Queen Victoria's Mysterious Daughter: A Biography of Princess Louise

Intending to write a biography on the artistic life of Queen Victoria's sixth child, Hawksley (The Mystery of Princess Louise) contacted the Royal Archives (UK), only to be informed that the files of Princess Louise (1848–1939) were closed to researchers. Intrigued, the author pressed further, and her project became an attempt to unravel the mysteries shrouding many aspects of the princess's life. Hawksley is on solid footing in her exploration of Louise as an unconventional princess out of step with both her family and her era. The author's pinpointing of the supposed reason for the official secrecy on her subject—the long-standing rumor that the princess bore and surrendered an illegitimate child—is less successful. While the suggestion has potentially plausible elements, the reliance on supposition and matching up dates rather than definite evidence means it never rises above the level of hypothesis.