Prince Albert: The Man Who Saved the Monarchy

Description

For more than six decades, Queen Victoria ruled a great Empire at the height of its power. Beside her for more than twenty of those years was the love of her life, her trusted husband and father of their nine children, Prince Albert. But while Victoria is seen as the embodiment of her time, it was Prince Albert, A. N. Wilson expertly argues, who was at the vanguard of Victorian Britain's transformation as a vibrant and extraordinary centre of political, technological, scientific and intellectual advancement. Far more than just the product of his age, Albert was one of its influencers and architects. A composer, engineer, soldier, politician, linguist and bibliophile, Prince Albert, more than any other royal, was truly a 'genius'. Albert lived only forty-two years. Yet in that time, he fathered the royal dynasties of Germany, Russia, Spain and Bulgaria. Through Victoria, Albert and her German advisers pioneered the idea of the modern constitutional monarchy. In this sweeping biography, Wilson demonstrates that there was hardly any aspect of British national life which Albert did not touch. Drawn from the Royal archives, including Prince Albert's voluminous correspondence, this brilliant and ambitious book offers fascinating never-before-known details about the man and his time. A superb match of biographer and subject, Prince Albert, at last, gives this important historical figure the reverence and recognition that is long overdue.

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) *