Biographies
Biography Feature
Queen Victoria, 1819-1901
The important thing is not what they think of me, but what I think of them.
Queen Victoria in her coronation robes. Painting by Sir George Hayter.
The new film The Young Victoria, takes a look at Queen Victoria in her younger years as she begins her accession to the throne, casting the perspective of a passionate and vibrant young woman rather than that of the older monarch we are more used to seeing portrayed. Find out more about the longest reigning monarch in Britain's history with our resources below.
Shelf help:
These are just some of the biographies and works about Queen Victoria that can be found in the library collection
Books:
Becoming Queen- By Kate Williams
- "Becoming Queen reveals an energetic and vibrant woman, determined to battle for power. It also documents the Byzantine machinations behind Victoria's quest to occupy the throne, and shows how her struggles did not end when finally the crown was placed on her head. Laying bare the passions that swirled around the throne in the eighteenth century, Becoming Queen is an absorbingly dramatic tale of secrets, sexual repression and endless conflict." (Global Books in Print)
Queen Victoria: A Personal History- By Christopher Hibbert
- "In 'Queen Victoria: A Personal History' we see Victoria develop from the young, inexperienced Queen in thrall to the charming, cynical and devoted Melbourne, to the intimidating matriarch who so terrified members of her household that they were once seen scurrying away across the lawn at Sandringham, crying "The Queen! The Queen!" when she appeared unexpectedly at the garden door. Victoria and her ministers are brought vividly to life, as are all those whom the Queen came to know, to love, dislike, revere or denigrate, from her mother's friend Sir John Conroy to her own adored husband, Prince Albert, who patiently endured her petulant tantrums. This biography is based on a wide variety of sources, including the Queen's voluminous correspondence and intimate journals." (Amazon)
Victoria and Albert- By Richard Hough
- "When the 20-year-old Queen Victoria married Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha in 1840, the United Kingdom was the richest and most powerful country in the world. Hough draws chiefly on Victoria's letters and extant journals to give us the story of these young people until Albert's premature death from typhoid in 1861. We read of Victoria's secluded upbringing and limited education, designed to shield her from the decadence and unpopularity of her predecessors on the throne, and of Albert's sense of moral duty and public service, in contrast with his own equally dissolute family. Despite occasional rows and misunderstandings, Victoria was totally devoted to her consort." (Kirkus Reviews)
You can find more items on Queen Victoria in our catalogue here
From our databases:
Queen Victoria and the palace martyr, History Today article by Kate Williams (author of Becoming Queen above) takes a look at the Bedchamber Crisis and the ensuing political furore it created which is featured in the film The Young Victoria (from Biography Resource Center)
Websites:
You can also find out more about Queen Victoria and other members of the Royal Family throughout history on the Official Website of The British Monarchy.
Don't walk in the long grass, by Tenniel Evans (1999)- This is a charming , memoir of an exceptional child who became a celebrated actor. Tenniel Evans was born into a rumbustious colonial family living in picturesque poverty in Kenya. At the age of 10 he won a scholarship to Christ's Hospital school, travelled by sea to England, and was adopted into the family of his 'wonderful horse-faced' paternal aunt, who lived a middle-class life in a Coventry rectory. He came to love this family, which gradually replaced his own, whom he did not see again for twenty years. He became thoroughly English and made his mark on the English stage. This humorous book, which is endorsed by Alex Guinness, evokes his African childhood and his journey through an English education in all sense of the word. (Sue)
- NZ Edge.com
Biographies of some great New Zealand achievers. - From the BBC - Historic figures
Selected biographies of historic figures from the BBC - an A-Z index. - Who's alive and who's dead
A website dedicated to helping you find out which of the noted celebrities of our time are with us, and which ones have died. - Who2.com
- Brainy History
Recent items
MyLibrary:
Have a look at the libraries' Biography recent picks for new biographies.
MyLibrary is a free service which allows you to set up your own portal page to collect lists of new books, CDs and DVDs in the library. Our librarians compile these lists on a monthly basis across the different subject areas in the library's collection, and for many subjects these monthly lists are available going back a number of years.
Librarian's Choice
Recommended by our librarians this month...
Online databases
Online biography resources can be found at mygateway.info. Check out the Biography portal page for databases such as Biography Resource Center and the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. The Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, for example, contains over 3,000 biographies of famous New Zealanders (it does not, however, include people who are alive).
Biographies can also be found on many of our other databases for particular subject areas including arts, music, and business. Ask at any library enquiries desk if you need help with these resources:
Useful websites
Magazines
Check out reviews of newly released biographies in magazines held in the Arts, Music and Literature section at Central Library.
Searching the catalogue
Catalogue Quicksearch
Looking for a particular person?
When looking for titles on a particular person, the best approach is from the Basic Search screen, choose the "search type" Subjects in the dropdown menu, enter the word "biography" and as much of the individual's name as is known - then click 'Search'. If this doesn't return any titles, or not as many as expected, repeat the search with just the individual's name i.e. leave out the word "biography".
Looking for a particular occupation?
To find titles about people in a particular occupation, also choose the Subjects search type, and enter the word "biography" and the job e.g. 'biography politicians'.
Looking for biographies about people from a particular country?
To find titles about people from a particular country, also choose the Subjects search type, and enter the word "biography" and the name of the country e.g. 'biography Russia'.
To find all our biographies...
To simply see all our available titles in the adult Biography collection, choose the 'Call Number browse' search type, and enter the word "biography". This will take you to an alphabetical list of all the titles catalogued as 'biography'.
Shelf help
Each library has a dedicated, sign-posted area for biographical books. In the Central Library this area is at the south end of the 1st Floor, on the Victoria Street side. The Children's and Young Adult sections of each library branch also have collections of biographies aimed at younger readers.
Biographies on individuals:
Biographies on individuals have a spine label of 'B', followed by the first 3 letters of the subject's surname e.g. biographies of Robert Muldoon will be labelled B MUL. Members of royal families however are labelled according to their first names i.e. books on Queen Elizabeth's I and II will both be found at B ELI.
Collected biographies:
Biographies on more than one person have a spine label of Bc, followed by the first 3 letters of either the title or author of the book. Check the catalogue to confirm in each case. These collected biographies are shelved in the same general area as, but apart from, the other biographies.
@ the Central Library:
The Central Library has a Biography Reference section near the Enquiries desk at the south end of the 1st Floor. This includes a good range of New Zealand and international Who's Who and similar titles. There is other reference only material on the 2nd Floor in the New Zealand and Maori collections.
Other places to look:
In addition to the Biography sections, there are books about some individuals shelved along with titles on the subject for which they became known. Books about popular, jazz and classical music musicians and composers are shelved in the subject area rather than with biographies. Though new books about artists, architects, photographers, actors and sports people are shelved in the biography section, older titles can be found with the relevant books in the main non-fiction sequence. You'll find some of these call numbers listed in the table below.
| Biographies of: | Dewey number: |
|---|---|
| Architects | 720.92 |
| Classical music composers & performers | 789 & 789.2 |
| Cricket players | 796.358092 |
| Movie actors | 791.43092 |
| Photographers | 770.92 |
| Popular music & jazz artists | 786.9 |
| Rugby & league players | 796.33092 |
Downloadable Digital Audiobooks
Now you can listen to someone else's story while you're getting on with other things in your own life. Check out the Biography digital audiobooks available through our Digital Audiobook service.
Contact us
This page is written and maintained by our Non-Fiction Customer Specialist, Rebecca Waechter. My aim is to keep you informed about the Biographies section of the library and to highlight parts of the collection which may interest you. I'd be pleased to hear from you about this page - you can email me with any feedback.
