An Uncommon Woman - The Empress Frederick: Daughter of Queen Victoria, Wife of the Crown Prince of Prussia, Mother of Kaiser Wilhelm Paperback – November 13, 1997

An Uncommon Woman is an excellent, first rate biography of Vicky, eldest daughter of Queen Victoria who, through marriage, became the Crown Princess of Prussia, and then Princess and later Empress Frederick of the German Empire. She played an influential (and one wishes a much more influential) role in German, and more broadly European, history during the latter 19th to early 20th centuries. Vicky strove to move German politics towards a more liberal, democratic, parliamentary form of government, but was successfully opposed by the autocracy of Chancellor Bismarck and even her son, who eventually became the Kaiser. The author persuasively implies that had this "uncommon woman" been able to prevail, European history may have benefited. The book succeeds as both an intimate, full-fledged account of this remarkable woman, her family members, and the many important historical persons of the times, as well as a comprehensive history of the creation of the German Empire, the rise of autocracy and militarism, and the lead-up to World War I. The writing style is excellent; the author is exceptionally skilled at presenting a thoroughly well-researched life of Vicky and detailed history of the times in a highly readable, well paced narrative. One of the most engaging and informative biographies I have read. Highly recommended.

I was surprised at the often rather vitriolic comments from some readers about Hannah Pakula's splendid biography of Vicky, the Princess Royal. Perhaps this book should be considered a history of that complex era rather than a biography. But the historical data is necessary to explain Vicky's failures. She had the qualities to succeed- smartness, kindness, talent, perseverance and above all breeding. But she was helpless against the onslaughts of Bismarck, the hostility of her own eldest son, and her mother-in-law as Germany inexorably became a militaristic state, chugging along towards World War I.If Vicky gets lost in the maelstrom of history in this book, that's exactly what happened. She was deluged and submerged by forces over which she had no control. That Prince Albert and Queen Victoria sent the 17 year old girl into the lion's den of the Prussian Court, as the wife of Friedrich Wilhelm, the Crown Prince, expecting her to somehow turn Germany into a liberal constitutional monarchy boggles the mind. And Victoria incredibly told her daughter to remain as English as possible in the Prussian court, the worst advice imaginable.Vicky's marriage was extremely happy, but her husband was a helpless as she was. When he finally became emperor, he had only three months to live. He died, at 56, his dreams for a united, liberal Germany unfulfilled and Vicky became a persona non grata, simply a widow who did not count and who had no power. Her son Kaiser Wilhelm II made sure she was effectively trampled on as he pursued his dreams of glory.Readers should not expect from "An Uncommon Woman" a warmly fuzzy intimate picture of the Princess Royal as found in Daphne Bennett's charming biography "Vicky- Princess Royal of England and German Empress". Hannah Pakula's book is a huge, complicated historical feast and you must be willing to be deluged with facts that often seem to have little to do with the princess except putting her in proper perspective. So perhaps this is a book for the history buff less interested in a sentimental, intimate portrait than in that person's place and significance in the scheme of events.

This is a biography of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert's firstborn, Victoria Adelaide Mary Louisa (called "Vicky"). She had a very scholarly upbringing and married Fritz, whose father was Wilhelm I of Prussia. This was all arranged by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert so that Vicky, with her very forward upbringing, could influence Fritz to unify Germany and put it on the path of progress and enlightenment. Fortunately, Vicky and Fritz really fell in love. They had 6 children (5 of whom survived to adulthood) and their firstborn became Kaiser Wilhelm II who was, to be kind, a dictator and despot. The author has a very good and interesting writing style and you don't feel that you're reading a true historical work. The research for this book was incredible and this book really sheds much light on the times that Vicky was living in throughout her life, the social mores, the expectations of people like her who were in a position of power and wealth. The book has interesting photos not only of Vicky and her family but of others who were in her life from a political standpoint. I didn't give this book 5 stars because it devotes a huge amount of the pages to Otto Bismarck, who was Prime Minister under Fritz's father and then became Chancellor of Germany when Vicky's son, Kaiser Wilhelm II, became ruler. There is an inordinate amount of pages devoted to very detailed descriptions of wars also as they relate to Otto Bismarck. It almost seems as if the author wrote a dual bio: one of Vicky; and the other of Bismarck. I really found it unnecessary for the author to digress (towards Bismarck) SO much from the subject of this bio. Although Bismarck had a prickly relationship with Vicky during her lifetime, information about him should have been approached through writing about her and NOT writing about how he dealt with the Prussian parliament or landgraves. I found myself just skipping over those pages (and there were a LOT of pages). Still, this book was a very interesting read. The author would have done herself justice had she written a separate book about Bismarck rather than try to sneak his whole bio into this book. Kind of disappointed in that.