Queen Victorias Matchmaking, Deborah Cadbury
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Queen Victoria's Matchmaking
The Royal Marriages that Shaped Europe

Author: Deborah Cadbury

Narrator: Charlotte Strevens

Unabridged: 13 hr 34 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: PublicAffairs

Published: 04/24/2018


Synopsis

A captivating exploration of the role in which Queen Victoria exerted the most international power and influence: as a matchmaking grandmother.
As her reign approached its sixth decade, Queen Victoria's grandchildren numbered over thirty, and to maintain and increase British royal power, she was determined to maneuver them into a series of dynastic marriages with the royal houses of Europe.
Yet for all their apparent obedience, her grandchildren often had plans of their own, fueled by strong wills and romantic hearts. Victoria's matchmaking plans were further complicated by the tumultuous international upheavals of the time: revolution and war were in the air, and kings and queens, princes and princesses were vulnerable targets.
Queen Victoria's Matchmaking travels through the glittering, decadent palaces of Europe from London to Saint Petersburg, weaving in scandals, political machinations and family tensions to enthralling effect. It is at once an intimate portrait of a royal family and an examination of the conflict caused by the marriages the Queen arranged. At the heart of it all is Victoria herself: doting grandmother one moment, determined Queen Empress the next.

Author Bio

Deborah Cadbury is an award-winning TV producer for the BBC, including Horizon for which she won an Emmy. She is also the author of numerous acclaimed books, including The Seven Wonders of the Industrial World, for which the accompanying series received a BAFTA nomination for Best Series, The Dinosaur Hunters: A True Story of Scientific Rivalry and the Discovery of the Prehistoric World, The Lost King of France: Revolution, Revenge and the Search for Louis XVII, Chocolate Wars: The 150-Year Rivalry Between the World's Greatest Chocolate Makers, and Space Race: The Epic Battle Between America and the Soviet Union for Dominion of Space. Deborah lives in London.

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