and books have the power to shape the world, and we have the power to forge our own destinies—even in times of extreme adversity."

— Sophie Perinot, award-winning author of Medici's Daughter

Kate Quinn's THE ROSE CODE -- Out Today!

I’m so excited about Kate Quinn's fantastic new novel THE ROSE CODE, all about the unsung women codebreakers of Bletchley Park! It's a heart-stopping tale of three friends-turned-enemies who must reunite postwar to crack one last code and root out the spy in their midst. 

ABOUT THE BOOK:

 

1940. As England prepares to fight the Nazis, three very different women answer the call to mysterious country estate Bletchley Park, where the best minds in Britain train to break German military codes. Vivacious debutante Osla is the girl who has everything—beauty, wealth, and the dashing Prince Philip of Greece sending her roses—but she burns to prove herself as more than a society girl, and puts her fluent German to use as a translator of decoded enemy secrets. Imperious self-made Mab, product of east-end London poverty, works the legendary codebreaking machines as she conceals old wounds and looks for a socially advantageous husband. Both Osla and Mab are quick to see the potential in local village spinster Beth, whose shyness conceals a brilliant facility with puzzles, and soon Beth spreads her wings as one of the Park’s few female cryptanalysts. But war, loss, and the impossible pressure of secrecy will tear the three apart.

 

1947. As the royal wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip whips post-war Britain into a fever, three friends-turned-enemies are reunited by a mysterious encrypted letter--the key to which lies buried in the long-ago betrayal that destroyed their friendship and left one of them confined to an asylum. A mysterious traitor has emerged from the shadows of their Bletchley Park past, and now Osla, Mab, and Beth must resurrect their old alliance and crack one last code together. But each petal they remove from the rose code brings danger--and their true enemy--closer...

 

CHECK OUT THIS INCREDIBLE BOOK TRAILER!

Order your copy today: 

Book: https://smarturl.it/RoseCode

Ebook: https://smarturl.it/RoseCodeEB

Audio: https://smarturl.it/RoseCodeAudio

 

New Release: The Huntress by Kate Quinn

I'm so excited to announce the launch of Kate Quinn's latest book, THE HUNTRESS. Repeatedly listed as one of the most anticipated reads of the year by outlets like Bookbub, Goodreads, and PopSugar, The Huntress is making a splash with great reviews from the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, Marie Claire, Booklist, Publishers Weekly, Kirkus, and many more. More exciting news: Kate's on tour this month all over the United States! Come out and see her at one of her events--she's a fun speaker!  

In the aftermath of war, the hunter becomes the hunted…

Bold, reckless Nina Markova grows up on the icy edge of Soviet Russia, dreaming of flight and fearing nothing. When the tide of war sweeps over her homeland, she gambles everything to join the infamous Night Witches, an all-female night bomber regiment wreaking havoc on Hitler’s eastern front. But when she is downed behind enemy lines and thrown across the path of a lethal Nazi murderess known as the Huntress, Nina must use all her wits to survive.

British war correspondent Ian Graham has witnessed the horrors of war from Omaha Beach to the Nuremberg Trials. He abandons journalism after the war to become a Nazi hunter, yet one target eludes him: the Huntress. Fierce, disciplined Ian must join forces with brazen, cocksure Nina, the only witness to escape the Huntress alive. But a shared secret could derail their mission, unless Ian and Nina force themselves to confront it.

Seventeen-year-old Jordan McBride grows up in post WWII Boston, determined despite family opposition to become a photographer. At first delighted when her long-widowed father brings home a fiancée, Jordan grows increasingly disquieted by the soft-spoken German widow who seems to be hiding something. Armed only with her camera and her wits, Jordan delves into her new stepmother’s past and slowly realizes there are mysteries buried deep in her family. But Jordan’s search for the truth may threaten all she holds dear.

Available wherever books are sold!

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Google | iBooks | Indiebound | Kobo

New Historical Fiction Release Spotlight: MY DEAR HAMILTON by Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie

I'm super excited to share with you all a special excerpt from, MY DEAR HAMILTON by Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie! I'm currently reading this book right now and loving it! Review forthcoming!

