{"product_id":"2940015801903","title":"QUEEN VICTORIA","description":"_Contents_\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eCHAPTER\u003cbr\u003e   I. A LOOK BACK\u003cbr\u003e  II. CHILDHOOD DAYS\u003cbr\u003e III. EARLY YEARS\u003cbr\u003e  IV. HUSBAND AND WIFE\u003cbr\u003e   V. FAMILY LIFE\u003cbr\u003e  VI. STRIFE\u003cbr\u003e VII. THE CHILDREN OF ENGLAND\u003cbr\u003eVIII. MINISTERING WOMEN\u003cbr\u003e  IX. BALMORAL\u003cbr\u003e   X. THE GREAT EXHIBITION\u003cbr\u003e  XI. ALBERT THE GOOD\u003cbr\u003e XII. FRIENDS AND ADVISERS\u003cbr\u003eXIII. QUEEN AND EMPIRE\u003cbr\u003e XIV. STRESS AND STRAIN\u003cbr\u003e  XV. VICTORIA THE GREAT\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e_Illustrations_\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eQUEEN VICTORIA\u003cbr\u003eTHE QUEEN'S FIRST COUNCIL AT KENSINGTON PALACE\u003cbr\u003eKENSINGTON PALACE\u003cbr\u003eTHE DUKE AND DUCHESS OF KENT\u003cbr\u003eTHE ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE QUEEN'S ACCESSION\u003cbr\u003ePRINCE ALBERT\u003cbr\u003eBUCKINGHAM PALACE\u003cbr\u003eFLORENCE NIGHTINGALE\u003cbr\u003eQUEEN VICTORIA IN THE HIGHLANDS\u003cbr\u003eTHE ALBERT MEMORIAL\u003cbr\u003eSIR ROBERT PEEL, LORD MELBOURNE, AND BENJAMIN DISRAELI\u003cbr\u003eTHE SECRET OF ENGLAND'S GREATNESS\u003cbr\u003eTHE VICTORIA AND ALBERT MUSEUM\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eCHAPTER I: _A Look Back_\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn the old legend of Rip Van Winkle with which the American writer\u003cbr\u003eWashington Irving has made us so familiar, the ne'er-do-weel Rip\u003cbr\u003ewanders off into the Kaatskill Mountains with his dog and gun in order\u003cbr\u003eto escape from his wife's scolding tongue. Here he meets the spectre\u003cbr\u003ecrew of Captain Hudson, and, after partaking of their hospitality,\u003cbr\u003efalls into a deep sleep which lasts for twenty years. The latter part\u003cbr\u003eof the story describes the changes which he finds on his return to\u003cbr\u003ehis native village: nearly all the old, familiar faces are gone;\u003cbr\u003emanners, dress, and speech are all changed. He feels like a stranger\u003cbr\u003ein a strange land.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eNow, it is a good thing sometimes to take a look back, to try to count\u003cbr\u003eover the changes for good or for evil which have taken place in this\u003cbr\u003ecountry of ours; to try to understand clearly why the reign of a great\u003cbr\u003eQueen should have left its mark upon our history in such a way that\u003cbr\u003emen speak of the Victorian Age as one of the greatest ages that have\u003cbr\u003eever been.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIf an Elizabethan had been asked whether he considered the Queen of\u003cbr\u003eEngland a great woman or not, he would undoubtedly have answered\u003cbr\u003e\"Yes,\" and given very good reasons for his answer. It was not for\u003cbr\u003enothing that the English almost worshipped their Queen in \"those\u003cbr\u003espacious times of great Elizabeth.\" Edmund Spenser, one of the\u003cbr\u003eworld's great poets, hymned her as \"fayre Elisa\" and \"the flowre of\u003cbr\u003eVirgins\":\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e          Helpe me to blaze\u003cbr\u003e          Her worthy praise;\u003cbr\u003e     Which, in her sexe doth all excell!\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThroughout her long reign, courtiers, statesmen, soldiers, and\u003cbr\u003epeople all united in serving her gladly and to the best of their\u003cbr\u003epowers.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eYet she could at times prove herself to be hard, cruel, and\u003cbr\u003evindictive; she was mean, even miserly, when money was wanted for\u003cbr\u003emen or ships; she was excessively vain, loved dress and finery, and\u003cbr\u003ewas often proud almost beyond bearing.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eNotwithstanding all her faults, she was the best beloved of all\u003cbr\u003eEnglish monarchs because of her never-failing courage and strength\u003cbr\u003eof mind, and she made the Crown respected, feared, and loved as no\u003cbr\u003eother ruler had done before her, and none other, save Queen Victoria,\u003cbr\u003ehas reigned as she did in her people's hearts.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eShe lived for her country, and her country's love and admiration were\u003cbr\u003eher reward. During her reign the seas were swept clear of foreign\u003cbr\u003efoes, and her country took its place in the front rank of Great Powers.\u003cbr\u003eHers was the Golden Age of Literature, of Adventure and Learning,\u003cbr\u003ean age of great men and women, a New England.","brand":"SAP","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47176028324080,"sku":"2940015801903","price":0.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940015801903","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}