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FOR LOVE, GLORY, AND HONOR

FOR LOVE, GLORY, AND HONOR
HER LITTLE MAJESTY: THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA
Author: Carolly Erickson
November 1, 1999?
FOR LOVE, GLORY, AND HONOR
Her Little Majesty: The Life of Queen Victoria, written by Carolly Erickson, was a candid
tale of the life of Victoria, a British queen whose obstinate and pertinacious behavior
helped to maintain England's impenetrable reign over the rest of the world. Erickson
aimed to prove that women, such as Victoria, were entirely competent of governing
themselves and others, even though women were regarded as inferior and in need of male
supervision. The author successfully accomplished her purpose of depicting Victoria in a
positive light by imforming the reader of how she managed to triumph over adversity
despiite her callous upbringing.
Princess Alexandria Victoria was born on May 24, 1819, to the Duke and Duchess of Kent in
Kensington Palace. Unfortunately, the Duke passed away shortly after her birth.
Therefore, Victoria's upbringing was left in the hands of her avaricious and irascible
mother in the hands of her father's tyrannical equerry, Captain Conroy. With only their
own self-interests in mind, Victoria's care takers attempted to deprive the young
princess of her childhood by enforcing stringent rules and by confining her to the
palace. Her own relatives tired to deny her noteworthy status of being third in line for
the throne, and they publicly regarded her as an intruder. However, there were, in fact,
many favorable aspects of Victoria;s childhood and adolescence. Victoria was taught the
grace of dance and the beauty of art in her childhood, and she learned to appreciate her
future role as queen through her extensive study of British history. She was quite a
determined and uncompromising young princess, and this attitude remained with her
throughout her reign as Queen of England.
Soon after the death of King William IV, Princess Victoria was crowned as queen at the
legal age of eighteen. Queen Victoria aspired to be a fit and upright ruler of England,
and iwth the assistance of the English government, Victoria was able to constitute order
in all areas of her empire. Her marriage to her cousin, Prince Albert of
Sax-Coburg-Gotha, was very advantageous and favorable for both Victoria and her empire.
Albert privided the emotional stability that Victoria required in that period of time,
and he also supplied England with his wonderful expertise in political and social issues.
Their marriage produced nine children who continued this English dynasty after the death
of their parents. Albert's tragic death had a detrimental impact on Victoria's life
because her husbands served as an emotional crutch for her, and she suddenly felt
overwhelmed by her responsibilities as queen. However, with the guidance of her
extraordinary prime ministers, Victoria was able to be victorious in wars in Crimea an
Prussia. Uner Victoria's rule, England was able to assert its power over India, a country
in which Victoria attempted to gain popularity among its citizens. Queen Victoria also
organized housing arrangements for England's less fortunate citizens and medical care for
the workmen in England's factories. There were incessant disputes among the Whigs and
Tories in Parliament, which Victoria successfully ceased, and there were difficulties
concerning the British occupation of Sudan, Africa. However, Victoria was able to
overcome these hardships and to gain the admiration of her kingdom. On January 22, 1901,
Queen Victoria died at the age of eighty one, leaving behind an empire that lamented over
the death of such a remarkable ruler.
Carolly Erickson's biography of Queen Victoria provided an equitable insight into
Victoira's life as queen. Erickson supplied elaborate descriptions of England's palaces
and royal celebrations, allowing the reader to easily envision these places and
festivities. For example, the author described the House of Windsor with a great deal of
detail when writing, Beyond the magnificent furnishings, glowing tapestries, and fine
paintings that adorned the ancient castle's living quarters, there were riches brought
from India, booty taken from Tippoo Sahib, including a golden tiger's head and sparkling
sculpted peacock studded with rubies and emeralds.
Furthermore, the author also included excerpts from Victoria's private journal, which she
maintained in the years before and during her rule. These excerpts allowed the reader to
view Victoria with feelings of admiration and enderment. The reader was able to share in
Victoria's triumphs and tragedies and to understand the emotions that she felt during
certain episodes in her life. For instance, Victoria was terribly grieved after the death
of her beloved husband, and she felt as if she was lacking part of her soal because of
his untimely death. The readers gained an insight into her pain when reading an excerpt
from her journal in which she said, I stood up, kissing his dear heavenly forehead and
called out in a bitter agonizing cry: 'Oh! my dear darling!' and then dropped on my knees
in mute, distracted despair, unable to utter a word or shed a tear. This biography was a
delight and pleasure to read because of these personal excerpts taken from Victoria's
private diary. Victoria often imparted information in the entries of her journal,
recounting her feelings toward some of her political advisors. She once wrote of a
dispute with one of her advisors and of her animosity toward him. She said, I pitched
into him with a vehemence and indignation-which was at any rate inspired by the British
Lion-and he remaine shrinking but still craven-hearted. These variety of excerpts added
an overall enjoyable quality to this masterpiece of a biography, which was very difficult
to put aside until the very end because it was vivid portrait of the former empress.
Erickson masterfully described Queen Victoria's positive and negative traits in this
well-written biography. The author showed that despite her short and pauchy physique,
Victoria was able to become a domineering figure in England, leaving an everlasting mark
on English society. Queen Victoria was a determined, high-minded, and often ill-natured
woman, yet these traits, which seemed negative, were actually quite admirable. It was due
to this obstinacy that Victoria was able to assert here power over her empire. Queen
Victoria was the pride of England, and she was truly concerned for the well-being of her
nation because everything she did was for the love, glory, and honor of her empire.
Her Little Majesty: The Life of Queen Victoria was published in 1997 by Simon and
Schusterin, the United States of America. The author, Carollly Erickson, is quite an
accomplished and eminent biographer who has written eleven highly acclaimed biogaphies
while residing in here home in Hawaii. She is a celebrated author whose biographies and
histories have reached audiences all around the world.