University Press returns with another short and captivating portrait of one of history’s most compelling figures, Queen Victoria.

Queen Victoria was the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 1837 until her death in 1901. Known as the Victorian Era – a period of rapid industrial, cultural, political, scientific, and military change within the United Kingdom – her reign of more than 63 years was longer than any of her predecessors.

Victoria married her cousin, Prince Albert, and their children married into royal and noble families across the European continent – earning Victoria the nickname “the grandmother of Europe” – and spreading hemophilia among European royalty. After Albert’s death in 1861, Victoria plunged into deep mourning and avoided public appearances for many years. In the later half of her reign however, her popularity recovered and her Golden and Diamond Jubilees were times of public celebration.

This short book tells the intensely human story of a woman who changed the world in a way that no one else could.