4 SEPTEMBER 1897, Page 26

The Personal Life of Queen Victoria. By Sarah A. Tooley.

(Hodder and Stoughton.)—Everything that concerns the Queen interests her people, and this book, though in the way of a com- pilation, and containing little that may not be found in previous works on the same subject, will doubtless be widely read, and may be commended as being eminently suitable for the domestic &role and the drawing-room table. It is prettily bound, well getup, and profusely illustrated, and although some of the inci- dents narrated by the authoress may be deemed trivial by the censorious, the minutest details of exalted lives possess a perennial charm for the multitude, and the nation never wearies of reading about the Royal lady whom it delights to honour. Moreover, Miss Tooley gossips pleasantly, writes brightly, and tells her story with vivacity and grace. One of the incidents which she mentions will probably be new to most people. George IV. would have had the Duke of Kent's daughter christened " Georgiana," and was greatly annoyed when her parents wisely declined to zomply with this characteristic request. Imagine a Queen Georgians! So ill-omened and grotesque a name would have been a misfortune, as well for her Majesty as for the country. We owe more to the Duke and Duchess of Kent than is generally supposed.