souliersnoirs

I read an entertaining book by Gillian Gill called We Two, a sort of joint biography of Victoria and Albert. He brought the ‘Victorian’ stuffiness and rigidity to the English court, and as a father he would have been too strict for my liking. But he was conscientious and pretty much worked himself to death.

I like that the sympathy and sensitivity came from her. For one thing, at her great age, she has seen so many people carried away before their time that she could tackle this current calamity pragmatically and not emotionally. Second, I think that as a stern old Duchess, she has the power to think as independently as she pleases without giving a toss about what everyone else thinks of homosexual persons.

Feeling very sorry for Lord Alfred. I hope it is a slight comfort to him that somebody (the Duchess) knows how he feels and apparently is discreet and non-judgmental. I suppose he went to his room at that point and cried his heart out alone.