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A Magnificent Obsession: Victoria, Albert, And The Death That Changed The British Monarchy (2012)

by Helen Rappaport(Favorite Author)

3.77 of 5 Votes: 5

ISBN

0312621051 (ISBN13: 9780312621056)

languge

English

genre

History & Biography

publisher

St. Martin's Press

review 1: Hmm. This was really pretty well done, hard to classify. Perhaps a "biography of a marriage/widowhood." Interesting observations, especially for British history buffs, lots of details on Albert, Victoria, WHY it seemed everyone took Albert's illness lightly at first, and chronicling the self-absorption of Victoria before, during, and after Albert's death and how that impacted the monarchy--which came close at one time to really losing popular support when Victoria withdrew from public life. I had no idea just how self-involved Victoria was. Interesting to compare it to the very well done Victoria's Daughters which I read a few years ago. And an entertaining "What did Albert really die of?" exploration in an appendix at the end.
review 2: Read it in two da... moreys. Well-written, superbly researched (the last 76 pages are end notes, bibliography and index). Already ordered one of her (the author) other books about the Romanovs. What I didn’t like was the egregious discrepancy on page 107 alleging (on a monument) that Albert was 43 when he died; in fact, he was 42 (1819-1861). That's not Rappaport's fault, but seems she didn't notice it either. less

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