rabck from hyphen8; set Mostly in England, a unsettling account of the Queen's friendship with an Indian servant and what uncomfortably felt like treating the emissaries from India as a circus spectacle. I felt bad for Abdul - was he really a social climber taking advantage of his status or did he have no real choice in his life. I'm reading some other books set during this time of "Britannia" and didn't realize that it was really the business - East India Trading Company - that got England involved with only some parts of India. ( )

Did not finish. Too much speculation. ( )

This is the extraordinary story of the unlikeliest of friendships - that between an Empress and an unremarkable subject of hers; a friendship which the queen's family has striven, almost successfully, to wipe off the pages of history. It is also the story of a lonely, elderly queen's unwavering support of the only person she could connect to amidst the multitude of people of far higher stature surrounding her, in the face of unrelenting opposition from almost all of her Household and beyond.
As much as I was interested in reading about this unique friendship and the people trying to demolish it, I found this book a bit too dry, and very repetitive, which made it a tedious read. However, this thoroughly researched book certainly provides an intimate glimpse into the human side of Victoria - the queen of one of the most powerful empires in history. ( )

This novel drove me crazy. At first, it was very dry and factual, which was fine with me after two rather stressful horror novels. I was using this novel as a palate cleanser, of sorts.
But the petty jealousies, racism, classism, and bullshit that the *entire* household staff (support and care system) that took care of Queen Victoria drove me absolutely batty. It disgusted me so badly, I couldn’t enjoy the novel at all. I can understand completely why at one point why the Queen got so pissed off, she swiped everything on her desk off it, in one sweeping motion. I’d have started throwing shit at people, no joke. And the fired them. But then again, I wouldn’t have apologized for my being angry like Queen Victoria did almost every time these spouts happened, and I don’t put up with that shit. AT ALL.
So while others are going on about the writing style of the author, the storyline, and the characters, I can only say that this novel was incredibly difficult to make it through to the ending. Even with the great narration abilities of Elizabeth Jasiki, who took on every single Indian name, word, or city with no problems whatsoever.
The entire novel was like this: Munshi Abdul Karim was invited somewhere, or got some kind of recognition; then the whole household got jealous and pissy, then someone went and told the Queen that they all hated her Munshi was invited/honored, then the Queen got mad, and then either wrote letters to the entire staff trying to correct them of their failings or one specific person, and then the Queen would later apologize for her words in another letter. Every. Single. Time. ARRRRGH....!

3 stars, and not really recommended, unless you can look past these awful people and their massive failings. ( )

Victoria & Abdul (Movie Tie-In): The True Story of the Queen's Closest Confidant by [Basu, Shrabani]This is an interesting book. After Prince Albert died, the queen sought friendship in unconventional places. First their was her gilly at Balmoral. Then there was Abdul Karim, a young Indian Munshi. He arrived expecting to spend the year of her Jubilee but then the Queen felt that she could not do without him at her side. He became her teacher, her counsel on Urdu and Indian affairs and a dear friend. The decade they were together was scandalous and her household did not like him or this closeness.

This book was written from letters and journals about this time. It left me at times puzzles and in awe of the lives of the people of that time. I felt the closeness and could understand it but I also felt the puzzlement felt by Queen Victoria's household.

This book was so well-written and filled with information. I highly recommend it. ( )