No comments about The Mediterranean Passion: Victorians and Edwardians in the South.

No comments about El Capitan Cook.

No comments about Sir Isaac Pitman: His Life And Labors.

1 comments about The Desire of My Eyes: The Life & Work of John Ruskin.

1. This is really good book

No comments about Warren Hastings And Others.

No comments about The Life of William Ewart Gladstone Part One.

1 comments about Executioner: The Chronicles of James Berry, Victorian Hangman.

1. If you're into executions ,this is a great one & another is Executioner: Pierrepoint an autobiography, published by: Eric Dobby isbn 1-85882-061-8 .About Albert Pierrepoint, Englands last Official Hangman,very engrossing & both books hard to put down once you've started reading them.

2 comments about George Orwell.

1. Outstanding writing and research. By the time you finish the book you probably know Orwell better than his friends, his women and himself. It drags a bit in the middle but it lead me to re-read Down and Out and to order most of his publications.



2. The only other biography of Orwell that I have read is the two-volume Stansky-Abrahams one, which I read when it appeared over 25 years ago. Of course, one gets to know Orwell pretty well if one reads Orwell's own essays, etc. This seems to be a very good biography, though. I particularly want to commend Bowker for writing at this length, rather than writing something twice or thrice the size. Furthermore, there's a sense that the story has been well told, the people and events adequately identified, etc. One feels human interest not only in Orwell but in others, such as his two wives.
   
   Bowker thanks his copy editor by name, and perhaps that person is not to be blamed for a few errors of grammar and spelling (e.g. the same person is both Frances and Francis) that appear.

No comments about A. W. H. Phillips: Collected Works in Contemporary Perspective.

1 comments about Queen Victoria: Library Edition.

1. Knowing little about Queen Victoria, I was looking for a good biography. In "Queen Victoria" I hit the jackpot! This book strikes just the right balance between revealing the life of the private woman, wife, widow and mother and the Queen of her people, while giving the reader an insight into the public affairs of her time.

   Victoria's life can be divided into four segments. The first is her youth during which she grew up with her mother after the death of her father. During this segment of her life, she was protected by her mother to the intense irritation of her uncle, King William IV. During this period, Victoria and her mother enjoyed a close relationship which was to terminate after Victoria's accession to the throne..

   The second era of her life can be described as the Albert era. Although I greatly enjoyed the TV movie, "Victoria and Albert", I understood it much more after this movie. Albert, Victoria's first cousin and consort, is the one who really emerges as the star of the book. Although reluctant to marry Victoria, she clearly fell head over heels for him. After their wedding, Albert became Victoria's trusted confident and advisor, to the point of becoming the defacto monarch. Always "The Foreigner", Albert won the trust and admiration of British politicians, industrialists, commercial and social leaders. In domestic relations, Albert helped bring about a reconcillation between Victoria and her mother. As a businessman who reorganized Victoria's estates to multiply their return or a statesman molding Britain's foreign policy, Albert was superb. An example of the importance of his influence is found in his last diplomatic intervention during the Trent Affair. The Trent Affair was an incident in which the Trent, a British flag vessel, was stopped and searched by a ship of the United States Navy, which removed two Confederate agents. An incendiary protest was toned down by Albert to one which would lead to a peaceful solution, rather than to war. If Albert had died a month earlier, the United States may have either lost the South or won Canada.

   The third segment of Victoria's life is her tragic widowhood. Totally dependent on Albert during his life, Victoria was devastated by his death. For years thereafter she almost totally withdrew from her royal duties, despite the efforts of her ministers to lure her back into public life.

   During the fourth segment of her life, Victoria returned to public life as the mother of her country and grandmother of Europe. Emerging to the adulation of her people, Victoria resumed her rides through London, her tours of the Kingdom and the entertainment of her royal relations. During this period a major portion of her diplomacy was involved with her irritating grandson, Kaiser Wilhelm II.

   This book certainly portrays Victoria as a Queen unlike those with which we are familiar. Not mere figureheads, Victoria and Albert were actively involved in public affairs. Among their surprising topics were dynastic relations and stipends for her children.

   In this book we also get a glimpse at some of the political figures who Victoria loved and hated.

   All things considered, this book is an excellent introduction to a most unique lady.