Product Description

The Royal Mob is the story of the four beautiful Princesses of the House of Hesse, granddaughters of Queen Victoria, who come of age during the zenith of European Royalty. Each makes a brilliant marriage that will bring her both happiness and heartbreak. The eldest, Princess Victoria, marries the handsome Prince Louis of Battenberg, the former lover of Lillie Langtry. The next, the exquisite Elisabeth, is swept off to the unbelievable splendor of the Romanov court by Grand Duke Serge, while Irène dazzles Prince Henry of Prussia and takes her place at the court in Berlin. Alix, the youngest, marries the man she has loved since childhood, Tsar Nicholas II of Russia, and becomes the fabled Empress Alexandra. From such exotic locals as Russia, Bulgaria and Ottoman Jerusalem, to the drawing rooms of Sandringham, The Royal Mob is told as an intimate memoir of the eldest sister, Princess Victoria of Hesse, who was the favorite granddaughter of Queen Victoria. Starting in the court of the Queen Empress and ending at the marriage of Victoria’s grandson, Prince Philip, to the future Queen Elizabeth of England, The Royal Mob is the lavish and exciting story of the last royal courts of Europe.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #221484 in Books
• Published on: 2008-07-21
• Released on: 2008-07-21
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 631 pages

Customer Reviews

Thoroughly entertaining and very well written
I don't usually like "historical fiction". Usually the authors take too many liberties with the people they are writing about and probably without even trying hard distort the truth.

However, this book is not like that at all. Theresa Sherman has done considerable research and has put together a lovely book about the Hessian sisters, granddaughters of Queen Victoria and daughters of Princess Alice, Queen Victoria's second daughter.

I began by thinking that I would read it, as I often do, in concert with other books. I rarely read one book at a time. But within the first sitting, I found that I had to keep reading. I had to know what was coming next.

It is interesting different look at the thoughts and motivations behind the historical happenings that lead to among other things, The Great War and World War II.

But it is a very precise look at Princess Victoria of Hesse who married Prince Louis of Battenberg and the family that they were part of.

Of the four sisters, Victoria and Irene are not as well known as Alix who became Alexandra Feodorovna, Empress of all the Russians and Ella who also married into the Russian royal family and became the Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna.

With this book, Theresa Sherman has brought Princess Victoria of Hesse, grandmother of Prince Philip, the consort of Queen Elizabeth II, and her family into much sharper focus.

Royal Mob Review
Preferring normally to read a non-fiction/history piece over that of its fictionalized represenation, I picked up this with some skepticism. Interested in the history of British monarchy, I found this a compelling read in that it strenuously adheres to fact while adding the writers clearly nuanced perspective of the mental complexities of the participants that allows a clearly plausible fictionalized narrative. Because she knows so well the stories and personalities of these individuals their actions and words in this book lack any of the trite or artificial nature of many historic novels.

That said, the subject of the book is fascinating, which are the four daughters of Princess Alice, second eldest daughter of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. The sisters all led complex lives filled with both passion and tragedy --- the most famous being the youngest who became the Empress Alexandra Feodorovna upon her marriage to Nicholas II, the last Emporer of Russia, while the elder is the grandmother of the present Elizabeth II's husband, Prince Phillip Duke of Edinburgh.

I strongly recommend this book -- and hope that others will enjoy it as much as I did!

E. Freedman
I've never been a fan of anything Royal. My friend suggested this book,telling me how much he loved it. I bought it thinking I would read
a little every so often. That idea was short-lived. After starting I couldn't put it down.
This is a wonderful Book. I felt the author knew these people.
It's as if she witnessed their lives, their stroy.
Interesting and Beautifully written.
I'm looking forward to Ms. Sherman' next effort.