Becoming Queen - Couverture souple

Praise for England's Mistress:

'An immensely colourful, readable portrait that revels in Emma's resilience and her ability to surmount what look to us now to be unimaginable odds.' Independent on Sunday

'Sparkling like Emma's pawned diamonds, this biography, drawing on quantities of unmined material, finally makes us understand why Nelson needed to be prised out of Emma's embrace to fight Napoleon ...' Daily Mail

'It is the thoroughness of the research and attention to detail that makes Kate Williams's new biography of Emma Hamilton so interesting ... This is a sympathetic portrait; a contemporary take on Emma Hamilton as an ambitious, self-promoting, media-savvy celebrity ... Fascinating.' Independent

'The first self-made superstar, the first manipulative media celebrity, dazzling Europe with her style and beauty as muse to artists and mistress to Nelson. Emma famously gets her comeuppance, and her headlong flight to romantic destruction is told with novelistic dash.' The Times, Books of the Year

Becoming Queen tells the astonishing story of Queen Victoria's passionate youth, her bitter struggle with her mother - and how her life was shaped by the death of her forgotten cousin, Princess Charlotte, the Queen who never was.

In a dramatic tale of secrets, sexual repression and endless conflict, Kate Williams reveals an energetic and vibrant woman, determined to battle for power. It also documents the Byzantine machinations behind Victoria's quest to occupy the throne, and shows how her struggles did not end when the crown was finally placed on her head.

'The amazing untold story of Victoria before she was Queen ... Kate Williams reveals a passionate young woman beloved of her future subjects but at war with her family' Sunday Telegraph

'This fresh and vivid portrayal of the young Queen Victoria is deserving of the highest praise. I cannot recommend it highly enough' Alison Weir, author of The Lady Elizabeth

'History as exciting and tempestuous as you are ever likely to find' Country Life