'Writing about Queen Victoria has been one of the most joyous experiences of my life.I have read thousands (literally) of letters never before published, and grown used to her as to a friend.Maddening? Egomaniac? Hysterical? A bad mother? Some have said so. What emerged for me was a brave, original woman who was at the very epicentre of Britain's changing place in the world: a solitary woman in an all-male world who understood politics and foreign policy much better than some of her ministers; a person possessed by demons, but demons which she was brave enough to conquer.Above all, I became aware, when considering her eccentric friendships and deep passions, of what a loveable person she was.' A.N. Wilson