"She had thought herself free, but she was still trapped, still caged in her mother's invisible dungeon. She needed to ensure her liberty and Victoria's."
Victoria & Violet by Rachel Brimble is a historical romance, set during the early years of Queen Victoria's reign.
Young Violet Parker is excited, when she learns she will be appointed a personal housemaid to Queen Victoria. Her overbearing, cruel mother, "a woman possibly more hateful than the queen's mother, the Duchess of Kent", has secured Violet a place to work under the authority of Baroness Lehzen, Victoria's ex-governess and companion.
"Was she about to find herself free of her mother's long-reachng fingers?" However, her mother quickly dashes her excitement. "The only reason you will be there is to orchestrate a reunion between the queen and the duchess. You will become Victoria's confidante, her friend, and do everything in your power to recall her love and need for her mother".
Still, Victoria hopes to find peace at the other end of the vast castle, working solely for the Queen. And maybe even have some free time to paint without ridicule. Painting is her passion, but her mother scoffs at her ambitions.
Entering Victoria's inner circle is a dream come true. Violet feels noticed and valued.
At court she meets James Greene who is employed as an assitant to Lord Melbourne, the queen's chief political advisor. James knows full well what it is to grow up with an overbearing parent.
Working at court is his way of escaping the clutches of the family. Yet as his father is nearing his sixtieth birthday, "James could no longer ignore that sooner or later he would be forced to step into his role as heir of the estate. A place that had been in his family for generations".
The family estate has been extended by the generations of the Greene family. "The estate was a living, breathing entity. A source of income and prosperity..." and a symbol of personal repression and maltreatment. His father is a dictatorial head of the family, who despises any weakness. He insists that James should return to the estate, get married and sire children.
James and Violet belong to different social class and background, yet they share the same bond of having tyrannical, brutish parents and a miserable childhood.
Through their service, their paths inevitably cross, and there's a magnetic pull of mutual attraction. Both understand that to do his duty to the family, James has to marry well, and Violet is definitely not a suitable candidate.
The royal court is a vipers' nest, with intrigues and conspiracies galore, scandals and deadly gossip. It is not a place for romance.
Young Victoria has her own dilemma. She must marry and have an heir. Meeting Prince Albert changes her views on the attraction of marriage. This also changes the dynamics of the court.
Prince Albert, with his old-fashioned views, believes Victoria should reconcile with her mother. To appease him, Victoria would do anything, she is utterly besotted with her fiancé. Her mind filled with romance, Victoria is more inclined to encourage courtship for her ladies.
Rebellious Violet hopes that her mother's days of dictating her future are over. Little does she know that her mother doesn't give up easily.
Will Violet be able to escape her mother's power? Is there a future for her and James?
Victoria & Albert is a gripping historical romance, that shines a light on the intrigues of the early Victorian court. It is a novel of love, secrets and ambitions, reawakening of inner strength and determination to rule one's own destiny.
It gives an insight in the world of young Queen Victoria, her struggles to establish her independence from the avaricious and unscrupulous mother, her early relationship with Prince Albert and the beginning of dependence on his support and guidance.
I loved the idea of seeing young Victoria through the eyes of her devoted maid. It gives an interesting, alluring angle to the otherwise known historical background.
Readers will delight at the atmosphere and the vivid characters, both historical and fictional.
And slightly moving away from the novel, my musings on Queen Victoria.
I have read several fiction and non-fiction accounts of Queen Victoria's life. Growing up with a toxic parent turned Victoria herself into an inadequate parent. She was a horrible mother, who expected a total devotion from her children but gave little in return. Just look at that wedding photo of her son. She is sitting in full mourning, between the young couple, and looks at the bust of her long dead husband. How ghastly!
In the novel, she says, "Yes, we might need others from time to time, but it is our husband or wife whom we must aim to build a beautiful life. Even over our children. Do you understand?" To me it's wrong on so many levels.
This book review is part of the blog tour for Victoria & Violet.
Many thanks to Rachel Brimble and Rachel's Random Resources for my e-copy of the book!
Purchase Links
UK - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Victoria-Violet-Royal-Maids-Book-ebook/dp/B0B6T47ZX5
US - https://www.amazon.com/Victoria-Violet-Royal-Maids-Book-ebook/dp/B0B6T47ZX5
Author Bio –
Rachel is a member of the Romantic Novelists Association as well as the Historical Novel Society and has thousands of social media followers all over the world.
Social Media Links –
Website: https://bit.ly/3wH7HQs
Twitter: https://bit.ly/3AQvK0A
Facebook: https://bit.ly/3i49GZ3
Instagram: https://bit.ly/3lTQZbF
Thank you so much for this wonderful review and the quotes you have included! This will give your visitors a good taste fo the novel :)
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