V for Victoria

Happy March everyone! Today is also the first day of Women's History Month.  I know it has been quite a while since I've blogged and I apologize profusely. It has been hard lately juggling a job with working on my own writing as well as blogging.  And I know that I still owe recaps of the last 5 episodes of The Crown! I thought I would kick off this month by talking a little bit about Queen Elizabeth's however many times great-grandmother Queen Victoria, the 2nd longest ruling monarch in British History.

This January saw the debut of a new series on PBS entitled appropriately enough VICTORIA starring Jenna Coleman as a young Queen Victoria in the first years of her reign.  Author Daisy Goodwin, who was the driving force behind the series, also wrote the novel VICTORIA which came out last fall. I had the privilege of reading an ARC of the novel thanks to Net Galley. And what a wonderful novel it was. While I enjoyed Goodwin's first novel THE AMERICAN DUCHESS, I was not quite as enamored of her second THE FORTUNE HUNTER. However, VICTORIA lived up to my expectations and more.  It was just the balm I needed after the bruising US election season. Reading this novel was the equivalent of being enveloped in a warm, fuzzy blanket on a cold day, with a steaming cup of Earl Grey tea.

The book opens with Victoria receiving the news that William IV is dead, and she is now Queen. Goodwin paints a vivid, vibrant portrait of the young Queen who is very much a teenager. She makes mistakes early on in her reign, most specifically with Lady Flora Hastings. She is impetuous, stubborn who likes to get her own way but she is also a young girl who has been starved of affection and dominated by her mother and Sir John Conroy. The bulk of the novel (and the series) concerns her relationship with her first Prime Minister Lord Melbourne, whose late wife Lady Caroline Lamb famously carried on an affair with Lord Byron which scandalized the ton during the Regency. Like Victoria, Lord Melbourne is lonely. His wife has passed away as has his only child Augustus. The two develop a father/daughter relationship with overtones of something more. I won't spoil it here but if you have seen the TV series, you know that Goodwin adds a dimension to the relationship that some have quibbled with. I have to say that I totally bought into it. It made sense that she would develop a crush on the first man to be kind to her who treated her as more than just a sovereign.  Melbourne guide and taught Victoria but he didn't try to dominate her. Instead, he tried to gently point out the errors that her stubbornness caused. For example, refusing to give up any of her Whig ladies when the Tory Sir Robert Peel became Prime Minister.

We also get to see the Victoria who loved dancing, singing and a good party. And we get to see the Victoria who was wooed by a succession of suitors before finally falling head over heels for Prince Albert when he finally arrives in the fall of 1839. There is nothing so satisfying as two crazy kids with mommy/daddy issues finding each other! I highly recommend this book. It is going on my keeper shelf along with the Jean Plaidy's Victoria series which encompasses 4 books.

Unfortunately, although I loved Goodwin's novel, I'm not quite as much of a fan of the TV series.  My biggest problem is that I really have no interest in what is going on downstairs at Buckingham Palace, mainly because there is so much good drama going on with Victoria learning the ropes of Queenship. And I wish that the TV series had given us a glimpse of Victoria's life before she became Queen.  Before I watched VICTORIA, I re-watched the film THE YOUNG VICTORIA with Emily Blunt and Rupert Friend.

One of the best things about that film is that we get a glimpse of Victoria's relationship with William IV and Queen Adelaide, as well as the antipathy that the King had for Victoria's mother Victoire. There were also several wonderful scenes between Queen Adelaide and Victoria after she became Queen, where Victoria looked to her for guidance. Also, I found it curious that Baron Stockmar, a very important figure in Albert's life, was missing from the recent TV series. The biggest problem that I have with the series though is the casting of Rufus Sewell as Lord Melbourne.

