Victoria, a PBS Masterpiece Theatre offering, is one the most recent additions to the Lititz Public Library’s popular British television selections. Victoria begins in 1837, when a diminutive, neglected teenager is crowned Great Britain’s Queen. Navigating the scandal, corruption and political intrigue at Court, she soon rises to become the most powerful woman in the world.
Learn the history behind the dramatization and find out about life in Victorian England with these books and documentaries.
Victoria the Queen: An Intimate Biography of the Woman Who Ruled an Empire by Julia Baird (nonfiction book)
Fifth in line to the throne at the time of her birth in 1819, Victoria was an ordinary woman thrust into a world where revolutions threatened many of Europe’s monarchs, the Industrial Revolution was transforming the landscape and the British Empire was commanding large tracts of the globe.
Becoming Victoria by Victoria Vallone (nonfiction book)
A fresh assessment, based on young Victoria’s own letters, stories, drawing and journals, follows the princess from childhood through accession to the throne at age eighteen.
We Two: Victoria and Albert: Rulers, Partners, Rivals by Gillian Gill (nonfiction book)
Known as one of history’s most powerful and happily married couples, Victoria and Albert together ruled the British Empire for twenty years at the peak of its strength.
How to Be Victorian: A Dawn-to-Dusk Guide to Victorian Life by Ruth Goodman (nonfiction book)
Proceeding from daybreak to bedtime, the author describes the ordinary household drudgery and the weird and somewhat gruesome intricacies of Victorian life.
Serving Victoria: Life in the Royal Household by Kate Hubbard (nonfiction book)
Portraits of six members of the Queen’s household are portrayed, including the governess to the royal children, the maid of honor to her chaplain and her personal physician.
Born to Rule: Five Reigning Consorts, Granddaughters of Queen Victoria by Julie P. Gelardi (nonfiction book)
Five royal granddaughters were all married to reigning European monarchs during the early part of the 20th century and their reaction to WWI shaped the fate of a continent.
Inside the Victorian Home: A Portrait of Domestic Life in Victorian England by Judith Flanders (nonfiction book)
Laid out like a Victorian house, the chapters lead readers from room to room, in each space depicting the homes furnishings and activities.
The Poisoner: The Life and Crimes of Victorian England’s Most Notorious Doctor by Stephen Bates (nonfiction book)
In 1856, a crowd of over 30,000 people gathered to watch the hanging of Dr. William Palmer, convicted of poisoning and suspected in the murders of dozens as he cashed in on insurance policies to fuel his gambling addiction.
Did She Kill Him? A Torrid True Story of Adultery, Arsenic, and Murder in Victorian England by Kate Colquhoun (nonfiction book)
In 1889, a young flirtatious Southern belle stood trial for the alleged arsenic poisoning of her much older husband.
The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher: A Shocking Murder and the Undoing of a Great Victorian Detective by Kate Summerscale (nonfiction book)
In 1860, when a three-year-old was found at the bottom of an outdoor privy with his throat cut, the leading Scotland Yard detective suggested a member of the family was responsible.
Queen Victoria’s Empire (documentary film)
A small island nation controlled three-fourths of the world’s trade and one-fifth of its population in one of the greatest empires the world has known.
Queen Victoria’s Children (documentary film)
Three-part series explores the reign of Queen Victoria her husband, the Prince Consort, and the lives of her nine children.
March 24, 2017