VICTORIA’S SECRET: THE PRIVATE PASSION OF A QUEEN
7PM, THURS 24 JULY | BRITISH LIBRARY, LONDON
From the moment John Brown arrived as a servant to Queen Victoria’s household, he became known across the land as her loyal companion, her fierce protector, and her right-hand man, their friendship immortalized in print and on-screen. But what if there was more to their relationship than we know? And what has history been hiding from us?
To mark the release of her eagerly anticipated new book, Victoria’s Secret: The Private Passion of a Queen, this unmissable event sees historian and author Dr Fern Riddell draw from new evidence to challenge the prevalent image of Victoria as a grieving widow and instead create a compelling human portrait of a woman in passionate midlife. Chaired by Dr Matthew Sweet.
In collaboration with the British Library.
About Dr Fern Riddell
Dr Fern Riddell is a cultural historian, and an expert in sex, suffrage and entertainment in the Victorian and Edwardian eras. Presenter for Sky History’s global phenomenon, Truthseekers, and the host of Sky History’s Not What You Thought You Knew podcast, she is the author of books including Death In Ten Minutes and Sex: Lessons from History. Her latest book, Victoria’s Secret: The Private Passion of a Queen will be released July 2025.
About Dr Matthew Sweet
Matthew Sweet is co-writer, with Mark Gatiss, of the U&Alibi series, Bookish. He presents Free Thinking on BBC Radio 4 and Sound of Cinema on BBC Radio 3. His is the author of Inventing the Victorians, Shepperton Babylon, The West End Front and Operation Chaos. His first novel, The New Forest Murders was published by Simon and Schuster in June. His biography The Great Dictator: A Life of Barbara Cartland is published next year.