Prisoners in the Palace

Recommended Grades 8-12.  Queen Victoria is arguably one of the most well-known monarchs in Western Civilization.  She was the Queen of Great Britain when it was at it's peak of "the Sun Never Setting" and the longest ruling monarch in British history.  But what was her life like before she was the queen?  Michaela Macoll answers just this question in her well-researched historical fiction novel, Prisoners in the Palace (Chronicle Books, 2011).  It turns out, Victoria's life was shockingly similar to that of Cinderella's; she was greedily watched over by a vapid mother and evil stepfather (well, not truly stepfather, but her mother's consort), trapped in the palace doors, locked away from the rest of the world, in an attempt to influence and control her power.  Instead of singing mice and a fairy godmother, Victoria has Liza, the orphan of a knighted family down on her luck.  Liza, the true main character of the story, comes to terms with her dramatic fall from grace, while empowering the young princess to rise to her greatest heights.  Liza is fictional, though Macoll clearly put a great effort into making her, and the rest of the scenarios, as true to history as possible.  She includes excerpts from Victoria's diaries and letters, bringing to life a true teenage girl.  Overall, this is an entertaining, informative, and compassionate telling of British history.  Highly recommended, ****