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Head of Zeus
Shooting Victoria
Shooting Victoria: Madness, Mayhem, and the Modernisation of the British Monarchy by Paul Thomas Murphy

'It is worth being shot at to see how much one is loved.' – Queen Victoria.

Queen Victoria was attacked an astonishing eight times during her sixty-three year reign.

Victoria's would-be assassins succeeded in changing the course of British history; whose penal system, legal system and policing would never be the same again. Taking the queen's mad, marginalized attackers as his starting point for an investigation of the entire era, Paul Thomas Murphy weaves elegantly through all layers of nineteenth century society and culture. A rollicking, riveting history, Shooting Victoria is the most multi-faceted story of Victorian Britain to date.

Head of Zeus * History
26 Sep 2013 * 688pp * £12.99 * 9781781851975
REVIEWS
'An entertaining social history... Has as many strands as a Victorian novel, deserves a wide readership.'
TLS
'Beautifully researched and lucidly written ... an entertaining study'
Sunday Times
'A gripping, teeming, discursive pleasure. Shining a light on the 19th century and its indestructible queen.'
Observer
'[A] fascinating book ... it is a testament to his talent that these 500 pages left me wanting more'
Daily Express
'A rollicking read'
The Spectator
'Full of curiosity and zest'
Mail on Sunday
'A rich, rollicking narrative ... enormously entertaining'
Scotsman
'Written with as much verve and spirit as the youthful queen herself, this fascinating investigation into the attempted assassinations is a superb exploration into 19th century construction of monarchy'
BBC History
'Part social panorama, part crime thriller, part psychological drama ... Superb'
Robert Morrison.
Author
Paul Thomas Murphy
Paul Thomas Murphy
Paul Thomas Murphy is the author of the much-praised Shooting Victoria. He earned PhD from the University of Colorado where he taught interdisciplinary writing on Victorian topics. He currently resides in Boulder, Colorado.
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