Have you browsed Queen Victoria’s Journals yet? Queen Elizabeth has made the entire collection available online to commemorate her Diamond Jubilee. If you have ever been interested in Queen Victoria, British history, Jane Austen or historical novels at all, you must read these.  The journals begin with a chronicle of a trip to Wales taken when (then) Princess Victoria was thirteen years old. She continued keeping a journal all her life, chronicling her marriage, her reign, and the lives of her children. These are detailed diaries, including what time she woke up, got up, and breakfasted, containing lists of party attendees, sketches of their dresses, and how late she stayed. Her writing is intelligent and engaging, actually the word “sprightly” comes to mind. 🙂

The web interface allows the reader to browse, choose a particular date or to see all of her sketches separated from the text. I am completely hooked. I love the detail and how much of her personality comes through each entry.  What a blogger she would have made. Better yet, I can just imagine what her pinterest boards would have been like, I would have followed her for sure!  Thank you Queen Elizabeth for sharing these journals with us. Have you discovered them yet?