Magnificent Obsession [Kindle Edition]

This is not a usual biography, but an examination of the death of Albert, the Prince Consort, and Queen Victoria's reaction to it. As Helen Rappaport points out, biographies often neglect to examine the death of Albert, choosing to look at Victoria's life before or after her becoming a widow. Yet, her extreme reaction to the loss of her husband changed, and undermined, the monarchy. This book seeks to understand why Victoria reacted as she did and the effect of her intense mourning on her family and the nation.

The book begins with a joyful Christmas, 1860, with the family having an almost childish delight in present giving and Christmas trees and merry making; little knowing that the following December would lead to the loss of Prince Albert. Victoria was a woman who needed love and attention - her early life dominated by her mother, she later relied on other male figures, such as the Prime Minister, before finding ecstatic love in her marriage to Albert and later leaning on her Scottish servant John Brown. Although with no official role or title for a long time, Albert was patient and, by his death, was acting as a 'dual monarch' with Victoria, who relied upon him absolutely as her surrogate father, husband, best friend, assistant and teacher.

Victoria believed that worries about their eldest son, Albert, Prince of Wales ("poor Bertie") caused Albert to become ill. However, the book discusses various causes; from overwork to isolation. The author presents a very sympathetic picture of this man, much resented and seen as formal, prudish and reserved, yet essential to the smooth running of the monarchy. His illness and death is described in detail and his death plunged the nation into mourning. He died on the 14th December and, although it was near Christmas, the country virtually closed - theatres shut, shops shuttered and all festivities cancelled - including Dickens, who had (unwillingly you sense), to cancel lucrative public readings.

The author cleverly shows how the death of Victoria's mother prefaced the terrible grief she would show on losing Albert. She plunged the court into full mourning for two years and never allowed them out of half mourning in her life time. Although those that produced mourning clothes profited, as did Whitby, where the centre of jet jewellery was based, a year of unending grief lost the Queen sympathy. Her retreat from public life is well known, but this book details public, and private, reaction to her reclusion and it is interesting to see how her never ending grief was viewed - from sympathy to irration and resentment. As the monarchy came under pressure, the author shows how they survived the crisis of one woman who, it has to be said, seemed to enjoy prolonging her grief, using it as a ploy to avoid situations she disliked having to cope with, while being unwilling to give up her throne to her son.

There is an informative appendix on possible causes for the death of Prince Albert and the book also gives an interesting portrait of the Victorian era and how mourning was a very formal event. In a time when death is hardly mentioned, it is fascinating to learn how it was dealt with in a time when people were more likely to be nursed, and die, at home and when death came often and suddenly. This is a very interesting account of Victoria's obsession with her sainted Albert and a brilliant portrait of the Queen, very human for all her shortcomings. Lastly, I read the kindle version of this book and the illustrations were included at the end.

Queen Victoria's marriage to Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha was unusual in one remarkable respect - she genuinely loved him. In an age when royal marriages still played an important role in forging links between nations finding your intended husband was intelligent, handsome, diligent and genuinely devoted to you was something of an unexpected bonus. No wonder then that after twenty years of blissful married life and the birth of several healthy children Queen Victoria was plunged into a sort of perpetual winter when her beloved Albert died just before Christmas in 1861. Except, of course, things were not quite that simple....

Helen Rappaport's Magnificent Obsession is one of the finest history books I have read in recent years. On one level it acts as a beautifully researched account of the events leading up to Albert's death and an elegant exploration of how his death shaped the monarchy, and the country, for the remainder of Queen Victoria's long reign; on another level it serves as a dramatic account of a very personal grand passion, a passion that plunged a still young woman into a spiral of despair when it came to an untimely end. History on a national scale and the emotions of one family are beautifully balanced and the narrative, as a result, works well on many different levels. Rappaport also has a gift for portraying characters - I had a new respect for Prince Albert having learnt of his unwavering devotion to Britain, his desire to shield his wife from some of the less appealing pressures of being a monarch, his interest in the arts and the sciences and his devotion as a father to his children. Other players in the drama - the sychophantic Dr Jenner for example, still bumbling and uttering soothing words to the Queen long after all hope for Albert's recovery had vanished and the loyal, down to earth, but genuinely concerned and well-meaning John Brown - all come across as individuals rather than as mere names on the periphery of somebody else's drama. The book also hits a good balance between Albert's sudden decline and death and the legacy he left behind. Victoria's protracted mourning caused a constitutional crisis with questions being asked as to whether the country any longer needed a monarchy, but her passion to preserve Albert's memory also brought about Albertopolis - the buildings and institutions such as the Royal Albert Hall, The Natural History Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum that many of us know and love today.

In addition to the bigger picture though, and for all of the excellent character sketches - dutiful, long suffering daughter Alice, bearing the brunt of her mother's grief; or affable Bertie - well-meaning but rather hopeless and a worry to his parents - what really put the book into the top flight for me was the surrounding detail: the descriptions of mourning wear, the details of the royal ceremonies; the manner in which the press approached the tragedy and the response to the Queen's protracted grief by the general public. The tragic events are put into a wider context which gives them an added depth and relevance.

It's probably apparent from the above that I absolutely loved this book. I have a fondness for anything Victorian but, even in a crowded field, this stands out as an excellent work: beautifully written; well-researched and beautifully referenced (no claims are made without being backed up by contemporary evidence) the book should keep the serious historians and the general readers equally happy. Definitely one of my books of the year.

Having read some of Helen Rappaport's other books, I had high expectations of 'Magnificent Obsession'. I'm pleased to say that they were exceeded. Much has been written about Queen Victoria's long reign, but in this book Rappaport turns her keen historical eye on the year leading up to Prince Albert's death, and the two decades of dedicated mourning that followed. Victoria's own overwhelming grief is juxtaposed with that of a nation who considered the Prince Consort to be their uncrowned king.

Rappaport's account is scholarly, yet compelling and highly readable. The story is placed in unobtrusive, meticulous historical context, and the archival research is impeccable. I am an academic researcher in this field and rarely have I encountered a book that has satisfied in so many different respects.

'Magnificent Obssession' will appeal to both specialist and general readers, and is an example of historical writing at its best.