One character in this book is the Swoose. A swoose is half goose and half swan (except the swoose's name is "Fitzherbert.") Fitzherbert is the color white. The swoose wanted to visit the queen and see her father who is a swan. I like Fitzherbert and want her to be my friend. She also met a water-vole on her way to see the Queen and her father. You should read this book. I like it.

Excellent book. Well written and easy to read. The chronological style of the book enables the reader to experience the flow of history year by year. Very good reference when reading other books of this type which are not organized as logically.

Wolfgang Gottlieb Mozart is an aging and neglected composer who, in 1830, is summoned to Kensington Palace to give piano lessons to eleven year-old Princess Victoria, the niece of King George IV. Mozart takes an immediate liking to the charming Victoria and sensing that her life may be in danger, decides to try to protect her. After King George IV dies, Princess Victoria becomes heir apparent to the throne and William IV is the new king. The book has a light-hearted tone. Victoria, Mozart and William IV are an extremely likeable trio and the plot is nicely resolved.

This publication is a must in the library of any serious collector of British Royalty Commemoratives. A reference book without peer. It and its companion book by John May are invaluable as a source of reference.

The author does an excellent job of detailing Queen Elizabeth's life, from girlhood to her death. Throughout the book are the Queen's own letters, furthing our insight into this dynamic female ruler. After finishing this book, I felt as though I knew Her Royal Highness personally!

The author, Jean Plaidy, who is also known to her legion of fans as Victoria Holt, is a masterful writer of historical fiction. This book, the ninth volume in her "Queens of England" series, is an engrossing portrait of Lady Mary of York, daughter of King James II of England, who would be a future Queen of England. The story is expertly woven with sufficient historical detail so as to satisfy the most discerning readers.

Growing up the beloved daughter of the Duke of York, an ardent Catholic who would one day be crowned King James II of England, Mary was reared as a Protestant to conform to the will of the people. At fifteen years of age, she was forced into a political and loveless marriage with her Protestant first cousin, the dour and reserved Prince of Orange, William. She then left her beloved England to live in Holland with William.

Mary was to spend a number of lonely and desolate years in Holland with William, during which her uncle, King Charles II of England, died. Her father, the Duke of York, was then crowned James II. In turmoil over his avowed Catholicism, England was ripe for change. Mary's husband, William of Orange, being an ambitious man who coveted the English crown, lost no time in making sure that England stayed Protestant and took on his royal father-in-law. His victory over James II paved the way for the reign of William and Mary.

The author paints a portrait of a woman in conflict, torn between her love for her father and her loyalty to her husband. It details the political intrigues of the day that were to have such impact on Mary's life and shape her destiny. It is a wonderful and engrossing blend of fact and fiction. This richly textured novel is sure to delight those who enjoy historical fiction.

This is the second book in Plaidy's trilogy about Catherine Medici. In it, Medici's love and ambitions for her children as well as her quest for revenge against those who had humiliated her for so long forms the skeleton of the story. Her husband is dead and Catherine is Queen Regent. Her son Francis, now King of France and husband of Mary Queen of Scots, is sickly. Catherine yearns for her second son, Henry, to gain the throne.

Passion, intrigue and murder -- what else would one expect from the infamous Borgias of Rome? Plaidy's style is entertaining and literate. She weaves history into stories with intricate plots. Characters who were once real people strut upon the literary stage expressing their feelings and frustrations, loves and hates. The reader experiences sights and sounds of a world long past, with voices of people who may or may not have spoken as Plaidy reports.

It really doesn't matter how much is fiction and how much is fact. The book is fine, mesmerizing reading.

Sunnye Tiedemann (aka Ruth F. Tiedemann)

hi there my name totti im 24years old i wish u be my friend

A superb novel, one of my favourite book I have ever read. Jean Plaidy is able to convert history into an interesting book which people can get absorbed in without a problem. Its an easy book to read with treachery, murder and romance. It has a wide range of vocabulary and I have learnt many new words from reading this book. I recommmend this book for anyone over 14 years old.

