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lizzie_beth98's review
lighthearted
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
jilljemmett's review against another edition
5.0
I picked up this book a couple of years ago when I was at Buckingham Palace. I was so surprised to see it, because I didn’t know she wrote a book as a child.
This book has the story of Alice Laselles, as well as illustrations. The original copy of this story is kept in the Royal Collection Trust at Windsor Castle. The history of this story is given in the introduction by Jacqueline Wilson. Queen Victoria wrote the story for her mother, and illustrated it with her governess. There are also images of the paper dolls she created with her governess at the end of the story. They are so beautiful! I’m amazed at how she made paper dolls when she was a child, and I also remember playing with paper dolls when I was a child almost 200 years later!
This is a beautiful book. The cloth cover makes it a keepsake. The story is also quite entertaining. This book is a must read for any fan of Queen Victoria.
This book has the story of Alice Laselles, as well as illustrations. The original copy of this story is kept in the Royal Collection Trust at Windsor Castle. The history of this story is given in the introduction by Jacqueline Wilson. Queen Victoria wrote the story for her mother, and illustrated it with her governess. There are also images of the paper dolls she created with her governess at the end of the story. They are so beautiful! I’m amazed at how she made paper dolls when she was a child, and I also remember playing with paper dolls when I was a child almost 200 years later!
This is a beautiful book. The cloth cover makes it a keepsake. The story is also quite entertaining. This book is a must read for any fan of Queen Victoria.
louanges's review against another edition
I went into this fully ready to be shocked and impressed by Victoria’s artistic ability (the cover says she was both writer and illustrator). I emphatically was, at first, until I realised it was actually illustrated by Cristina Pieropan. The illustrations are spliced with paper dolls belonging to Victoria, hence the attribution, but these were likely made by Lehzen and may have been coloured by Victoria but were just as likely to have been coloured by either Lehzen, Feodora or Victoire Conroy.
Slightly misleading cover aside, the book is cute and charming and it’s cool to see RCT publish stuff like this. It’s clearly written by a child but there’s a good grasp of language and a general sense of narrative structure, making it better than anything I wrote up until about the age of 23. You can also kind of see how elements of Victoria’s broader play factored into her creative process, which is a sweet little insight into the childhood mind of such a prominent historical figure.
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