Our perception of Victoria the Queen is coloured by portraits of her older widowed self
- her dour expression embodying the repressive morality propagated in her time. But Becoming Queen" reveals an energetic & vibrant woman determined to battle for power. It also documents the Byzantine machinations behind Victoria's quest to occupy the throne & shows how her struggles did not end when finally the crown was placed on her head. Laying bare the passions that swirled around the throne in the eighteenth century " Becoming Queen" is an absorbingly dramatic tale of secrets sexual repression & endless conflict. After her lauded biography of Emma Hamilton " England's Mistress" Kate Williams has produced a most original & intimate portrait of Great Britain's longest reigning monarch."