Wife, Widow, and Warrior in Alexander Hamilton’s Quest for a More Perfect Union

From the New York Times bestselling authors of America’s First Daughter comes the epic story of Eliza Schuyler Hamilton—a revolutionary woman who, like her new nation, struggled to define herself in the wake of war, betrayal, and tragedy. Haunting, moving, and beautifully written, Dray and Kamoie used thousands of letters and original sources to tell Eliza’s story as it’s never been told before—not just as the wronged wife at the center of a political sex scandal—but also as a founding mother who shaped an American legacy in her own right.

 

Order your copy of MY DEAR HAMILTON today!

A general’s daughter…

Coming of age on the perilous frontier of revolutionary New York, Elizabeth Schuyler champions the fight for independence. And when she meets Alexander Hamilton, Washington’s penniless but passionate aide-de-camp, she’s captivated by the young officer’s charisma and brilliance. They fall in love, despite Hamilton’s bastard birth and the uncertainties of war.

A Founding Father’s wife...

But the union they create—in their marriage and the new nation—is far from perfect. From glittering inaugural balls to bloody street riots, the Hamiltons are at the center of it all—including the political treachery of America’s first sex scandal, which forces Eliza to struggle through heartbreak and betrayal to find forgiveness.

The last surviving light of the Revolution…

When a duel destroys Eliza’s hard-won peace, the grieving widow fights her husband’s enemies to preserve Alexander’s legacy. But long-buried secrets threaten everything Eliza believes about her marriage and her own legacy. Questioning her tireless devotion to the man and country that have broken her heart, she’s left with one last battle—to understand the flawed man she married and imperfect union he could never have created without her…

 

E
XCERPT:

The night before our wedding, the ball at our house was attended by all the best of Dutch Albany society. The Van Rensselaers and the Van Burens, the Ten Broecks and the Ten Eycks, the Van Schaicks and the Douws, and so many others. Neither snow nor ice nor howling wind seemed to deter our New Netherlander friends and neighbors from coming out to the Pastures for the celebrations.

Amidst boughs of holly and the light of countless candles, the grand hall on our second floor hosted festivities that included food and drink, dancing and music, and games and toasts. We danced minuets, cotillions, and Scottish reels until my feet ached and my heart soared. Alexander never seemed to tire, and I determined to keep up with him through every bar and set. I danced with Mac and my brother-in-law, Mr. Carter, a man eight years Angelica’s senior, whose business supplying the army for once permitted him time to join in the festivities. But Alexander could never wait long before declaring himself impatient and claiming me again.

My fiancé appeared more at ease than I’d ever seen him before, and perhaps that wasn’t a surprise, as these days of rest and merriment were the first break from military service he’d had in five years. Indeed, his eyes sparkled as he asked, “May I steal you away for a moment?”

“By all means.” I’d been hoping for a quiet opportunity to give him my gift. He took my hand and led me around the edge of the dance floor as we were stopped again and again by well-wishers, until we finally escaped down the stairs and into the cooler air of the dimly lit sitting room, which afforded us a modicum of peace and privacy. There, Alexander asked me to wait. And while he ducked away I seized the moment to pull my gift from its hiding place in the cabinet next to the fireplace. Alexander returned before I’d barely completed the task—and held a large sack of his own.

“Whatever is that?” I asked.

He grinned and nodded at what I held in my own hands. “I could ask the same.”

I smiled. “A wedding gift for my husband.”

He feigned a frown and stepped closer. “Your husband, madam? Do I know him?”

Playing his game, I said, “Oh, you know him very well, sir. And your gift is for?”

He came closer yet. “For my wife-to-be. And before you ask, indeed, you know her well. She has a good nature, a charming vivacity, and is most unmercifully handsome”—he arched a brow and closed the remaining space between us—“and so perverse that she has none of those affectations which are the prerogatives of beauty.”

