Prisoners in the Palace: How Princess Victoria became Queen with the Help of Her Maid, a Reporter, and a Scoundrel Paperback – April 23, 2013

Before Victoria became a queen who ruled for sixty-four years and had an age named after her, she was Her Royal Highness Victoria Kent living in a shabby Kensington Palace and firmly under the thumb of her mother and Sir John Conroy. This is the story of the year before she becomes queen told by Miss Elizabeth Hastings.Liza Hastings is a gentlewoman who was orphaned at seventeen and saddled with her father's debts. She is offered a position as a Lady's maid to Princess Victoria and her governess Baroness Lehzen and quickly becomes part of the political intrigue at Kensington Palace.Liza is determined to help Victoria thwart the political ambitions of her mother and Sir John. Because Liza was raised all over Europe, she is fluent in German which is the language most often spoken in Victoria's home. Keeping her knowledge a secret allows her to learn of some of Sir John's plans.When Liza learns that Victoria is being denigrated in the press, she meets Will Fulton who is the one publishing the broadsheets and, along with Victoria, uses them to get back at Sir John. Sir John is a dastardly villain who also seduces housemaids and one plot thread has Liza tracking down the young woman who had her job before her which allows us to see what life is like for a woman without prospects in England at this time.The story was well written and mixes a variety of fictional and real characters to tell a fascinating story. Excerpts from Liza's and Victoria's journals add more detail. I recommend this one for fans of historical fiction.

When I first started reading this book I realized that it t read like a YA novel and that I had ordered it in error. However once into it I started to really enjoy it. It certainly became engaging as the writing was excellent. Ms. MacColl is commended especially for her ability to hurl the readerforward to each chapter. It was relatively easy reading but the plot was very clever by intertwining the lives of the different social classes, their fates, and the strict restrictions placed on women during the Victorian era. It would be educational for some not acquainted with the era. As historical fiction the author included in the end a revealing summary of the true basis of some of the book and explained each character. I thoroughly enjoyed this read even as an a mature adult.

Prisoners in the Palace is exactly what it says on the tin: a (fictitious) story about how Victoria became queen with some unexpected help. However, rather than the Princess Victoria being the main character, the plot follows Elizabeth Hastings (or "Liza"), a recently orphaned young lady who eventually becomes Victoria's maid, and Liza's personal struggles as she becomes entangled with the lives of those at Kensington Palace.The writing is very compelling, and all the characters, from those based on historical people such as Victoria, the Duchess, and Sir John, to those who were fictional but based on people who could have existed at the time, such as Liza and Will Fulton, are very believable. They all have their flaws, but that only makes them feel more human. The pacing is very well-set, never feeling rushed, but never feeling bogged down, either. There was obviously a lot of thought and passion put into this novel, and though the author takes some liberties with the timeline (which she makes a note of in her author's notes), she clearly did her research very well, and I learned quite about about Victoria's young life while also getting an entertaining story.Interspersed throughout are passages from the Queen Victoria's actual diary, (fictitious) letters between various characters, and entries in Liza's own diaries. Rather than being forced, however, I found they were woven in very fluently with the rest of the story, giving the reader important information while still being interesting reads.I'd give the story 4.5 stars. I'd say five stars, but there were a few minor points that keep me from giving it a perfect score. Most notably, the beginning was a little rough. We're launched so quickly into the story that almost no build-up is given for character or setting. The author does get to that in the next couple of chapters, but because of the jarring introduction, I considered passing on this story - though, in the end, I'm glad I didn't.Another point that struck me as odd was the introduction of Liza's "selfish" thoughts. There's nothing wrong with looking out for oneself - especially for someone in Liza's position, an orphan left with her parents' debt in a strange land, one step away from being tossed onto the streets. However, the way it is written is very jarring: when she hears the Duchess and Sir John plotting against her, she feels protective of Victoria; when she sees how Sir John acts and presents himself, she instinctively feels she can't trust him; when he tries to buy her loyalty, she is appalled; and then, as soon as she's by herself, she wonders if she should be loyal to Victoria or Sir John. Why would she consider working for Sir John when she was just thinking she can't trust him? If there is a reason, it needs to be explained; as it is, it just comes out of left field. However, when she brings up the problem of who she should be loyal to in her journal entry the next chapter, it flows much better, and Liza makes her thought process very clear. The author should have left the entire discussion of Liza's quandary for the journal entry, or else tackled the entire matter when it first came up. Liza does have to think of her own situation, and I've no objection to that - I just feel it wasn't written as well as it could have been.Still, those are minor complaints, as they only come up in the beginning, and the rest of the novel flows much more naturally. I would highly recommend this story to anyone who likes historical fiction, romance, and adventure, because this book has all three in spades.Review of the Kindle version: There were no typos that I noticed, and the page numbers total at 353. I like that it's easy to tell the difference between the narrative chapters, letters, and journal entries not only by the headings at the beginnings of each (such as "Excerpt from the Journal of Her Royal Highness," "From Miss Elizabeth Hastings to...", "A Broadsheet, Published Anonymously," or the chapter number and name of the chapter), but because each is formatted a little differently. You can't get to any specific letter or excerpt from the table of contents, but each letter and excerpt is positioned at the end of a chapter, so if you're looking for one in particular, it won't be too hard to find. There are also nice touches like jpg decorations being used to denote a scene change (as opposed to a blank space or asterisks) or mark the beginning of a chapter. I especially love the extras at the end, which include author's notes that give more details about the historical events and characters used in the book, a list of books suggested for further reading in case you're interested in the life of Queen Victoria, a discussion guide, author's bio, and a sneak peek at another novel by the same author.

