We Two: Victoria and Albert: Rulers, Partners, Rivals
by Gillian Gill
List Price:
Our Price: $14.22
You Save: $20.78 (59%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $1.41 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: Gillian GillEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Format: Deckle Edge
Published: 2009-05-19
ISBN: 0345484053
Number of pages: 480
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Book Reviews of We Two: Victoria and Albert: Rulers, Partners, Rivals
Book Review: Dissection of a relationship
Summary: 5 Stars
I freely admit to enjoying reading about the Victorian period of history, that time between 1840 or so to the turn of the twentieth century. Caught as it were, between the start of the Industrial Revolution and the First World War, we look back at it with nostalgia as a time of strong family values, where men and women knew their roles in society, and if in this hothouse atmosphere, there was just a trifle bit of decadence, we assume the more innocent aspects. And what about the woman that the time is named for -- Queen Victoria of Great Britain? Most will dismiss her as a short, dumpy, very round old woman in her widow's weeds, glowering down at the masses with the words The Queen is Not Amused.
That's the popular iconography that has persevered over the decades. But who was she really, and what of her marriage to the handsomest prince in Europe? It was his death, after all, that plunged her into nearly forty years of mourning. Now historian Gillian Gill gives the mythology of the devoted prince and his queen a fresh dusting off, and reveals that there was a great deal more going on than meets the eye.
Divided into three sections of narrative, We Two: Victoria and Albert, Rulers, Partners, Rivals takes a very unusual turn at the story. Instead of just looking at their lives in the usual chronological way, cataloging their experiences and their numerous children and then letting Victoria recede into her perpetual widowhood, Gill takes the story on a psychological journey to see just what made these two tick. And she tells the story with quite a bit of daring and insight with a strong splash of humour as well.
The first part of the book, Years Apart, looks at the years of Victoria and Albert's childhoods, and their family backgrounds. Victoria, despite being the only child of her father, the Duke of Kent, wasn't automatically in line to be Queen of England someday. Her father was George III's fourth son, and there were three brothers ahead of him before he could become king. But despite the fifteen children that George III had, there was only one grandchild who had the legitimacy to become the future ruler of Great Britain. And sadly, in 1817, Princess Charlotte of Wales died in childbirth, leaving a kingdom in mass hysteria over her death, and a husband who was determined to be an influence in England's political future. That was Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg, a younger son from one of the many tiny realms that made up nineteenth century Germany. If they didn't have much money, these little principalities with long names had been supplying a steady stream of Protestant princes and princesses to northern European kingdoms and empires. And if Leopold saw the possibility of being a king consort in England slip away, then he would settle for being a power behind the throne. He quickly helped arrange his widowed sister Victoire to marry the Duke of Kent, and not long after there was a daughter, Victoria.
Unluckily for the new Duchess of Kent, her husband died suddenly when her daughter was eight months old, and not long after she fell under the influence of John Conroy, a man of little scruples and great charm. He quickly persuaded the Duchess that Victoria's notorious uncles would corrupt her child into their scandalous lives of gambling, overspending, unsuitable life partners and making a spectacle of themselves. So born was the 'Kensington System,' where the Duchess and Conroy would keep complete control of Victoria and who she met, what she thought, and how she thought. It was, to be frank, a systemic design of mental and emotional abuse. But Victoria was made of much sterner stuff, and once she became queen at the age of eighteen years and two months, she proceeded to show her mother and her companion the door.
Albert's childhood was nearly as wretched. His father was a philandering, rather wastrel sort, and while Albert did have an elder brother, Ernst, that he grew up with, he grew up very lonely. The boys' mother had been divorced and banished, and surrounded by male tutors, and with Uncle Leopold arranging for his education, Albert grew up not quite certain about women. He was, to put it mildly, a stuck-up little prig, full of bookish knowledge, but little social skills. Worse still, he had the idea that moral purity equaled sexual purity, and while he was able to have close friendships with men, he never did let that slip over to sexual contact. Needless to say, when he met Victoria when they were both seventeen, it wasn't exactly love at first sight. Indeed, Victoria took almost no notice of him at all. Uncle Leopold very quickly arranged for Albert to have a bit more polish applied, and soon Albert was the handsomest young prince that Victoria had ever seen, and quite ready to become stud to the young Queen of England.
