With hit movies and blockbusting TV series exploring the life of Queen Victoria, we thought now was the perfect time to take our own look at how she came to fall in love with the subcontinent, despite never having ventured beyond Europe. But there was more to Victoria’s relationship with India than her famed love of curry, as we reveal from page 24.
During Victoria’s reign, it was said that the Sun never set on the British Empire
ON THE COVER: ILLUSTRATION: JEAN-MICHEL GIRARD/WWW.THE-ART-AGENCY.CO.UK, ALAMY X1, BRIDGEMAN IMAGES X1, GETTY X4, COVER IMAGE ENHANCEMENT - CHRIS STOCKERDESIGN.CO.UK/ON THIS PAGE: ALAMY X1
Another history-making woman featured this issue is Mary Shelley (p49, whose Frankenstein was a revolutionary novel. But who was the woman behind the monster? Hers is a tale of such scandal and tragedy that it’s a wonder it hasn’t been dramatised on screen as often as her creation – or indeed our cover star.