Victoria, Queen of the Screen

Both in life and death, Queen Victoria is among the most popular monarchs to be committed to film. Her reign was characterized by an explosion in media coverage that began to rely on images rather than words to tell her story. Even though Victoria has been labeled the “first media monarch,” the sheer magnitude of her screen presence has been neither chronicled nor fully appreciated until now. This book examines the growth and evolution of Queen Victoria’s on-screen image. From the satirical cartoons and silent films of the 19th century to the television shows, video games, and webcomics of the 21st, it demonstrates how the protean Victoria character has evolved, ultimately meaning many different things to many different people in many different ways. Each chapter looks at a facet of her character and includes analysis of how these media present Queen Victoria as a real person and shape her as a character acting within a narrative. The book includes a comprehensive and international filmography.

Leigh Ehlers Telotte has published essays in various academic journals on the Gothic novel, including The Old English Baron and Melmoth the Wanderer, and on the role of women in Tristram Shandy. She holds a Ph.D. in English literature and has taught English at the college level and worked as an information technology project manager. She lives in Smyrna, Georgia.

Leigh Ehlers Telotte

Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 249
Bibliographic Info: 58 photos, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2020
pISBN: 978-1-4766-7904-4
eISBN: 978-1-4766-3878-2
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments vi
Preface 1
Introduction: The Real and the Reel Victoria 3
1. Queen Victoria on the Silent Screen 11
2. Of War and Empire 36
3. Of Love and Obsession 62
4. Victoria Is Amused 91
5. Victoria Rules the Small Screen 103
6. Transformations of Victoria Into the 21st Century 137
Appendix: Select Filmography 149
Chapter Notes 195
Works Cited 215
Index 225