Becoming Queen

Oct 8, 2024 3:29 PM

Author:Kate Williams

Becoming Queen

Our perception of Victoria the Queen is coloured by portraits of her older, widowed self - her dour expression embodying the repressive morality propagated in her time. But Becoming Queen reveals an energetic and vibrant woman, determined to battle for power. It also documents the Byzantine machinations behind Victoria's quest to occupy the throne, and shows how her struggles did not end when finally the crown was placed on her head.

Laying bare the passions that swirled around the throne in the eighteenth century, Becoming Queen is an absorbingly dramatic tale of secrets, sexual repression and endless conflict. After her lauded biography of Emma Hamilton, England's Mistress, Kate Williams has produced a most original and intimate portrait of Great Britain's longest reigning monarch.

Reviews

The amazing untold story of Victoria before she was Queen ... Kate Williams reveals a passionate young woman beloved of her future subjects but at war with her family

—— Sunday Telegraph

Passionate, exuberant and entertaining, a treasure trove of royalty, intrigue and politics ... vividly and sensitively brings to life the girl who would become Queen

—— Simon Sebag Montefiore

This fresh and vivid portrayal of the young Queen Victoria is deserving of the highest praise. I cannot recommend it highly enough

—— Alison Weir, author of The Lady Elizabeth

Becoming Queen showcases an outstanding talent from whom we can expect much more

—— Matthew d'Ancona , Spectator

History as exciting and tempestuous as you are ever likely to find

—— Country Life

A dashing and vivid account of Charlotte and Victoria's lives

—— Daily Telegraph

Examining the death of Princess Charlotte, and Victoria's own struggle for power, this is a bracing recreation

—— Scotland on Sunday

Detailed and sympathetic

—— Independent

An illuminating biography

—— Tatler

This fascinating book by Sarah Rose tells the story of Robert Fortune, an early 19th-century botanist who, disguised as a Mandarin, was employed by the East India Company to discover the secrets of tea-growing in China

—— The Observer

Fortune's act of agricultural espionage is the subject of Sarah Rose's fascinating book

—— The Tablet

Sarah Rose's For All the Tea in China is a gripping spy story, which brilliantly recounts how plant-hunter Robert Fortune committed one of the greatest acts of industrial espionage in history... Rose's account is superbly well written

—— Good Book Guide

In this lively account of the adventures (and misadventures) that lay behind Robert Fortune's bold acquisition of Chinese tea seedlings for transplanting in British India, Sarah Rose demonstrates in engaging detail how botany and empire-building went hand in hand

—— Jonathan Spence, author of THE SEARCH FOR MODERN CHINA

As a lover of tea and a student of history, I loved this book. Sarah Rose conjures up the time and tales as British Legacy Teas are created before our eyes. We drink the delicious results of Robert Fortune's adventures every day

—— Michael Harney, author of THE HARNEY & SONS GUIDE TO TEA

For All The Tea In China is a rousing Victorian adventure story chronicling the exploits of botanical thief Robert Fortune, who nearly single-handedly made the British tea industry possible in India. Sarah Rose has captured the thrill of discovery, the dramatic vistas in the Wuyi Mountains, and the near-disasters involved in Fortune's exploits. For tea-lovers, history buffs, or anyone who enjoys a ripping good read

—— Mark Pendergrast, author of Uncommon Grounds: The History of Coffee and How It Transformed Our World

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