On the 7th April 1839, Queen Victoria found herself defending the novel ‘Oliver Twist’ against the criticism of her Prime Minister, Lord Melbourne, who complained that it’s “debasing style” and use of slang was like a “beggars opera”. As the conversation continued, Melbourne went on to say that he didn’t like “workhouses and coffin makers, and pickpockets” in reality and therefore didn’t wish to see them represented in novels. Perhaps not wanting the Queen to question his lack of action on the conditions of the poor, the Prime Minister then suggested that everything one reads should be “pure and elevating”.
However, Victoria was stubborn and Melbourne’s attempts to sway her mind to his way of thinking were quickly proving to be unsuccessful. Victoria had much more liberal views than those around her and through the “excessively interesting” work of ‘Oliver Twist’, she had found herself able to emphasise with her less fortunate subjects for the very first time. From then on, Victoria became a lifelong fan of Charles Dickens’ work and the two would eventually meet in March 1870, just a few months before the author passed away.
© Queen.Victoria.Roses / Shannon McInulty 2025
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I love knowing this. Lord M seemed to have an aversion to helping the poor. In the movie “Young Victoria” there was a scene with Queen Victoria and Lord M in a carriage and she tells him she wants to know everything about those less fortunate. He seemed annoyed but obviously did what she asked.