Elizabeth I - bookrastinating.com

Published Nov. 6, 2011 by Viking.

ISBN:: 978-0-670-02253-3

New York Times bestselling author Margaret George captures history's most enthralling queen-as she confronts rivals to her throne and to her heart.

One of today's premier historical novelists, Margaret George dazzles here as she tackles her most difficult subject yet: the legendary Elizabeth Tudor, queen of enigma-the Virgin Queen who had many suitors, the victor of the Armada who hated war; the gorgeously attired, jewel- bedecked woman who pinched pennies. England's greatest monarch has baffled and intrigued the world for centuries. But what was she really like?

In this novel, her flame-haired, lookalike cousin, Lettice Knollys, thinks she knows all too well. Elizabeth's rival for the love of Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, and mother to the Earl of Essex, the mercurial nobleman who challenged Elizabeth's throne, Lettice had been intertwined with Elizabeth since childhood. This is a story of two women of fierce intellect and desire, one …

New York Times bestselling author Margaret George captures history's most enthralling queen-as she confronts rivals to her throne and to her heart.

One of today's premier historical novelists, Margaret George dazzles here as she tackles her most difficult subject yet: the legendary Elizabeth Tudor, queen of enigma-the Virgin Queen who had many suitors, the victor of the Armada who hated war; the gorgeously attired, jewel- bedecked woman who pinched pennies. England's greatest monarch has baffled and intrigued the world for centuries. But what was she really like?

In this novel, her flame-haired, lookalike cousin, Lettice Knollys, thinks she knows all too well. Elizabeth's rival for the love of Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, and mother to the Earl of Essex, the mercurial nobleman who challenged Elizabeth's throne, Lettice had been intertwined with Elizabeth since childhood. This is a story of two women of fierce intellect and desire, one trying to protect her country, and throne, the other trying to regain power and position for her family and each vying to convince the reader of her own private vision of the truth about Elizabeth's character. Their gripping drama is acted out at the height of the flowering of the Elizabethan age. Shakespeare, Marlowe, Dudley, Raleigh, Drake-all of them swirl through these pages as they swirled through the court and on the high seas.

This is a magnificent, stay-up-all-night page-turner that is George's finest and most compelling novel and one that is sure to please readers of Alison Weir, Philippa Gregory, and Hilary Mantel.

1 edition

Kadomi reviewed Elizabeth I by Margaret George

Review of 'Elizabeth I' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

I haven't read historical fiction in a long time, so I had been looking forward to starting this novel about the reign of Elizabeth I. I don't know what I expected, but definitely not what I got. You don't really learn a lot about the early days of her reign and the troubled succession, but instead start in 1588, 30 years into Elizabeth's reign, from the defeat of the Spanish Armada up to her death in 1603. The novel uses two points of view: Elizabeth herself and Lettice Knollys, estranged cousin of the queen, rival in love, mother of Robert Devereux, the Earl of Essex. We learn of Elizabeth's affection for him, his mother's ambitions so that she can return to court, and ultimately his fall from favor. The whole time I read this book I wanted to smack the Earl of Essex. All the important figures of the Elizabethan …

I haven't read historical fiction in a long time, so I had been looking forward to starting this novel about the reign of Elizabeth I. I don't know what I expected, but definitely not what I got. You don't really learn a lot about the early days of her reign and the troubled succession, but instead start in 1588, 30 years into Elizabeth's reign, from the defeat of the Spanish Armada up to her death in 1603. The novel uses two points of view: Elizabeth herself and Lettice Knollys, estranged cousin of the queen, rival in love, mother of Robert Devereux, the Earl of Essex. We learn of Elizabeth's affection for him, his mother's ambitions so that she can return to court, and ultimately his fall from favor. The whole time I read this book I wanted to smack the Earl of Essex. All the important figures of the Elizabethan era are here, including a probably purely fictional love affair between Lettice and William Shakespeare.

If you were to ask me what exciting things happen in this novel I would probably come up blank. It's written in a very slow style, and even dramatic things like wars, rebellions and executions barely stir an emotion. There is next to no tension. The only thing of excellence I found was Elizabeth's growing fear of age and death, and of always having to be tough in a men's world. Her last melancholic years made me ponder thoughts on life, age and death myself. The author's prose is quite lovely, and is the saving grace of this book for me.

Ultimately, I wouldn't call it a great novel I would recommend to anyone, but I enjoyed it well enough. It certainly whet my appetite to read more historical fiction, and read more on the Tudors and the Stuarts. Just hopefully in a lot more exciting fiction than the incredibly slow-paced Elizabeth I.