When they met again three years after that disastrous first meeting, Victoria decided quite nearly on the spot that Albert was for her, and asked him to marry her. (She being a queen, and he merely a prince from a little German state, it was her choice) And to all outward appearances it was a very successful marriage -- there were nine children born, Albert knew that in public he would have to play second fiddle to his wife, and in private, Victoria happily turned over what duties she could to him.
And that is, in a nutshell, the myth.
Using the personal letters that Albert wrote, and tracking his behaviour, Gill shows that Prince Albert wasn't quite the smitten, would-be boy toy of his wife. His writings reveal a man who viewed women -- including his wife -- as inferior and of little intellect compared to men, and he wasn't adverse to manipulating his wife to get what he wanted by constant scolding, put-downs (he always called her his 'dear little wife'), and made his eldest son's life -- the future Edward VII -- a living hell. He also never hid his feelings of German superiority to the English aristocracy, thereby cutting off what would have been valuable support. On the positive side, he was hardworking, had an innate grasp of politics and when he had to, he could put on the charm.
Victoria, for her part, was always the needier partner in the marriage, playing the devoted spouse to Albert's sulks, not adverse to a few yelling sprees of her own, and deploring her nearly constant state of pregnancy. She viewed being pregnant as the 'shadow side' of marriage, and when her doctors informed her that it would be wise not to have any more children, it's reported that she exclaimed, Oh doctor, am I not to have any fun in bed? When Albert died in 1861, she was emotionally devastated, and went through what was probably a mental breakdown for several years.
In the process of reading this book, I found many of my notions about this literal power couple to be shattered. There were quite a few 'aha!' moments for me, and I was left with a better idea of why this marriage worked so well, with two very polar opposites who managed to restore respectability and a sense of duty to the English monarchy. No doubt this quality was passed down onto the generations that followed, and contributed to how the current Queen of the United Kingdom has managed to rule for nearly as long as her great-great-great-grandmother.
In addition to the narrative, there are very extensive footnotes and bibliography as well as an index. Included are a collection of reproductions of paintings and etchings of the various players in the story. But what is interesting are the genealogies of both Victoria and Albert's families as well as charting the tragic legacy of hemophilia that would devastate several of the ruling families of Europe before WWI.
Summing up, this was an excellent read, and a book that is going to be finding its way onto my keeper shelves. Five stars overall, and recommended for anyone with an interest in royalty or English politics in the nineteenth century.
Summary of We Two: Victoria and Albert: Rulers, Partners, Rivals
It was the most influential marriage of the nineteenth century?and one of history?s most enduring love stories. Traditional biographies tell us that Queen Victoria inherited the throne as a naïve teenager, when the British Empire was at the height of its power, and seemed doomed to find failure as a monarch and misery as a woman until she married her German cousin Albert and accepted him as her lord and master. Now renowned chronicler Gillian Gill turns this familiar story on its head, revealing a strong, feisty queen and a brilliant, fragile prince working together to build a family based on support, trust, and fidelity, qualities neither had seen much of as children. The love affair that emerges is far more captivating, complex, and relevant than that depicted in any previous account.The epic relationship began poorly. The cousins first met as teenagers for a few brief, awkward, chaperoned weeks in 1836. At seventeen, charming rather than beautiful, Victoria already ?showed signs of wanting her own way.? Albert, the boy who had been groomed for her since birth, was chubby, self-absorbed, and showed no interest in girls, let alone this princess. So when they met again in 1839 as queen and presumed prince-consort-to-be, neither had particularly high hopes. But the queen was delighted to discover a grown man, refined, accomplished, and whiskered. ?Albert is beautiful!? Victoria wrote, and she proposed just three days later.
As Gill reveals, Victoria and Albert entered their marriage longing for intimate companionship, yet each was determined to be the ruler. This dynamic would continue through the years?each spouse, headstrong and impassioned, eager to lead the marriage on his or her own terms. For two decades, Victoria and Albert engaged in a very public contest for dominance. Against all odds, the marriage succeeded, but it was always a work in progress. And in the end, it was Albert?s early death that set the Queen free to create the myth of her marriage as a peaceful idyll and her husband as Galahad, pure and perfect.