How did he always manage to set my world a-tumble with his words? “Oh, you must be a lucky man, indeed. I hope you’ve shown her your appreciation.”

He barked a laugh. “You saucy charmer!”

I sat in the chair closest to the fire so that I could see by the greater light there, and Alexander pulled up a chair of his own so that our knees touched. With a nervous smile, he placed the heavy sack onto my lap. I untied the its string and worked the coarse cloth over the solid object inside. Impatience rolled off him so forcefully that I had to tease him further by taking great pains to slide the sack evenly off, a little on this side, and then a little on that.

“And to think someone once told me you were the Finest Tempered Girl in the World,” he said with a chuckle.

✭✭✭ ORDER MY DEAR HAMILTON TODAY✭✭✭ Amazon | B&N | GooglePlay | iBooks | Kobo | Autographed Paperback

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Stephanie Dray & Laura Kamoie’s MY DEAR HAMILTON – Blog Tour Schedule:

April 2^nd

Book review Virginia lee – Excerpt

Books A-Brewin' – Excerpt

Brandy Paige Roberts Blogger page – Excerpt

My Girlfriends Couch – Excerpt

April 3^rd

Fangirl Moments and My Two Cents – Excerpt

It's All About the Romance – Excerpt

My Book Snack – Review & Excerpt

Smexy& Fabulous – Excerpt

April 4^th

Always a happy ever after –Review & Excerpt

Ficwishes – Excerpt

Movies, Shows, & Books – Excerpt

Quirky Lady Bookworm Reviews – Review & Excerpt

Stephanie's Book Reports – Excerpt

SJAT's Books and More – Review & Interview

April 5^th

Hearts & Scribbles – Excerpt

Literature Goals – Excerpt

Reviews by Tammy and Kim (Rachel & Jay) – Review & Excerpt

What Is That Book About – Excerpt

April 6^th

Books After Fifty – Excerpt

History Undressed – Review & Excerpt

Under the Covers Book Blog – Review & Excerpt

True Book Addict – Excerpt

Zili in the Sky – Excerpt

April 7^th

3 Degrees of Fiction Book Blog – Review & Excerpt

Books According to Abby – Excerpt

Evermore Books – Excerpt

KDRBCK – Review & Excerpt

April 8^th

BookCrushin – Interview

Liz's Reading Life – Excerpt

Smut Book Junkie Book Reviews – Excerpt

Vagabonda Reads – Review & Excerpt

April 9^th

Book Bug Blog – Review & Excerpt

Devilishly Delicious Book Reviews – Review & Excerpt

Just One More Chapter – Review

Read-Love-Blog – Excerpt

April 10^th

Miss Riki – Review & Excerpt

My Fictional Escape – Review & Excerpt

Oh, for the Hook of a Book – Review & Interview

April 11^th

Bound By Books Book review – Review

Sofia Loves Books – Review & Excerpt

April 12^th

Denny S. Bryce – Review & Excerpt

Good Drunkard – Review & Excerpt

Ruth Downie – Interview

Margie's Must Reads – Excerpt

The Voluptuous Book Diva – Excerpt

April 13^th

A Bookaholic Swede – Review

Creating Herstory – Review & Interview

Historical Fiction Reviews – Review & Excerpt

Kris Waldherr Art and Words – Excerpt

April 14^th

Book Nook Nuts – Excerpt

Deluged with Books Cafe – Review & Excerpt

Eclectic Ramblings of Author Heather Osborne – Review

Leigh Anderson – Review

Nerdy Soul – Review & Excerpt

Reading Between the Wines Book Club – Excerpt

Teatime and Books – Excerpt

Two Girls with Books – Review & Excerpt

 
About Stephanie Dray: Stephanie Dray is a New York Times bestselling author of historical women’s fiction. Her award-winning work has been translated into multiple languages, illuminating women of the past so as to inspire the women of today. She is a frequent panelist and presenter at national writing conventions and lives near the nation’s capital.      

