Traces the life of Queen Victoria from her childhood to the death of Prince Albert and draws on her journals and letters to reveal her feelings during times of crisis This work, the first volume in what is projected as a major biographical undertaking, is the most important treatment of Queen Victoria's early years yet to appear. Its careful research includes extensive use of the Royal Archives at Windsor. The book infuses new vitality into the reputation of the woman who has long (and wrongly) been associated with the adjective, drawn from her name, that evokes images of primness and overbearing prudery. Here she emerges as a warm, even passionate, personality, and Prince Albert seems the real family prude. More importantly, we are offered a fresh view of Victoria and her early reign that supplants the depictions in earlier lives such as Cecil Woodham-Smith's Queen Victoria, 1819-1861 ( LJ 11/1/72) and Lady Elizabeth Longford's Queen Victoria: Born to Succeed ( LJ 1/1/65). Highly recommended. - Jim Casada, Winthrop Coll., Rock Hill, S.C. Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. Used Book in Good Condition