My Name Is Victoria

March 19, 2018
This suspenseful, entertaining tale presents a view of the young Queen Victoria as seen through the eyes of Victoria Conroy, the shy, unobtrusive daughter of Sir John Conroy, advisor and keeper of the purse strings for Victoria’s mother, the Duchess of Kent. Known to everybody as Miss V, she is brought to Kensington Palace at the age of 11 to serve as companion to the temperamental princess and, as she soon learns, to be the eyes and ears of her powerful, plotting father. As a bond grows between the girls, Miss V becomes ever more uneasy about her father’s true motives and his role in the household. Is the “Kensington System,” which prohibits the princess from having contact with the outside world, truly meant to protect her? Worlsey (Maid of the King’s Court) is a curator for England’s historic royal palaces, and she makes good use of her expertise and her imagination to bring historical figures to life and draw readers into the novel’s mid-19th-century royal world. Miss V’s seven-year tenure with Victoria is marked by suspicions, tensions, revelations, and unexpected alliances; the girls’ physical similarity to each other develops alongside their friendship, making for a deliciously surprising and satisfying ending. Ages 12–up. Agent: Catherine Clarke, Felicity Bryan Assoc.