Stephanie Dray Website |Newsletter | Facebook |Twitter | Dray & Kamoie Website

About Laura Kamoie: Laura Kamoie is a New York Times bestselling author of historical fiction, and the author of two nonfiction books on early American history. Until recently, she held the position of Associate Professor of History at the U.S. Naval Academy before transitioning to a full-time career writing genre fiction under the name Laura Kaye, also a New York Times bestselling author of more than thirty novels.            

Laura Kamoie Website |Newsletter | Facebook |Twitter | Dray & Kamoie Website

New Release Spotlight: THE ALICE NETWORK by Kate Quinn

Craving stories about brave women of the past? Read about the unsung women who risked their lives as spies during World War I: The Alice Network is finally available for readers wherever books are sold! In an enthralling new historical novel from national bestselling author Kate Quinn, two women—a female spy recruited to the real-life Alice Network in France during World War I and an unconventional American socialite searching for her cousin in 1947—are brought together in a mesmerizing story of courage and redemption.

 About The Book 

1947. In the chaotic aftermath of World War II, American college girl Charlie St. Clair is pregnant, unmarried, and on the verge of being thrown out of her very proper family. She's also nursing a desperate hope that her beloved cousin Rose, who disappeared in Nazi-occupied France during the war, might still be alive. So when Charlie's parents banish her to Europe to have her "little problem" taken care of, Charlie breaks free and heads to London, determined to find out what happened to the cousin she loves like a sister.

1915. A year into the Great War, Eve Gardiner burns to join the fight against the Germans and unexpectedly gets her chance when she's recruited to work as a spy. Sent into enemy-occupied France, she's trained by the mesmerizing Lili, the "Queen of Spies", who manages a vast network of secret agents right under the enemy's nose.

Thirty years later, haunted by the betrayal that ultimately tore apart the Alice Network, Eve spends her days drunk and secluded in her crumbling London house. Until a young American barges in uttering a name Eve hasn't heard in decades, and launches them both on a mission to find the truth...no matter where it leads.

BUY THE ALICE NETWORK

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Advance Praise For "The Alice Network"

“Amazing historical fiction... a must read!” (Historical Novel Society, Editor’s Choice) 

 “Lovingly crafted and brimming with details, readers are sure to be held in Quinn’s grip watching as the characters evolve. Powerful reading you can’t put down!” (RT Book Reviews (top pick)) 

 “The Alice Network... perfectly balances a propulsive plot, faultlessly observed period detail, and a cast of characters so vividly drawn that I half expected to blink and see them standing in front of me. This is historical fiction at its best--thrilling, affecting, revelatory.” (Jennifer Robson, international bestselling author of Moonlight Over Paris) 

 “Both funny and heartbreaking, this epic journey of two courageous women is an unforgettable tale of little-known wartime glory and sacrifice. Quinn knocks it out of the park with this spectacular book!” (Stephanie Dray, author of America's First Daughter)

About The Author

Kate Quinn is a native of southern California. She attended Boston University, where she earned a Bachelor's and Master's degree in Classical Voice. A lifelong history buff, she has written four novels in the Empress of Rome Saga, and two books in the Italian Renaissance, before turning to the 20th century with "The Alice Network." All have been translated into multiple languages. Kate and her husband now live in Maryland with two black dogs named Caesar and Calpurnia, and her interests include opera, action movies, cooking, and the Boston Red Sox.

Kate's Website | Facebook Page | Twitter | Newsletter

Historical Fiction Review: Victory by Daisy Goodwin

I had the extreme pleasure of reading Victoria by Daisy Goodwin. The book was phenomenal and now I'm clearing my schedule to watch the show Victoria on PBS, also written by Ms. Goodwin, on January 15th! So, you have 2 weeks to read the book before the show!!!

From the Publisher...

"Victoria is an absolutely captivating novel of youth, love, and the often painful transition from immaturity to adulthood. Daisy Goodwin breathes new life into Victoria's story, and does so with sensitivity, verve, and wit." ~ AMANDA FOREMAN

Drawing on Queen Victoria’s diaries, which she first started reading when she was a student at Cambridge University, Daisy Goodwin—creator and writer of the new PBS/Masterpiece drama Victoria and author of the bestselling novels The American Heiress and The Fortune Hunter—brings the young nineteenth-century monarch, who would go on to reign for 63 years, richly to life in this magnificent novel.