"At Her Majesty's Request: An African Princess in Victorian England" tells the life story of Sarah Forbes Bonetta, who was born an African Egbado princess, captured by rival Dohamans and taken to Dahomey to be murdered in a ritual sacrifice, rescued and adopted by a British naval captain, taken to England and presented to Queen Victoria, and raised under the Queen's protection in England and Sierra Leone. This handsome book is a very fine biography for young readers; it includes many excerpts from Sarah's letters and the Queen's diaries, as well as historic illustrations. Relevant information about 19th century West Africa and Britain (e.g., the Dahomey empire, the slave trade and British actions to end it, Christian missions in Africa, Sierra Leone, the British class system, women's place in society, etc.) is well presented. Although Sarah's story is interesting because of its uniqueness, much about the lives of ordinary 19th century West Africans and Europeans can be learned here. Despite the fact that there is little material concerning Sarah's life, the author has done a fine job and readers interested in Africa should be glad he did. The book contains a useful bibliography which includes "Dahomey and the Dahomans" (1851) by Frederick E. Forbes (the captain who rescued and adopted Sarah).

19th century Dahomey is also the setting of "The Viceroy of Ouidah" by Bruce Chatwin.

The book, At Her Majesty's Request was the most wonderful book I've read because it tells the story of how Sarah Bonetta overcomed so many problems. First w/ the horror of watching her parents being killed, and then almost being sacrificed by the slave holders because of who she was and where she lived.Then when she was saved by a white man whom she couldn't even understand becase she spoke a different language.And then soon after that she learned how to speak english and then she became friends w/ the Queen of England, Queen Victoria.So the book to me was very heart-warming and I hope you love the book too! Go Wells Wolverines!

When deciding to buy some books for my kids in elementary school to read, I was intrigued by the title of this book, and I chose it. Reading this book for me was an exhiliarating experience, and I would highly recommend it. The author tried to do justice to the life and history of this admirable African or should I say Nigerian princess (I am biased here), and for the Yoruba folks, she was an Egbado. Her ancestory can be traced to present day Abeokuta, Nigeria.

This book encapsulates the moving story of an African princess, who escaped death from a wicked king in the present day Republic of Benin (Dahomey) courtesy of a British Naval Captain (Frederick Forbes) during the early part of the 19th century. Captain Forbes brought her to England when she was about 6/7years old, where she had a first taste of the British Aristocrats and became known as Sarah Bonetta Forbes. She then had to be sent to Sierra Leone (West Africa) due to illness, having been thought to be unable to withstand the cold weather. In Sierra Leone, she was an astute student in the Female Institution there, and she maintained contact with Queen Victoria. She also met with the famous First African CMS Bishop, Samuel Ajayi Crowther. After about 4 years in Sierra Leone and now about 12 years old, Queen Victoria requested that she be sent back to England. She lived in England until she was about 19 years old. Reading her letters and her experience in England, gave me a personal satisfaction, as I had insight into a potential scholar the world did not really get to know. Sarah undoubtedly was an extremely bright kid, and Captain Forbes conceded that she was ahead of her contemporaries including the caucassian kids she schooled with. After much reluctance, she got married to a West African Business man, Mr Davis. Her marriage then took her back the second time to West Africa where she finally settled in Lagos (Nigeria). She lived and lectured here in another Female Institution until she was about 37/38 years, and had 3 children. Her first child Victoria was named after Queen Victoria, who was also her God-mother. Sarah Bonetta Davis as she became known had a tragic end, dying of Tuberculosis on a Portugese Island, where she was sent to recover. I wonder what happened to her husband Mr Davis and her three children. I think any information available on them and subsequent descendants would certainly complete the story. I congratulate the award winning author of this book, Walter Dean Myers for a job well done.

Farwell's title is somewhat misleading, as "Queen Victoria's Little Wars" includes substantial sections on the Crimean war, Indian Mutiny & Boer wars: the largest wars of Victoria's reign. Filled with anecdote, the book makes diverting reading, but contains little in the way of analysis and tends to give the impression that British military activities were more independent of the civil power than was the case. The wars in New Zealand which, proportionate to the numbers of combatants the British faced, required more soldiers than any other colonial wars, receive scant attention. Absent entirely is mention of British military activities in Australia, possibly because such activities were more genocidal than honourable in nature. Incursions into Central America are also unexamined. Highly entertaining, the book is ideal as a brief introduction to both well and lesser known aspects of Imperial history.

Let me start by saying Farwell is one of my favorite military historians. His modern writing style makes for an easy and enjoyable read and his books are full of interesting and often humorous anecdotes. But the subject of this book really deserves more space than this book offered. I will grant that the problem is partially due to lack of documentation, i.e. many of the Victorian conflicts were so small and so obscure that no official history has ever been written. Regimental histories offer the British point of view while their opponents often didn't have a written language let alone official historians for their side of the story. So primary sources are indeed lacking.