As Gill shows, the marriage of Victoria and Albert was great not because it was perfect but because it was passionate and complicated. Wonderfully nuanced, surprising, often acerbic?and informed by revealing excerpts from the pair?s journals and letters?We Two is a revolutionary portrait of a queen and her prince, a fascinating modern perspective on a couple who have become a legend.
From the Hardcover edition.
Book Description
It was the most influential marriage of the nineteenth century--and one of history?s most enduring love stories. Traditional biographies tell us that Queen Victoria inherited the throne as a naïve teenager, when the British Empire was at the height of its power, and seemed doomed to find failure as a monarch and misery as a woman until she married her German cousin Albert and accepted him as her lord and master. Now renowned chronicler Gillian Gill turns this familiar story on its head, revealing a strong, feisty queen and a brilliant, fragile prince working together to build a family based on support, trust, and fidelity, qualities neither had seen much of as children. The love affair that emerges is far more captivating, complex, and relevant than that depicted in any previous account.
The epic relationship began poorly. The cousins first met as teenagers for a few brief, awkward, chaperoned weeks in 1836. At seventeen, charming rather than beautiful, Victoria already ?showed signs of wanting her own way.? Albert, the boy who had been groomed for her since birth, was chubby, self-absorbed, and showed no interest in girls, let alone this princess. So when they met again in 1839 as queen and presumed prince-consort-to-be, neither had particularly high hopes. But the queen was delighted to discover a grown man, refined, accomplished, and whiskered. ?Albert is beautiful!? Victoria wrote, and she proposed just three days later.
As Gill reveals, Victoria and Albert entered their marriage longing for intimate companionship, yet each was determined to be the ruler. This dynamic would continue through the years--each spouse, headstrong and impassioned, eager to lead the marriage on his or her own terms. For two decades, Victoria and Albert engaged in a very public contest for dominance. Against all odds, the marriage succeeded, but it was always a work in progress. And in the end, it was Albert?s early death that set the Queen free to create the myth of her marriage as a peaceful idyll and her husband as Galahad, pure and perfect.
As Gill shows, the marriage of Victoria and Albert was great not because it was perfect but because it was passionate and complicated. Wonderfully nuanced, surprising, often acerbic--and informed by revealing excerpts from the pair?s journals and letters--We Two is a revolutionary portrait of a queen and her prince, a fascinating modern perspective on a couple who have become a legend.
Amazon Exclusive: An Essay by Gillian Gill
When I was growing up in South Wales, the part of Great Britain best known for coal mines, people like me did not write about royalty. We left that to ?nobs? like Countess Longford (alias Elizabeth Longford) who were actually invited to coronations or to people like Cecil Woodham-Smith whose double-barrelled surname and weird given name proclaimed her membership of the elite public (i.e. private) school set. My family was the kind that lined the route on a rare royal visit to our provincial city, waving tiny union jacks.
Until my teens, my sister Rose and I were reared jointly by our mother and her mother. Mummy and Nana lived together all their lives, quarreled every day, but shared a passion for the British royal family. In our house, the pantheon of royals was worshipped with more fervor and regularity than we mustered at the plain little branch of the Church of Wales just around the corner. The royals were glamour and romance, items severely rationed in post-war Britain.
1953, the year of Queen Elizabeth II?s coronation, was a banner year for our family. My mother bought a television set and invited her humbler relatives over to squint at the magnificent event on our twelve inch, black and white set. There followed a street party and my grandmother, who had once apprenticed as a milliner, contrived marvelous costumes for Rose and me. I was actually queen for the day with a long white dress, purple robe, and crown, orb, and scepter.
But once my father retired from the Merchant Navy and took his place in the family, his carefully informed left-wing politics took hold of me and my grandmother?s reverence for the royal family began to seem silly and ignorant. When I was about seventeen, I made some flip remark about the abdication of King Edward VIII which so infuriated Nana that she slapped my face. At the time I was shocked and wholly at a loss. Now I think I understand. A handsome and engaging young king had once come to South Wales and spoken movingly of the plight of the miners. Women of my grandmother?s generation had never forgotten it. Like the rest of the general public in Britain, she had been carefully shielded by the press from any knowledge of Edward VIII?s prenuptial dalliances and fascist opinions.
