Shooting Victoria: Madness, Mayhem, and the Rebirth of the British Monarchy by Paul Thomas Murphy
"It is worth being shot at--to see how much one is loved." So said Britain's Queen Victoria, the target of 8 different assassination attempts during the course of her 64-year reign. Murphy follows the lives of the would-be assassins, examining the social, political, and even the technological aspects of their plots. From William Hamilton, left impoverished and destitute after the Irish Potato Famine, to the precursors of modern terrorists who attempted to sabotage her golden jubilee with bombs, the range of assassination attempts reflects the varied and changing face of 19th century Britain. Far from undermining the British monarchy, the assassination attempts only shored up support for it that has helped sustain its popularity down to our day.
Christopher @ Tippecanoe