Elizabeth the Queen
- ASIN : B004PYDHBG
- Publisher : Vintage Digital (28 Feb. 2011)
- Language : English
- File size : 33634 KB
- Text-to-Speech : Enabled
- Screen Reader : Supported
- Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
- X-Ray : Not Enabled
- Word Wise : Enabled
- Sticky notes : On Kindle Scribe
- Print length : 764 pages
David Harwood –
A real bargain in great condition.
Price and condition plus speed of delivery.
gillian –
Great easy read book.
Came on time, good condition and value.
Polly –
Brilliant read
Really captured the imagination wonderful book
Apocalyptic Queen –
An engaging and witty account of the reign of Elizabeth I
I enjoyed reading this account on the life of Elizabeth, which deigned to cover her entire documented life from her beginnings, adolescence, to the triumph of her accession, troubles with the Catholic recusants and Mary Queen of Scots to her potential matrimonial woes and the final years of her reign.
Weir does well to cover such a complicated and long period as Elizabeth’s life was, within a single volume.
In particular, I found Weir’s depiction of Elizabeth’s relationships with her long standing favourite Robert Dudley and later the Earl of Essex fascinating and illuminating. Similarly, her relationships with her councillors such as the loyal William Cecil and later her trusted advisor, Francis Walsingham are also scrutinised in lucid detail and the way these depictions are interwoven with unfolding events such as the speculation surrounding the death of Amy Robsart, her quest for a suitable husband and the intrigues of Mary Stuart are particularly impressive indeed. Weir also cautiously espouses some new yet very interesting theories surrounding key events of Elizabeth’s reign. A few of these relate to the circumstances concerning Amy Robsart, Mary Stuart and the Earl of Essex.
There are also humorous moments throughout the book and nowhere is this more true than in Weir’s vivid and engaging portrayal of Elizabeth’s endless quest for a suitable husband who would serve her personal needs in the fullfilment of an heir without threatening her personal autonomy and sovereignty. As it was, none presented himself or else, Elizabeth was too fussy, nevertheless Elizabeth appeared to commit herself to several eager suitors on many different occasions before eventually, pulling back from the brink. She would refine the art of keeping her suitors, her council and her country guessing.
My only criticims with regard to this book relate to the fact that as with the Six Wives, some accounts may well be dubious and not thoroughly substantiated. Also, the book is rather short considering that it is a biography of Elizabeth’s entire documented life. I also feel that Weir should have deployed a more impartial analysis of Mary, Queen of Scots, and explored perhaps Mary’s side of the story.
However, on the whole, I found this to be an entertaining, readable and witty account of Elizabeth’s early life and in particular, her reign.
Highlight –
SUPERB OVERALL ACCOUNT OF GREAT QUEEN ELIZABETH 1st
This is a superb over all account of the life of the complex Queen Elizabeth 1. Alison Wier has certainly made the most of the primary source material she is privileged to delve into, covering the vast amount of relevant people and events who were an important part of the Elizabethan era. This is a huge thick tome of imformation but as Alison herself says in this book, “you cannot please all of the people all of the time” and some have said she should have delved even further into Mary Queen of Scots or the Aramada etc. which I thought took up too much in the book, and if you think about it, I could also say she should have delved further into at least nine other people in Elizabeth’s life whom are of interest to me, but if Alison Weir had done this on each and every person, this book would have had to have been written into ‘volumes’. I devoured this book in one go and once finished I re read it again so I could absorb all of the details of Elizabeth’s life. I have read many books about Elizabeth and none of them touch this for its accuracy and vast detail. It is a superb account of an Elizabethan woman who in 2017 still holds fascination and intrigue.
Joan Ebsworth –
review
I love everything written by Alison Weir –and this was one of her best . I learned so much –and I enjoyed the read . Excellent .
yachty1949 –
Excellent read heartily recommend.
A great read, especially for somebody like me who was not interested in history until recently. Inspite of the number of pages the excellent writing meant, for me, my interest never waned. Subsequent books by the same author are expensive to read.
Gazza –
Elizabeth, the Queen
Alison Weir’s The Six Wives of Henry VIII is a terrific read. This book, Elizabeth the Queen, which I’ve only just started, is turning out to be the perfect sequel, for which I shall update my review when completed.
I hope you find my review helpful.
suzi h –
Terrific read, from fabulous Author
Always my go to author for both historical fiction and non fiction. Highly recommended
Jean D. Andrews –
Could not recommend it more highly
This is such a good book – one of Alison Weir’s best. Her portrait of Elizabeth is three dimensional. We see her as a very gifted woman – first class intellectual, good musician and dancer, incredibly hard-working, adroit at managing people and wise in her decisions, but also prone to dreadful outbursts of temper and a huge amount of vanity. There is a most interesting comparison between Elizabeth’s caution and statesmanship and the thoroughly silly behaviour of Mary Queen of Scots. It is interesting too that Elizabeth had male favourites who protested they adored her but that she saw all too clearly that marriage for her would have been dangerous, hence her decision to remain "The Virgin Queen" wedded to the welfare of her people. If there were more than five stars to give them to this book.