By 1965 I was a graduate of Cambridge University, the first of my family to attend university and a budding academic. When it was announced that the Queen Mother would come to New Hall, my Cambridge college, to open the new buildings, I was blasé to the point of disdain. But when I found myself curtseying and carefully shaking the tips of Her Majesty?s gloved fingers, I was swept away by the mystique of royalty. How delightful the Queen was in person and how proud my grandmother would be when she saw the photo of me with the Queen Mum.
All of which is to explain why my book about Queen Victoria is prefaced by the old English saying: ?A cat may look at a king.? --Gillian Gill
(Photo © Linda Crosskey)
A Look Inside We Two
 |  |  |
British Books
- Arts & Photography
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Mrs Duberly's War: Journal and Letters from the Crimea, 1854-6Oxford University Press, USA; Published: 2007-04-19; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $30.00
Price in other shops:
Dictionary of National Biography: 8th Supplement: 1961-1970 (Dictionary of National Biography Supplement)Oxford University Press, USA; Published: 1981-12-10; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $220.34
C. Hubert H. Parry: His Life and Musicby Jeremy Dibble
Oxford University Press, USA; Published: 1998-05-14; Paperback; Book
Best price: $42.57
Price in other shops:
Letters of T.S. Eliot, Vol. 1: 1898-1922by T. S. Eliot
Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich; Published: 1988-09-26; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $11.97
Price in other shops:
Samurai William: The Englishman Who Opened Japanby Giles Milton
Penguin (Non-Classics); Published: 2003-12-30; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.49
Price in other shops:
Brief Lives (Penguin Classics)by John Aubrey
Penguin Classics; Published: 2000-11-01; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $69.95
The King, the Crook, and the Gambler: The True Story of the South Sea Bubble and the Greatest Financial Scandal in Historyby Malcolm Balen
Harper Perennial; Published: 2004-06-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $28.16
Churchill: A Biographyby Roy Jenkins
Hill and Wang; Published: 2001-11-15; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $13.52
Price in other shops:
Eminent Victorians (Oxford World's Classics)by Lytton Strachey
Oxford University Press, USA; Published: 2009-04-15; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.41
Price in other shops:
Newton and the Counterfeiter: The Unknown Detective Career of the World's Greatest Scientistby Thomas Levenson
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; Published: 2009-06-04; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $0.63
Price in other shops:
The Last Princess: The Devoted Life of Queen Victoria's Youngest Daughterby Matthew Dennison
St. Martin's Press; Published: 2008-02-19; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $9.00
Price in other shops:
Victoria and Albertby Richard Alexander Hough
St Martins Pr; Published: 1996-11; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $41.40
An Uncommon Woman: Empress Frederick, Daughter of Queen Victoria, Wife of the Crown Prince of Prussiaby Hannah Pakula
Simon & Schuster; Published: 1995-11-21; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $82.88
Victoria & AlbertA and E Home Video; Release date: 2001-10-30; DVD
Best price: $8.99
Price in other shops:
Victoria's Daughtersby Jerrold M. Packard
St. Martin's Griffin; Published: 1999-12-23; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.99
Price in other shops:
Queen Victoria A Personal Historyby Christopher Hibbert
Basic Books; Published: 2000-12; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $24.40
Price in other shops:
Uncrowned King: The Life of Prince Albertby Stanley Weintraub
Free Press; Published: 1997-06-09; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $18.64
Price in other shops:
Becoming Queen Victoria: The Tragic Death of Princess Charlotte and the Unexpected Rise of Britain's Greatest Monarchby Kate Williams
Ballantine Books; Published: 2010-08-10; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $17.90
Price in other shops:
Queen Victoria: A Personal Historyby Christopher Hibbert
Da Capo Press; Published: 2001-11; Paperback; Book
Best price: $13.85
Price in other shops:
The Young VictoriaSony; Release date: 2010-04-20; DVD
Best price: $5.99
Price in other shops: