One of the saddest things I’ve ever read
September 24th, 2007 |From Erik Larson’s Thunderstruck:
“Overseeing this changing empire was Queen Victoria. In 1896 she celebrated her seventy-seventh birthday. She had reigned for nearly sixty years, during which the empire had grown to be the biggest and most powerful ever known. Meanwhile she herself had grown frail. For over three decades she had lived in a state of perpetual mourning over the death in 1861 of her husband. Ever since then, the Widow of Windsor had worn only black satin. She kept a cast of his hand by her bedside, so that she could hold it when she needed comfort.”
The most powerful woman on earth at the time, seeking support from a plaster hand, all she had left of her hearts love.
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5 Responses to “One of the saddest things I’ve ever read”
You’re being ironic right?
No, I don’t think ironic was the point, was it Smithers? Very sad but better to have loved, then never… for anyone.
(btw, Larson writes amazing stuff ~ Devil in the White City was a perfect read)
No irony, I thought that was really sad.
DITWC was excellent, so was Issac’s Storm.
Poignant and sad.
Wow, you get to read for pleasure on business trips? What is that like?