Censoring 
Queen Victoria:How Two Gentlemen Edited a Queen and Created an Icon
By: Yvonne M. Ward
In 1901, following the death of Queen Victoria, King Edward VII decided to publish selected letters of Queen Victoria. Victoria’s reign was long, and she left a large correspondence to sift through, so the King appointed two gentlemen to handle the task. Both men were eccentric, and somewhat troubled. Baron Esher, who headed the project, was a pedophile who was abusive to his son; and Arthur Benson suffered from severe depression which was the result of being secretly homosexual. The letters selected for publication showed the Victoria they wished their readers to know- editing out any controversy, or anything that might contradict their own politics.
At first, I found this book difficult to get through. I picked it up because I am interested in Queen Victoria, but the first half of the book focuses on Esher and Benson, and has very little information about Victoria. I was disturbed by the information presented about Esher, particularly that he abused his son. My first reaction was, “who cares about these two men?” I had only picked up the book because I was interested in Queen Victoria, and the first half of the book was barely about her. I changed my opinion when I got to the end, and understood the impact the editors had on the queen’s legacy. The book was interesting and I am glad I read to the end. I would recommend Censoring Queen Victoria to people who are interested in the Victorian Era, or in women’s history.
WPL Cover to Cover 