The Captive of Kensington Palace : (Queen Victoria: Book 1)

Overview: Eleanor Alice Burford, Mrs. George Percival Hibbert was a British author of about 200 historical novels, most of them under the pen name Jean Plaidy which had sold 14 million copies by the time of her death. She chose to use various names because of the differences in subject matter between her books; the best-known, apart from Plaidy, are Victoria Holt (56 million) and Philippa Carr (3 million). Lesser known were the novels Hibbert published under her maiden name Eleanor Burford, or the pseudonyms of Elbur Ford, Kathleen Kellow and Ellalice Tate. Many of her readers under one penname never suspected her other identities. Victoria is virtually a prisoner in Kensington Palace. Her mother and her mother's chamberlain, Sir John Conroy, are her guards. They will not allow her to associate with anyone that has not been thoroughly and critically checked to make sure Victoria is not made harmed by their very presence.Even her governesses are under scrutiny. She is not even allowed to be alone! Someone must always be with her. Her only hope is in contemplating her coming of age, whereupon she may be free and able to take her "Uncle King's" crown without her dreaded captures taking regency. Her best friends are her "dear" sister Feodora, married and living in Germany; her Uncle Leopold, her cousin-in-law and uncle as well as King of the Belgians; Lehzen, her faithful governess; the King and Queen, whom she is rarely allowed to see; and her cousins that she is also rarely allowed to see. She has scheming uncles trying to usurp her right to the throne, and family fighting over her. Every day she comes closer to her dream of adulthood, and her guards' despair at loss of power. The First In Jean Plaidy's Captivating Victorian Series. The Young Princess Victoria, Strictly Confined Within The Boundaries Of Kensington Palace, Is Being Moulded For Her Awesome Future As Queen Of England. Surrounded By Her Dolls And Closely Guarded By Her Domineering Mother And Faithful Governess, She Slowly Becomes Aware Of The Bitter Conflicts That Surround Her. The Jealous And Scheming Duke Of Cumberland Is A Constant Threat To Her Rightful Accession . . . Her Mother's Sinister Friend, Sir John Conroy, Makes Her Uneasy . . . And The Bickering Between Her Mother And The King Seems Neverending. Growing Up Is Proving Difficult For The Princess. She Longs For Her Eighteenth Birthday When At Last She Will Be Free To Rule The Nation As She Pleases And To Re-acquaint Herself With The Gallant Prince Albert. As her ruthless uncle connives to gain the crown for himself, young Victoria's mother fears for her life and does everything she can to protect her. Complicating matters is Victoria's strained relationship with her widowed mother, the Duchess of Kent, whose relationship with the ambitious and hated John Conroy, who longs to rule the country by ruling Victoria