More Leaves From The Journal Of A Life In The Highlands - From 1862 To 1882

More Leaves from the Journal of a Life in the Highlands is Queen Victoria in retreat mode: less throne-room thunder, more Balmoral air, Scottish weather, quiet reflection, and the occasional reminder that even a “simple” royal holiday involves rather more staff than most people’s entire village.

Covering the years 1862 to 1882, this is the continuation of Victoria’s Highland journals, full of personal observations, landscape, memory, mourning, loyalty, and the comforting idea that Scotland could provide a kind of emotional refuge from the burdens of empire. It is intimate by royal standards, which means deeply personal, carefully presented, and still never quite free from the fact that the diarist happened to own several palaces.

There is a lovely irony in a queen writing about simplicity while living a version of it available only to queens. Still, Victoria’s affection for the Highlands feels sincere, and the book offers a fascinating glimpse of the monarch away from ceremony, writing about place, people, and feeling with a directness that makes the Victorian age seem briefly less marble and more human.

This 1885 Smith, Elder & Co. edition is in Good condition, with the expected age and handling wear. A previous owner’s written details have been covered with address labels at the front and back, which is not ideal, but does add a small domestic subplot: history, monarchy, and someone’s determined attempt at privacy all sharing the same boards.

A fine choice for readers of royal memoir, Scottish interest, Victorian history, or anyone who likes their monarchy slightly windswept and very firmly edited by posterity.

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