Early one morning, less than a month after her eighteenth birthday, Alexandrina Victoria is roused from bed with the news that her uncle William IV has died and she is now Queen of England. The men who run the country have doubts about whether this sheltered young woman, who stands less than five feet tall, can rule the greatest nation in the world.

Despite her age, however, the young queen is no puppet. She has very definite ideas about the kind of queen she wants to be, and the first thing is to choose her name.

“I do not like the name Alexandrina,” she proclaims. “From now on I wish to be known only by my second name, Victoria.”

Next, people say she must choose a husband. Everyone keeps telling her she’s destined to marry her first cousin, Prince Albert, but Victoria found him dull and priggish when they met three years ago. She is quite happy being queen with the help of her prime minister, Lord Melbourne, who may be old enough to be her father but is the first person to take her seriously.

On June 19th, 1837, she was a teenager. On June 20th, 1837, she was a queen. Daisy Goodwin’s impeccably researched and vividly imagined new book brings readers Queen Victoria as they have never seen her before.

My Review...

Despite my love of British history, I admit that my knowledge of Queen Victoria was limited to knowing she loved her husband so much that she mourned him for all of her days, and that most people found her to be prudish because of her morality. So, I was extremely excited to read the book. Especially because I'd just finished binge-watching The Crown on Netflix, and needed another British queen fix. And I learned so much! Ms. Goodwin writes in beautiful, flowing, captivating words. The "just one more page... turns into twenty" kind of way. 

The book opens when Victoria aka "Drina" (nicknamed/called so my her mother/family as her first name was Alexandrina) is not yet queen. She's closeted away in a remote manor and ruled over by her mother, the Duchess of Kent, and her mother's comptroller, Sir John Conroy (a man you will truly despise.)

Victoria was the daughter of Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, fourth son of King George III. Her father died shortly after she was born, and so did everyone else in line before her. As a child, she prayed her uncle would not pass before her eighteenth birthday, because she was so oppressed by her mother via the comptroller, Conroy, who wished her mother to rule as regent. They often did not see eye-to-eye on various topics. Victoria felt a distance between herself and her mother because her mother often took Conroy's side over hers. 

Her prayers were answered when her uncle died a month after she turned eighteen and she was able to avoid a regency, though there were plenty who tried to stand in her way. She found a champion in Lord Melbourne, asking if he would be her Prime Minister. The relationship between these two is powerful to say the least. He is guiding hand and teacher in her becoming a queen, though she was prepared for the role since birth. He helped her to truly see what her position meant. And taught her something of love. Victoria blooms within the pages from a somewhat petulant child intent on vindication for her "confinement" to a woman, a queen, who is respected.

From early on, her governess turned advisor/companion of the queen's, Lady Louise Lehzen was a great supporter of hers, and acted as a barrier between the Duchess of Kent/Sir Conroy and Victoria. I loved their relationship and was so glad that Victoria had a champion in her lady and in her prime minister.

Victoria greatly admired Queen Elizabeth (whom I also admire) and there was quite a bit of mirroring in her choices. The love of a man she couldn't marry, etc... I loved the way Ms. Goodwin tied this in so poetically.

Toward the end of the book, though she is resisting marrying, Victoria finds herself attracted to her cousin Prince Albert, though he makes her mad quite often with his disapproving manner. Handsome, proud, intense, well-educated, he is a prince that won't bend to her will, won't allow her to only hear what she wants to hear. They are a perfect balance to each other, for she brings out his smile, and makes him feel safe. 

A true winner, and not to be missed. Ms. Goodwin has blown me away. I only wish it had not ended! I could have read it forever! I highly recommend this book and I am thrilled to watch her show! 

Read it now! Amazon / Barnes and Noble  

Here is a first look at Victoria on PBS...