Books like Grandmama of Europe by Theo Aronson

The unearthing of lively, telling anecdotes is the special province of Christopher Hibbert, who delights in forcing readers, in the most entertaining way, to reassess all their notions about some of the world's most intriguing historical figures. His biography of Victoria is no exception. We learn in these pages that not only was she the formidable, demanding, capricious Queen of popular imagination, but she was also often shy and vulnerable, prone to giggling fits and crying jags. Often puritanical and censorious when confronted with her mother's moral lapses, she herself could be passionately sensual, emotional, and deeply sentimental. Her 64-year reign saw thrones fall, empires crumble, new continents explored, and England's rise to global and industrial dominance. Hibbert's account of Victoria's life and times is just as sweeping as he reveals to us the real Victoria in all her complexity: failed mother and imperious monarch, irrepressible woman and icon of a repressive age.--From publisher description.

Alison Weir examines the four heirs left to Henry VIII—Edward, Mary, Elizabeth, and Jane Grey—revealing their relationships and roles in Tudor history, and how they shaped the succession and legacy of the dynasty.

From the critically acclaimed author of The Last Princess comes a witty and accessible account of Queen Victoria's life, exploring its irony and contradictions, as well as her lasting influence. Queen Victoria is Britain's queen of contradictions. In her combination of deep sentimentality and bombast; cultural imperialism and imperial compassion; fear of intellectualism and excitement at technology; and romanticism and prudishness, she became a spririt of the age to which she gave her name. Victoria embraced photography, railway travel, and modern art; she resisted compulsory education for the working classes, recommended for a leading women's rights campaigner "a good whipping," and detested smoking. She may or may not have been amused. Meanwhile she reinvented the monarchy and wrestled with personal reinvention. She lived in the shadow of her mother and then under the tutelage of her husband; finally, she embraced self-reliance during her long widowhood. Fresh, witty, and accessible, Queen Victoria is a compelling assessment of Victoria's mercurial character and impact, written with the irony, flourish, and insight that this queen and her rule so richly deserve. - Jacket flap.

Explore the lives of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert’s nine children, whose personal achievements, political roles, and enduring family bonds shaped British and European history.

An in‑depth biography of Queen Victoria’s youngest daughter, Beatrice, exploring her close and complex relationship with her mother and her influence on royal events.

Maureen Waller’s historical biography examines the political struggle between King James II, his Protestant daughters Mary and Anne, and the 1688 Revolution that brought William of Orange to power.