This is Rufus Sewell as Lord Melbourne:

And this is the real Lord Melbourne at the time of Queen Victoria's reign:

While Rufus Sewell captured aspects of Lord Melbourne's character, he was just too good-looking and youthful for the part. And not nearly quite as fatherly as I'm sure the real Lord Melbourne was. You can understand why Jenna Coleman's Queen Victoria wanted him around 24/7. Frankly he was so delicious as Lord Melbourne, that when Albert finally showed up in the series, he was a bit of a let down. It's no wonder they went for the 'I hate you, no I love you' scenario for Albert and Victoria in this series. And then after the wedding episode, Lord Melbourne disappears despite the fact that the real Lord Melbourne was still Prime Minister for another year.  The other weakness in this series (and this goes for The Crown as well) as that there was way to much mansplaining in this series. Victoria is not allowed to do anything without some man explaining things to her. It was fine with Lord Melbourne but now Albert is doing it, as if Victoria hadn't formed any opinions about anything before Albert came along.

On the plus side, I think that Jenna Coleman is doing a magnificent job as the young Queen Victoria. She's almost the right height for the role, and she comes across very much like a teenager in the early episodes, careening from one emotion to the next. David Oakes steals every scene he's in as Prince Albert's older, more louche brother, Ernst, and I can't say throw too many superlatives at Alex Jennings who plays Victoria's Uncle Leopold, King of the Belgians, widower of the late Princess Charlotte.  Jennings is making quite the career for himself playing various members of royalty. So far he's played Prince Charles in Peter Morgan's The Queen, The Duke of Windsor in The Crown, and now King Leopold. Who is next? I still prefer Miranda Richardson's portrayal of the Duchess of Kent to Caroline Flemmings. Caroline comes across mainly as wan.  I have to admit that Tom Hughes as Prince Albert grew on me.  The chemistry between Jenna Coleman and Rufus Sewell was so amazing, that Hughes had huge shoes to fill. It doesn't help that Albert comes across as a bit of a pill in his first appearance. His personality seems to have come out more now that he and Victoria are married. Hughes is also incredibly sexy as Albert although once someone mentioned that he looked like Prince circa PURPLE RAIN, I had a hard time unseeing that whenever he came on screen!

If you have any interest in Queen Victoria, I urge you to purchase VICTORIA, the Official Companion to the series. There is a lot of really good information about the real life characters, particularly Skerrit and Francatelli. It is written by Helen Rappaport who is an expert on Victoria as well as the Romanovs. And there is a new biography out by Julia Baird entitled VICTORIA, THE QUEEN.

I have only read the sample that I downloaded from Amazon, but it looks like a winner. I would also urge people to find a copy of the early nineties miniseries VICTORIA AND ALBERT, starring Victoria Hamilton and Jonathan Firth (Colin's little brother). It is interesting to see what is included and what is left out when people are crafting a film or television series.

Scandalous Women in London: The First Actresses

Since I still had a few vacation days left this year, I decided to hop a plane to London for a few days, to see some friends but also to see 2 exhibits that I didn't want to miss.  The first one was the Enchanted Princesses exhibit at Kensington Palace, the 2nd was The First Actresses exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery on Charing Cross Road.  The National Portrait Gallery is hands down my favorite museum in London, and The First Actresses exhibit didn't disappoint.  It was a tad expensive, 11 pounds, and the exhibition wasn't huge, but as a former actress, I found it fascinating to see the portraits of women I had only read about in theatre history.  There were many women whose portraits I had never seen before including Moll Davis, the other actress who had the privilege of sharing Charles II's bed for a brief time.

From the web-site:  The First Actresses presents a vivid spectacle of femininity, fashion and theatricality in seventeenth and eighteenth-century Britain. Taking centre stage are the intriguing and notorious female performers of the period whose lives outside of the theatre ranged from royal mistresses to admired writers and businesswomen. The exhibition reveals the many ways in which these early celebrities used portraiture to enhance their reputations, deflect scandal and create their professional identities.

Intriguing no?  The exhibition mentions the fact that, in the beginning, actress and prostitute were seen as synonymous.  Indeed, many of the early actresses had aristocratic protectors, Elizabeth Barry & The Earl of Rochester, Nell Gwyn & Charles II, Dorothy Jordan & The Duke of Clarence.  Also many actresses including Elizabeth Farren, ending up marrying their lovers, albeit after their wives had died and the heirs had already been secured.  Elizabeth Farren married the Earl of Derby, and Lavinia Fenton, the Duke of Bolton. 

