Victoria Rebels

Meyer, Carolyn. Victoria Rebels.
1 January 2013, Simon and Schuster

The young Victoria lives with her overbearing mother and her governess Daisy. Her father died when she was an infant, and her mother listened to her advisor, Sir John Conroy more than Victoria would like. We first meet her at a young age, when her step sister, Feodore, is preparing to get married and leave England. Throughout Victoria's childhood, her uncle, Kind George IV, is not in the best of health, so everyone knows that Victoria will soon be queen. Her mother uses this as an excuse to keep Victoria under her thumb-- dressing her like a child, making her stay in her mother's room, having her every move watched. Victoria is also introduced to Prince Albert, and is amenable to marrying him, but not any time soon. When her uncle passes away, Victoria is finally able to assert some power to chose the people with whom she surrounds herself (NOT Conroy, and eventually not even her mother!), fall in love with Albert, and become the long reigning queen we know.
Strengths: Like all of Meyer's books, well researched. This has the additional charm of drawing from Victoria's own journals, and hearing her voice ("I was much amused") is great fun. Enjoyed this tremendously.
Weaknesses: When I got to the end, I wished for a family tree; there is one at the beginning that I missed upon opening the book. Very helpful to consult.