I am fascinated by Queen Victoria’s children. They are so often overshadowed by their parents, and are only discussed in relationship to Victoria and Albert. And even more so for those that moved away from Great Britain. Vicky, their eldest daughter and child, has long held my attention, and I was thrilled to see that there was going to be a fictional telling of her life coming out. I have to give a massive thank you to author Clare McHugh for sending my a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Today, we are going to be chatting about why you need to read A Most English Princess!
A Most English Princess, Clare McHugh (Publishes 22 September 2020)
To the world, she was Princess Victoria, daughter of a queen, wife of an emperor, and mother of Kaiser Wilhelm. Her family just called her Vicky…smart, pretty, and self-assured, she changed the course of the world.
January 1858: Princess Victoria glides down the aisle of St James Chapel to the waiting arms of her beloved, Fritz, Prince Frederick, heir to the powerful kingdom of Prussia. Although theirs is no mere political match, Vicky is determined that she and Fritz will lead by example, just as her parents Victoria and Albert had done, and also bring about a liberal and united Germany.
Brought up to believe in the rightness of her cause, Vicky nonetheless struggles to thrive in the constrained Prussian court, where each day she seems to take a wrong step. And her status as the eldest daughter of Queen Victoria does little to smooth over the conflicts she faces.
But handsome, gallant Fritz is always by her side, as they navigate court intrigue, and challenge the cunning Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, while fighting for the throne—and the soul of a nation. At home they endure tragedy, including their son, Wilhelm, rejecting all they stand for.
Clare McHugh tells the enthralling and riveting story of Victoria, the Princess Royal—from her younger years as the apple of her father Albert’s eyes through her rise to power atop the mighty German empire to her final months of life.
Why You Should Read This…
There have been a lot of “royal fiction” books on the market in the last few years, and I have to say, A Most English Princess is one of my favourites. We don’t typically get to spend a lot of time with Queen Victoria’s children- they tend to be supporting characters in Victoria’s story (or Albert’s depending on the book). However, her eldest daughter, Vicky, is fascinating, and I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. It was more serious in tone than a lot of the royal fiction that we’ve seen in the last few years, but that is fitting for Vicky’s life.
It is very clear from the outset that McHugh has more than done her research. The Prussian empire in the 19th century is not a small topic, and she skilfully weaves it into Vicky and Fritz’s personal life. Many characters in this story could have very well come out as caricatures, but none did- they all are wonderfully written characters in a complex story. Bertie- the future King Edward VII- only appears a few times throughout the novel, but the reader still gets meaningful insight into his character. The same can be said for their younger sister Alice. I also appreciated that McHugh addressed Vicky’s “Englishness”/allegiance to Britain without feeling preachy, as so often is the case. It did dominate Victoria and Albert’s children’s lives, no matter where they lived, but it is fascinating to hear it from the “foreign” side.
And my favourite outcome of all? McHugh has spurred me on to do more reading on Vicky’s life!
You can find my full list of Royal Historical Fiction here, where I am continually adding books…
Are you planning on reading A Most English Princess?
Cheers,
The Historian
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