Prince Albert: The Man Who Saved the Monarchy

Description

The success story of the British royal family can be laid at the door of Prince Albert, who, after his death in 1861, turned into a man who could do no wrong. His statues were to be seen all over the Empire. Albert Halls, Albert Squares, Albert Streets filled every English-speaking town, and many of the towns in India. In this exhaustively researched and definitive biography, A. N. Wilson reveals Prince Albert to be a man of prodigious gifts. Not only was he politically astute, he had administrative gifts which could have made him a great general. He was scientifically informed. He understood, and was enthused by, modern technology. He was a knowledgeable art collector. He was a musician and composer. He was the father of a family. Between them, Victoria and Albert rescued the British monarchy from grave crisis and established the kind of country Britain would become over the next century. Prince Albert is a towering achievement by a writer at the height of his powers.

A. N. Wilson grew up in Staffordshire and was educated at Rugby and New College, Oxford. A Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, he holds a prominent position in the world of literature and journalism. He is a prolific and award-winning biographer and celebrated novelist. He lives in North London.

Wilson has produced in this biography what has hitherto been an oxymoron, a highly entertaining book about Albert. -- Daisy Goodwin * Sunday Times * Mesmerising... An irresistible and informative read... A.N. Wilson's brilliant book is a treat: an absorbing and entertaining guide to the complex tensions of Albert's world. * The i * Enthralling... [Wilson] writes so exuberantly and perceptively... What keeps his portrait so animated is not only the extensive use of primary sources - chiefly the correspondence lodged in the Royal Archives - but also a novelist's ability to make character vivid and narrative swift... Wilson's account of this remarkable man is unfailingly enjoyable and sharply astute. -- Rupert Christiansen * Daily Telegraph * Wilson's approach is admiring, argumentative and astute. He is a brisk, irreverent revisionist who likes to find other people's ticklish points. -- Richard Davenport-Hines * The Times * Subtle, amusing, gripping... Brilliant * Spectator * This entertaining and beautifully illustrated account supports the claim that Albert was "the man who saved the monarchy." It also confirms that A.N. Wilson is one of those rare biographers with the gift of finding words "at once true and kind" in which to present the trickiest subject. * TLS * Engrossing... Mr. Wilson makes good use of documents from the period and has consulted experts, particularly on details having to do with Albert's German background. His most striking contribution, though, is a psychologically astute approach to Victoria and Albert, one that results in a persuasive and humane account of their marriage. * Wall Street Journal * Absorbing... [Wilson] argues persuasively that Albert's many talents helped reshape the monarchy, fitting it for the modern world and giving it a role in British society that has lasted to the present day. * Daily Mail, Books of the Year * Waspish AN Wilson delights in stinging comfortable historical prejudices... Albert was a man of culture and intelligence who saved the British monarchy. * The Times, Books of the Year * Incisive and entertaining -- Helen Rappaport * Literary Review * One of the pleasures of Wilson's book is the wit and verve with which it's written, and he does a fine job of reminding us of the many reasons to admire Albert. -- Kate Hubbard * The Oldie * Absorbingly readable and impressively succinct. * Michael Hall, Country Life * Thorough, well-written, and insightful -- Simon Heffer * New Criterion * This lively, delicious portrait of Prince Albert by distinguished biographer Wilson shows how much the United Kingdom owes to Queen Victoria's adored consort (and cousin)... Anglophiles will relish the inside story of this royal personage. * Publishers Weekly * Excellent... A delightfully vivid, opinionated biography that pays almost equal attention to Albert's wife and a colorful supporting cast of early Victorian notables. * Kirkus Reviews (Starred Review) * A magnificently understanding biography of Victoria's spouse....Albert led a brief life-dying at age 42 - but his impact on his adopted homeland, Great Britain, especially on the functioning of the monarchy, was immense, hence the subtitle of this wise new portrait. That is the thesis Wilson develops, comfortably resting his narrative on two legs: complete thoroughness and joyful buoyancy. * Booklist (Starred Review) *