A Road Scholar program by Walter Arnstein

During her long reign (1837-1901), Queen Victoria never crossed the Atlantic Ocean, and yet no woman came to be better known in the “Victorian” United States. In this illustrated talk, Walter Arnstein focuses on a relatively unexplored subject: How, and what, did Americans learn about the queen and how did they become familiar with pictures of her? Why did the granddaughter of King George III, the quintessential “tyrant” of 19th century American textbooks, become a heroine in the eyes of most Americans and the object of the most elaborate funeral ceremonial ever devoted to a foreigner?

Walter L. Arnstein holds a PhD in History from Northwestern University, and has spent some forty-one years teaching British History, US History, and Western Civilization at universities throughout Illinois. He has held fellowships at Cambridge University and the University of Edinburgh. He is the author or editor of seven books, and in the course of his distinguished career, he has spoken at numerous institutions and conferences, both academic and popular. Walter has also served on the Illinois Humanities Council Board of Directors.

For more information contact Gretchen Frick Small, 309.765.7971.