Looking at the portraits, one can see the rise of celebrity culture.  Just as today, photographers like Annie Leibovitz are known for their celebrity portraits, artists like Reynolds, Gainsborough and Romney painted all the leading actresses of the day.  And then there was the celebrity memoir, many of the leading actresses of the day wrote books about their lives which were eaten up by the public.

This lovely actress is Dorothy Jordon (1761-1816), one of the foremost comic actresses in London in the 18th century.  Born in Ireland, Dorothy was also the mistress of the Duke of Clarence (the future King William IV), and the mother of his 10 illegitmate children, the Fitz-Clarences.  For 20 years, she was not only his mistress but she also supported him and their children, since his civil list allowance did not cover his extravagant lifestyle.  After the death of Princess Charlotte, the daughter of the Prince Regent, died in childbirth, the Duke dumped Dorothy and married a German princess in order to secure the line of succession.  He and Queen Adelaide had no children who survived, paving the way for Queen Victoria.  When Dorothy went back on the stage to support herself, after he left, he took her children away.  What a prince!

This is Lavinia Fenton (1708-1760) who played Polly Peachum in the first ever performance of John Gay's The Beggar's Opera.  Lavinia became the mistress of the Duke of Bolton, and then married him after his wife's death.  Not bad eh?

This beauty is Mary Robinson (1757-1800), also known as Perdita after the role that she played when she met the Prince of Wales (future George IV).  She was briefly his mistress, but the relationship was fleeting.  Mary eventually gave up acting to write poetry and plays.  Mary had a long affair with Banastre Tarleton who didn't really treat her well. Unfortunately she is not as well known as she should be.  ALL FOR LOVE by Amanda Elyot is a historical fiction novel about Mary Robinson.

This is one of 2 portraits of Nell Gwyn (1650-1687) that are in the exhibition.  The 2nd portrait was just recently attributed to her.  I admit that I have a fondness in my heart for Nell Gwyn.  Apart from his Queen, Catherine of Braganza, and his sister Minette, I think Nell is the only mistress who truly loved the King for himself and not for what he could do for.  She never demanded a fancy house or jewels for herself, the only thing that she demanded was that their children be cared for, and given the same titles that his other bastards were given.

Ah Sarah Siddons (1755-1831), the Meryl Streep of the late 18th and early 19th century.  There are several portraits of Sarah in the exhibition.  She came from a theatrical family, her parents were actors, and her siblings also went on the stage, the most well known being her brother John Philip Kemble.  Mrs. Siddons was not a success when she made her debut in London as Portia in Merchant of Venice and a few other roles. Whether it was nerves or lack of experience, she was soon sent packing.  In fact, she spent several years in the provinces after her disasterous debut, honing her craft until she finally came back in triumph several years later.  While Dorothy Jordon,Peg Woffington and Frances Abington were known for their comedic roles, Sarah was a tragedienne bar none.  One of her most famous roles was that of Lady Macbeth.

There were several other actresses included in the exhibit including women who were known more for operatic roles than acting, although most actresses of the period were expected to be able to sing a little as well as dance.  They also had to provide their own costumes!  One of the actresses included in the exhibit is Elizabeth Inchbald who gave up the stage to write plays.  She was well acquainted with William Godwin, and was not happy when he hooked up with Mary Wollstonecraft and then married her.  The exhibit explores the "breeches" roles that were so popular in the 17th & 18th century.  These roles allowed women the freedom to go on stage dressed like men, but it also caused a stink because they weren't covered up!

I had no idea how many actresses at that time extended their careers by picking up the pen.  I wish some enterprising theatre producer would devote a season to reviving one of Mary Robinson or Elizabeth Inchbald's plays, even if it was just in the staged reading format.

