Sunday, January 17, 2010

"The Young Victoria" (Movie, 2009)

This past week I took a short break from writing about James Gammell. Steve and I went to see the movie The Young Victoria. I loved it! It is the touching love story of Victoria and Albert…with beautiful cinematography, costumes, music, and good acting, I thought. (One scene did depart from the truth for dramatic effect: Albert was never shot. But critics say the rest is true to historical fact.)

Victoria became Queen in 1837 and died in 1901. She is the longest reigning of any British monarch. At her coronation in 1838, she was 19 years old. During that part of the movie I couldn’t help thinking of James. He was imprisoned in England from December 1838 to September 1839. When James died in 1881, Victoria would reign for twenty more years. There will be several references to Victoria in the continuing story of James Gammell.

Since I was born in England, I’ve always had a fascination with the British monarchy, especially Queen Victoria, and, of course, Elizabeth II. I remember watching her coronation on our first television set when I was a child. I don’t think James thought too highly of the British, though, or their monarchy, after all he suffered under their rule.

Take a break from reading my blog, and see this beautiful movie. You’ll get a feel for the Victorian period, the era when James Gammell lived.

No comments:

Post a Comment