Nevertheless, this is the first book I have found that goes into any sort of detail regarding the many wars on the Northwestern Fontier, the conflicts in Burma, the Ashanti rebellions, and the many wars of the British East India Company. At least two 600+ page volumes of Sir John Fortescue's monumental "History of the British Army" cover approximately this same period of time but they are nearly impossible to obtain. So those who are interested in Victorian military history will be pleased even though they are left wanting more.

But in the limited space Farwell does a magnificent job. One begins to see the participants as real people with eccentric personalities, personal failings, heroic exploits, and depth of character. Battles I had never heard of (and aren't even mentioned in Chandler's Dictionary of Battles) come to life as Farwell describes the adventures on the fringes of the British Empire; Conflicts that were almost as unknown to contemporary Britons as they went about their mundane lives back in England as they are to us today.

One major drawback of this edition is the editing. The index is often useless since the page numbers (I'm guessing) must reflect an earlier edition and were not updated. There are also some textual errors, such as the wrong date being given for the British attack on Jakarta, which a good editor should have caught. But I bought this book to read while sitting by the fireplace and drinking India Pale Ale, not as source material for a doctoral degree.

This is a fascinating book, and will be enjoyed both by students of the Victorian era military, as well as casual readers of history in general. What binds the various mutinies/insurrections/battles/etc. that span the sixty years of the widest span of British imperialism is the subperb writing style of Mr. Farwell, who has a sense of humor and irony, and looks at each conflict from the standpoint of the British army and the government (and royal) policies that directed it, as well as that of its native protagonists, the vast majority of whom simply wanted to govern themselves without foreign influence. The bravery of both sides is noted, and although the British were outmanned in most of these theaters of conflict, the assets that saw them through time and time again was the esprit de corps of its troops and the leadership of its generals. Those generals that didn't quite make the grade are duly noted and criticized. Even if you are familiar with some of the events in this book, it is still recommended for the continuity of characters and British character that Mr. Farwell brings to each chapter. I couldn't put it down.

As i read the book, i realized that Mr Hibbert was not going to give me a very good account of the Queen.He constantly talks about the Queen's changing moods, her dislikes for some of her prime ministers and her treatment of her servants.To me this things are a waste of time.Mr Hibbert fails to tells us how the Queen felt about the political situation of Europe in her time.The author very rarely mentions her views on the different wars England waged during her time. At times i felt like i was reading a gossip column on a supermarket tabloid.Mr Hibbert wastes too many chapters on things like her servants, dinner parties and the sort.The book is too tight since most of the times it covers the Queen's opinion of non-important things.

Christopher Hibbert's fascinating biography of Queen Victoria is aptly subtitled "A Personal History". This book focuses on Victoria's personal relationship with her family, her ministers and her staff. Given her extraordinary long life, there is a lot of material to cover. I was particularly interested in Victoria's contentious early relationship with her mother and the way the young queen was so successful in establishing her independence from the forces that hoped to use her as a tool for their personal ambitions. Equally fascinating was her relationship with Albert, the Prince Consort. Victoria's long widowhood and deification of her husband's memory is well-known. Her infamous grief has overshadowed Albert's real accomplishments and contributions to her reign. Hibbert also paints an in-depth portrait of Victoria's difficult relationships with her many children. After reading the book I impressed both with the queen's obvious charm and intelligence and equally appalled by her selfishness. In many ways Victoria's contradictory character shaped the world for nearly a decade. Hibbert has done an excellent job of portraying all facets of Victoria's life and written an entertaining and highly readable book.

While adding nothing radically new to the story of Britain's Queen Victoria, this biography is still an engrossing read. Hibbert, a chronicler of several historical royals as well as military figures, has written an engaging book.

I especially liked the rare picture of QV smiling, as well as the compartmentalization into chapters of various aspects of her life (e.g., chapters highlight the Queen's Indian servants, the Queen's travels, the Queen's daughters, etc.) Also quotes at length from the correspondence from Victoria's beloved Prince Albert, which I had never before seen. My favorite vignette was Albert writing to her after a quarrel, where he complained that when he left the room hoping to finish the argument, QV followed him anyway and continued to harangue him.

Another nice element was the clear explanation of the various machinations and events that led to Victoria's assuming the throne (such as the Duke of Kent abandoning a mistress to marry Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg in order to father a legitimate heir). Also delves into a discussion of QV and her loyal servant (but probably not lover), John Brown.

All told, a smashing biography of Prince William's great-great-great-great-great-grandmama.