While I was at the museum, I also made a pilgrimage to see Mary Wollstonecraft and Emma Hamilton's portraits in the museum.  One of the displays concerned Princess Charlotte of Wales and the future Queen Victoria.  While looking at the portraits of Queen Victoria, I was struck by how much Prince Andrew's daughter Princess Beatrice looks like her.

Here's a portrait of a young Queen Victoria

And here's Princess Beatrice.  They look like twins right?

Yes, I know that Princess Beatrice is a direct descendent of Queen Victoria, but none of the Queen's children or grandchildren have quite the same uncanny resemblance. I spent a good deal of time in the Victorian and Edwardian galleries looking at the faces.  My favorite room is the one that has the notorious rivals William Gladstone & Benjamin Disraeli hung right next to each other!

Afterwards, I went to the National Cafe for the Lady Hamilton tea which included a plum Bellini.  Unfortunately they served the tea, not using loose tea, but with a tea bag! Considering the tea cost me a whopping 21 pounds, I thought it a bit much.  On a lighter note, the scone with clotted cream was awesome!

 

Sunday Movie Review: The Young Victoria

The Young Victoria
screenplay by Julian Fellowes
directed by Jean-Marc Vallee
Produced by Graham King, Martin Scorsese, Sarah, Duchess of York, and Tim Headington.

Principal Cast:
Emily Blunt as Queen Victoria
Rupert Friend as Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
Miranda Richardson as Princess Victoria, Duchess of Kent
Mark Strong as Sir John Conroy
Jim Broadbent as King William IV
Harriet Walter as Queen Adelaide
Paul Bettany as William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne
Thomas Kretschmann as King Leopold I of Belgium
Jeanette Hain as Baroness Louise Lehzen
Julian Glover as Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
Michael Maloney as Sir Robert Peel
Michiel Huisman as Ernst II, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

I've been waiting it seems like forever to see this film. And I'm not the only one. Evangeline from Edwardian Promenade (where you can see the trailer), as well as Heather from the Duchess of Devonshire's Gossip Guide and Susan from Writer of Queens have been waiting eagerly as well. The film was out when I was in the UK in March and I badly wanted to see it. Instead, I read Kate Williams dual biography of Princess Charlotte and the young Victoria. I almost bought the DVD from Amazon.co.uk but my region free DVD player broke recently, so I decided to wait and see it in the cinema.  So on Friday, I went to the movies with two writer friends Hope Tarr and Leanna Renee Heiber who are also the founders of Lady Jane's Salon (the only reading series for romance in New York). When we got to the theater, we were given a copy of a new biography of Victoria and Albert called We Two by Gillian Gill. How cool is that? I'm dying to dive into it so that I can post a review. Hopefully I will get to it in January. Afterwards, the ladies and I retired to Telephone Bar and Grill in the East Village to eat Stilton fritters and discuss the film.

So was it worth it? Our general consenus was, in a word YES. Note:  Spoilers Ahead. This film is probably one of the best historical biopics that I have ever seen. The film opens with Victoria's coronation and then flashes back to the previous year when she is still the young Princess Victoria who has been kept under tight control by her mother, The Duchess of Kent and her mother's advisor Sir John Conroy, an ambitious man who seeks to rule England through Victoria. He tries to force her to sign a document that will allow her mother and him to act as regents if her uncle, William IV dies before she turns 18.

Victoria narrates the early section of the film detailing how her mother and Sir John have kept her away from other children, how she and her mother share a room, and how she is even forced to hold someone's hand to go up and down the stairs just in case of an accident. But the young princess is stronger willed than Sir John Conroy and her mother realize, and she refuses to sign the document. Victoria's cousin Albert and his brother Ernst come to England to visit. Victoria is aware that her mother and her Uncle Leopold, King of the Belgians (widower of Princess Charlotte, daughter of George IV) want her to marry Albert and she teases him.  They strike up a tentative friendship.  After he leaves, Victoria goes to Windsor for her William IV's birthday, where he insults The Duchess of Kent because she has taken over more rooms in Kensington Palace, who leaves the table.  William IV manages to live long enough for Victoria to turn 18, and then kicks the bucket the next month. Victoria soon asserts herself, banishing her mother to another bedroom. Victoria develops a tiny crush on her first Prime Minister Lord Melbourne (as played by Paul Bettany who wouldn't?) and becomes overly reliant on him. Albert comes back to Britain to woo her and they fall in love.  The film ends with the birth of their first child Vicky.

