{"product_id":"9781453249376","title":"Shooting Victoria: Madness, Mayhem, and the Rebirth of the British Monarchy","description":"\u003cb\u003e“A fresh, lively ” perspective \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eon Victorian England, as seen through the eight assassination attempts on Queen Victoria \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e(\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e, \u003cb\u003estarred review)\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e During Queen Victoria’s sixty-four years on the British throne, no fewer than eight attempts were made on her life. Seven teenage boys and one man attempted to kill her. Far from letting it inhibit her reign over the empire, Victoria used the notoriety of the attacks to her advantage. Regardless of the traitorous motives—delusions of grandeur, revenge, paranoia, petty grievances, or a preference of prison to the streets—they were a golden opportunity for the queen to revitalize the British crown, strengthen the monarchy, push through favored acts of legislation, and prove her pluck in the face of newfound public support. “It is worth being shot at,” she said, “to see how much one is loved.”\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Recounting what Elizabeth Barrett marveled at as “this strange mania of queen-shooting,” and the punishments, unprecedented trials, and fate of these malcontents who were more pitiable than dangerous, Paul Thomas Murphy explores the realities of life in nineteenth-century England—for both the privileged and the impoverished. From these cloak-and-dagger plots of “regicide” to Victoria’s steadfast courage, \u003ci\u003eShooting Victoria\u003c\/i\u003e is thrilling, insightful, and, at times, completely mad historical narrative.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Whether through film (Jean-Marc Vallée’s \u003ci\u003eThe Young Victoria\u003c\/i\u003e), biography (Julia Baird’s \u003ci\u003eVictoria: The Queen\u003c\/i\u003e), television (Daisy Goodwin’s \u003ci\u003eVictoria\u003c\/i\u003e), or revisionist fantasy (Paul Di Filippo’s \u003ci\u003eThe Steampunk Trilogy\u003c\/i\u003e) there is a strong interest in Victorian England. Now Paul Thomas Murphy approaches this period from an eccentric, entirely new, and unexplored angle, combining legal, social, and political history into a book that is both “enlightening [and] great fun” (\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e, starred review).","brand":"Pegasus Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47140596318448,"sku":"9781453249376","price":18.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9781453249376_p0.jpg?v=1763849055","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9781453249376","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}