This was a story that I knew of some but quite a lot of the fictionalized portions added so much to an already interesting story. Queen Victoria is, as always, a fascinating character, but Liza is smart, brave, and strong. A great tale for youth reading up on the Victorian era. Also lovely for a history or YA historical fiction buff. It’s a quick read with a great pace and intriguing story. You don’t have to know a lot about Victoria to enjoy as the author does a great job speaking to a novice or a Victorian-versed reader. It was a fun read and I recommend it to young and old alike. Enjoy!

This was a well-written, if rather romanticized, version of Victoria's life just before she became queen, which was not always as inevitable as it seems today. The only quibble, which seems unavoidable in a work like this, as that the author has to include events of the time without much context, which makes the work a little less effective unless you go and do some further research on your own. While I enjoyed the book, I found the information a little unsatisfactory (despite the author's note at the end) and felt compelled to read further. This enhanced the enjoyment of the book considerably, as I then had several 'aha!' moments when the references in the story became more clear. So this story stands up quite well as a story on its own (with a very good sense of time and place) but is considerably enhanced if you already know some background. Perhaps that is what a good book is supposed to do - make you want to learn more!

A light fluffy interpretation of the years before Victoria became queen, entertaining, I particularly liked the use of flash! Inspired. Fun

É uma história envolvente, que prende o leitor durante todo o livro. Para quem gosta de História, é duplamente interessante. Fiel aos acontecimentos no que diz respeito à vida da Rainha Vitória quando ainda era jovem e vulnerável, ele propicia um mergulho nas intrigas de poder e nas conspirações que cercam a herdeira presuntiva da Inglaterra. A personagem fictícia, Lisa Hastings, construída com coerência e sensibilidade, conquista o leitor que torce por ela da primeira à última página. Realmente, vale a pena.

Absolutely rivetting

1837年，18歳で戴冠，最盛期のイギリスに60年以上君臨することになるヴィクトリア女王．その戴冠までの約1年間を描く．王女時代のヴィクトリアが，母親の厳しい監視のもとで不遇な日々を送ったことは事実だったようで，そのような背景に基づく創作である．母親を籠絡して廷内を欲しいままに操る寵臣の奸計を，新しく雇った部屋付きメイドと一緒にヴィクトリアが暴く……という，さすがにそれはないだろう，というかなり突飛な筋立てである．しかし，時代考証はしっかり行われおり，どこまでがフィクションか，後書きで詳しく触れられている．ヴィクトリアは少女時代から生涯にわたって日記を残しており，それをもとにした部分も多い．深さはないが，娯楽時代小説として充分楽しめる．