The difference between this film and the biopic of Amelia Earhart that came out earlier this fall is the script. Julian Fellowes (who wrote Gosford Park and Vanity Fair) allows Victoria to be three-dimensional. She's not perfect, she's stubborn and willful, she doesn't always take people's advice. She grows in the film from the tentative young monarch who is not sure that she has the experience or the capability to be Queen to a more assured woman. Emily Blunt looks nothing like Queen Victoria, she's taller and thinner for one thing, but she makes you believe that she is Victoria. She's nothing short of astonishing, it's hard to believe that this is the first film that she's carried. Her scenes with Paul Bettany as Melbourne (who should play the role again if they ever do a new biopic of Lady Caroline Lamb) are just magical.

Of course, she's surrounded by some of Britain's finest character actors from Jim Broadbent as William IV, Harriet Walter as Queen Adelaide, Miranda Richardson as the Duchess of Kent, and Mark Strong as Lord John Conroy. Julian Glover who plays The Duke of Wellington is made up to look so much like him that it's like Wellington's portrait come to life. The biggest revelation to me was the performance of Rupert Friend as Albert. Friend played Wickham in the Keira Knightley/Matthew MacFadyen Pride and Prejudice and I didn't think he was particulalry good or memorable. He impressed me in this film, he plays Albert as a man who provides Victoria an anchor. He's shy, and awkward but he also doesn't flatter her unduly. Some of the most memorable scenes are when she begins to rely on him as not just her husband but also as someone who can shoulder the burden of power. There is one scene where Victoria and Albert have an argument, he doesn't raise his voice but he manages to get his meaning across. There are so many wonderful scenes, particularly when he is learning to waltz because she loves it, and when she realizes that he has been coached in her likes and dislikes. Blunt and Friend share a lovely chemistry and the viewer totally buys that this is a love story. There are some truly sexy and romantic scenes in this film.

The film isn't perfect, there are a few historical inaccuracies. Victoria was actually left-handed not right-handed. I would like to have seen some more scenes where Victoria deals with her other suitors besides Albert and her other cousin George. The film makes it seem like Albert was the only option. Also Leopold of the Belgians wasn't quite as pushy and selfish as they made him out to be, although he did send Victoria letters of advice. He was actually her favorite uncle. I found it odd that there weren't any scenes of him visiting England which he did with his family. Also, it would have been nice if they could have mentioned that Victoria had an older half-sister who she was particularly close to.

Albert never attended the Queen's coronation the way he does in the film, the Coburgs were not invited. And he traveled to England on all his visits to England with his brother. In the film he makes 3 visits to England, but in reality there were only two, once for Victoria's 17th birthday and then three years later when she proposed to him. The film makes their courtship much more romantic than it actually was. There's a scene at the end of the film where Albert takes a bullet meant for Victoria, which never happened, although there was an assassination attempt made on Victoria's life. Fellowes has said that he wanted to make Albert more heroic and to show that Albert was willing to give his life for Victoria.

I also have to give a shout out to the costume, hair and make-up designer for this film. The costumes were stunning, particularly a lavendar and black dress that Victoria wore when she was in half-mourning. And the hairstyles, well let's just say that looking at the huge white meringue on poor William IV's head made me glad that I live in the 21st century. It's very different seeing the hairstyles that you've seen in portraits in reality on someone's head.

So a big two thumbs up for this film. If you love historical films, particularly biopics, with a great cast, go see The Young Victoria. It's in limited release right now but it should open across the country in the next week. Glad to see that Emily Blunt was nominated for a Golden Globe for her performance.  FYI: If you are a royalty watcher, Princess Beatrice, the daughter of The Duke and Duchess of York, is in the coronation scene at the beginning of the film.