Victoria & Albert

A Royal Love Affair

By: Daisy Goodwin, Sara Sheridan

Narrated by: Jessica Ball, Dugald Bruce Lockhart

More than 16 million viewers watched the first season of the Masterpiece presentation of Victoria, created and written by Daisy Goodwin - the highest rated PBS drama in 20 years, second only to Downton Abbey.

But what happened after the queen married her handsome prince? Did they live happily ever after, or did their marriage, like so many royal marriages past and present, fizzle into a loveless round of duty? This all-new companion audiobook by Daisy Goodwin and Sara Sheridan transports listeners to the private world of Victoria and Albert. Though first cousins, they could not have been more different: Victoria was impulsive, emotional, and capricious, Albert cautious, self-controlled, and logical. But together they forged a bond with each other and with their people that would change the world.

Drawing on letters and diaries and fresh insights into royal history, this compelling audiobook charts the constant ebb and flow of power within the couple's surprisingly ardent and modern marriage. Expertly arranged and full of rich insider detail, Victoria & Albert takes listeners behind the scenes of the magnificent TV drama, including fascinating, in-depth information on the actors, the props, and the costumes - and bringing an extraordinary royal marriage even more fully to life.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your My Library section along with the audio.

©2017 Sara Sheridan with Daisy Goodwin. Television series, photographs, and Victoria logo (c) 2017 by Mammoth Screen Limited. A Co-Production of Mammoth Screen and MASTERPIECE™. MASTERPIECE™ is a trademark of the WGBH Educational Foundation. Used with permission. The PBS Logo is a registered trademark of the Public Broadcasting Service and used with permission. (P)2017 HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.

Critic reviews

"With a lilt in her charming British accent, Jessica Ball introduces listeners to the companion audiobook to the PBS series VICTORIA...Ball is aided by narrator Dugald Bruce Lockhart, who ably adds newspaper commentaries and other observations from Victorian writings. Together, they create a fascinating portrait of the young royals and give listeners an enjoyable experience." — AudioFile Magazine

Nice historical companion

I enjoyed this. It made a nice companion to the series. It was well written and delivered. Thank you!!

So interesting!!

So many facts about the time and how they incorporated them into the tv show. I found so many parts incredibly interesting!

Best Love Story Ever!

This book isn't a historical fiction like Daisy Goodwin's Victoria, but an actual account of the research she found while writing the book and the mini-series. It gives all kinds of additional information about how Victoria lived. A great informational book, however, as such, it is choppy but that's in its nature. #historical #QueenVictory #TrueLove #Tagsgiving #Sweepstakes

Too much focus on sex....

Not impressed with this one. The author kept returning to Victoria and Albert's sexuality over and over again. I would have liked to know more about their lives and interests as human beings.

Accompanies the tv drama series!

Fun to hear about production of the tv drama and intimate insights into the queen’s daily life, both politically and personally. Loved the chapters about society at the time. I recommend this book if you love all things Victorian!

not a sequel novel to Victoria

I was hoping this would be a sequel novel to Goodwins Victoria. It is not. It is a nonfiction work of history and the filing of Masterpiece Theater's production, Victoria. Once I shifted my mindset, I enjoyed this very much. It is well written and comes with a downloadable companion of illustrations and other visuals that is found in the print version of this title.

Should be called Times of Victoria

This book is disjointed, repetitive, and
promises much information on Victoria and Albert while, in fact, saying little about them. For example, she gives very little specific detail to Victoria and Albert’s relationship, instead repeating general statements about it.

It appears that Goodwin had to meet a deadline and padded her slim manuscript of anecdotes about the Queen with historical features of the era that often have nothing to do with Victoria. Get a good history book covering society at the time and you’ll get the same info, more accurately related. For example, a discussion of sex workers (a legitimate topic of historical significance) has nothing to do with the Queen and prince consort.

It’s a shame that Goodwin goes to so much effort to have costumes, props, and hair exactly right on her series while interpreting Victoria and the time period through anachronistic modern eyes. She struggles to accept that moral standards of the Queen, for instance, weren’t like those of most people today. She also freely mixes fictional ideas in with actual events to create the series.

Perhaps we should read Victoria’s journals and see what she was really like...

Good book for Queen Victoria & Prince Albert fans

What did you love best about Victoria & Albert?

The overall history of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. I liked that the book didn't just cover the happier moments of the Victorian Era but also the darker moments.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Prince Albert. He's a strong person who entered an unwelcoming country and fought to be something more than just the Queen's foreign husband.

Any additional comments?

This book is not a sequel to "Victoria". This book is more a biography about Queen Victoria and Prince Albert with small snippets of behind the scenes of the tv series, Victoria.

Great background information for the Series

This book gives a wonderful history lesson of the Victoria era. I could listen to Jessica Ball read this book all day long!

Feels choppy

Lots of interesting information. I've listened to it several times and I did enjoy it but it seems incomplete and strangely organized. Perhaps reading this book would be less confusing, but listening to it feels choppy and unfinished. It doesn't seem to include information from Season 3. In the end I went looking for a biography so it had a great follow-on effect. I'm in the US, relying on Amazon Prime and have watched the first two seasons of VICTORIA twice. So eager to see Season 3!