Queen Victoria's Grandsons (1859-1918) Paperback – January 1, 2015

A very interesting book and well researched and written. I have now read four of this author's books and will continue to read more. She makes history and the characters that created it very palatable. I especially liked learning about the various cousins, their interrelationships and their personalities. The book is organized in a way that makes sense of the various factions, even when it doesn't always follow a chronological path. She presented Kaiser Wilhelm in a very positive, sympathetic light and seemed to suggest that he was not the evil agent behind the horrors of WWI. In fact, if anything, he tried to prevent it and then mitigate some of the atrocities. Because of all the family connections and friendships, it gave a good back story and another point of view as to the cause of the war. With so many family affections and occasions during which they met, it seemed a double tragedy that many had to choose sides against these same people and often their country of origin. The book gives so much more context to the dry family trees one usually has to navigate.

I really enjoyed this, and having read quite a few books about Albert and Victoria, then Victoria, then her children, etc, this is the first one with a different spin on Willy. Until very recently, politics was family politics, after all.

Christina Croft does an excellent job narrating the intertwining lives of Queen Victoria's grandsons. I found this a little easier to follow than the companion book, Queen Victoria's Granddaughters, perhaps because the men were more directly involved in the pivotal events of the late 19th and early 20th century.There are some poignant childhood memories that have special significance in this royal biography - I particularly liked the story about Victoria's young grandchildren coming to visit Grandmama at Christmas, where they would "play" battles in the garden. Ironically, these same children would grow up to take sides in World War 1. There was also a brief moment at Victoria's funeral where there was a catastrophe with the horses pulling the carriage that held the coffin, which was saved by one grandson who quickly arranged for the naval carriage to pull the coffin. This has become a feature of royal processions. Through it all, the pervading tragedy of haemophilia keeps appearing in families, generation after generation across Europe.The general family distrust of Victoria's eldest grandson, Kaiser Wilhelm II is well portrayed here, although Croft gives an interestingly objective and empathetic portrait, disputing some of the myths about Willie's cruel treatment of his mother. Croft also claims that Willie was actually eager to avoid war and especially "dreaded" a war between England and Germany. I'm not so sure about that argument, as at least one world leader must have been keen for World War I or it would never have happened.The other profiles are equally good, although some of the minor characters are difficult to keep straight. It is so fascinating to see what a lottery of fate it was being a grandchild of Queen Victoria - you could be a respected monarch, or assassinated by revolutionaries; die in childhood or live until the 1980s (that was a granddaughter); marry one cousin and/or declare war on another.This book must have been particularly cheap when I bought it because I expected it to be a quick read, but it was quite lengthy and detailed and extremely well researched. I loved reading it, and I am keen to read Queen Victoria's Granddaughters again. Recommended to anyone who is fascinated by Victoria's tangled legacy across Europe and in seeing how World War I started as a game in Grandmama's garden.

I'm addicted to reading about English and Russian history so I was looking forward to reading this book. I've read one other book by this author (Queen Victoria's Grandaughters) so I was looking forward to reading about the "Grandsons". Although I have read many books about Queen Victoria and her children it's always good to get a different perspective or perhaps get new information.This book has serious flaws:1) Editing is one - there are many typos, bad sentence structure, and titles given to people that seem to be made up (Duke of Coburg?).2) the book appears to be self-published which is not a bad thing in itself, but it visually looks like a textbook.3) there is way too much narrative spent on Kaiser Wilhelm - practically the entire 2nd half of the book is devoted to him and all other grandsons are given mere paragraphs, at best.4) this author also glosses over Kaiser Wilhelm's nasty, overbearing, and downright mean personality. The author actually states that Wilhelm never wanted World War I and appealed to everyone who would listen that they should not get involved. Really?? In all the books I've read about him - in particular, Hannah Pakula's "Uncommon Woman", a bio of his mother who was Queen Victoria's daughter, Vicky - Wilhelm was practically a narcissistic sociopath. Yet Croft writes very sympathetically about him.5) the author actually references - in a footnote - another book she wrote.6) NO photos -- are you kidding me?? Writing about all of these grandsons, daughters, etc. and not one photo inside (probably because it was self-published).If you are familiar with the history of Queen Victoria and her extended family - this book has nothing new in it. Had I seen the book in a bookstore, I would not have purchased it.If you have none or little knowledge of the subject matter, this book will give you interesting insight but be warned that it's mostly devoted to Kaiser Wilhelm - and as I stated above, it gives a very subjective view of him which is not entirely real.

Once I got passed all the military action, enjoyed it. Their lives were greatly diverse. Some died tragically young from hemophilia.

I really enjoyed this book and was sorry when I had finished it. Christina has a lovely easy style which flows beautifully and therefore it is a very good read. I have read quite a few books on the subject over the years and have always believed the Keizer to be the bogeyman but this book throws a different light on him - she is a bit more sympathetic to him and tries to show another side of his nature. I was interested to learn that the diaries Vicky got out of the country were sealed and then returned to Germany at a later date after her death. Most of these Royal children seem to have been at the mercy of their tutors - not all of them very kind which must have been alarming and grim for those who were not academic - and then to be compared with those who were clever must have been devastating. One just cannot imagine a parent shopping around for a husband or wife for their offspring often their daughters were only just out of the schoolroom themselves before too long they found themselves married to strangers in strange lands. I was pleased to get a list of characters and their family name at the start of each chapter, so many of the relations had the same names that it can be confusing. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in Victorian history.

Thoroughly enjoyed this excellent book, focusing on both the well-known and more obscure gransons of Queen Victoria. An insightful glimpse into the lives of royal offspring in the late nineteenth century and up to the first world war.

Really interesting book (along with Queen Victoria's grandaughters) if you are interested in Victoria's descendants.

Arrived on time and was as advertised

Exellent