My name is Victoria by Lucy Worsley

Bloomsbury, 2017. ISBN 9781408882016
(Age: 10-14) Highly recommended. Historical fiction. Miss V. Conroy is a very good girl. She is quiet, well-mannered and wants to obey her father Sir John Conroy, the comptroller of the household of the widowed Duchess of Kent. When her father takes her to Kensington Palace to be the companion to the young Princess Victoria, she finds that she is expected to spy on her and report back to her father. Princess Victoria is being brought up under the Kensington System, which aims to keep her isolated and dependent on Sir John and her mother and keep control when she becomes queen.
Lucy Worsley, described as the 'much loved TV historian', has written an engrossing and fast paced tale of the two young girls. She has chosen to give them an alternative history. Even though Queen Victoria's letters and diaries suggest that the two were enemies, Worsley has written a story presenting the scenario that the two did become friends, while ensuring that the historical period and background are accurate.
There is plenty of intrigue in the Kensington household and Worsley has the skill to bring this period to life as well give an indepth description of the cruel Kensington System which made Victoria so unhappy. The reader gets to know the characters of the two young girls and can empathize with Miss V. Conroy who is torn with the dilemma of what she should tell her father, and Princess Victoria, a headstrong and determined girl who has to contend with very difficult circumstances.
Worsley introduces My name is Victoria on YouTube.
Well researched and absorbing My name is Victoria will become a favourite of readers who enjoy historical fiction.
Pat Pledger