Melodramatic flair
Princess Victoria became a dedicated journal-writer at the age of 13, and maintained her journal throughout her long life. Victoria also wrote a variety of 'compositions' that reveal her character, her interests, and her education through didactic tales such as those written by the novelist and educator, Maria Edgeworth.
'...Queen Victoria is famous for never being amused...'
One of her stories, written at the age of ten, is titled 'Sophia and Adolphus: in the Style of Miss Edgeworth's Harry and Lucy'. In this tale, Victoria mimics Edgeworth's plot in the first volume of Edgeworth's Harry and Lucy Concluded (1825), but imbues her story with a melodramatic flair not found in Edgeworth's rationalist prose.
Unlike Edgeworth's impetuous and faulty character Lucy, who must learn self-denial and self-control from the example of her brother, Victoria's Sophia is the heroine of the tale. In Victoria's pencil sketch illustrating the story, Sophia's central position and direct gaze at the viewer highlights her leading role in the narrative.
Princess Victoria was a fine water-colourist, a hobby she indulged throughout her adulthood. She attended the theatre and musical concerts, and these visits constituted some of the greatest joys she experienced in her youth. After a performance, she would sometimes paint the costumes and gestures of the dancers and singers she had watched on stage. Although Queen Victoria is famous for never being amused, this myth could not have originated from her early years. The pages of her journal are filled with expressions of pleasure: 'I was very much amused indeed!' she exclaimed within her journal, in rapturous admiration of Giulia Grisi's performance as Desdemona in Shakespeare's Othello.
Published: 2001-04-01
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