In the age of exploration, the british began building an enormous and highly profitable foreign empire. While the british empire initially lagged behind other european powers such as spain and portugal, it still managed to colonize the new world and discover highly-lucrative trade routes.
British colonies could be found on virtually any continent. For decades, colonialism was painted as the duty of the more advanced european civilizations. However, a darker truth lurked under the surface. Find out how britain invaded, colonized, and ruled almost a quarter of the world’s land mass.

You will discover topics such as
•an unexpected heiress
•the accession
•a palace, a groom, and two scandals
•rats, fleas, and other victorian pests
•the cholera epidemic of 1846-1860
•the sanitation revolution
•a queen in mourning
•anatomy, medicine, and the body snatchers
•frankenstein, horror, and science fiction
•egyptomania, scientific racism, and the suez canal
The book also delves into the world she ruled—an empire that stretched across continents, filled with both glory and contradiction. It portrays the splendor of britain’s global dominance alongside the social struggles that defined victorian society: child labor, poverty, and inequality. Queen victoria stood as a moral figure amid these tensions, embodying the ideals of duty, piety, and perseverance, even as the empire she led grappled with its conscience.
Through her letters, diaries, and relationships, the narrative unveils a woman of immense complexity. She could be stubborn yet tender, commanding yet deeply emotional.