I have heard a great deal about Margaret George’s historicals, and it was only a matter of time before I picked one to read. The Tudors always make for entertaining reading and so I decided her giant tome on Elizabeth 1 would make a good first choice.
Synopsis
The legendary Elizabeth Tudor had many suitors, was the victor of the Armada who hated war; always gorgeously attired, was also a 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.
~ Synopsis from goodreads
My review
Books on Elizabeth 1 generally don’t span her entire life from childhood to death. There is way too much material for that, and most writers pick a period to focus on, and go in depth in that area.
This book starts from Elizabeth’s victory over the Spanish Armada all the way to her death (1588 to 1603). These years cover the middle to end years of her reign. You can expect all about the Armada, the Shakespearean years, and the conflict with Essex (Lettice Knollys’ son). There is also quite a lot of interesting information about how she manages the Parliament and the budget. Few books actually go into the administrative details during Henry VIII and Elizabeth I’s times. Why bother when their personal lives were so much interesting, right? But I really liked that Margaret George ventured into the drier areas of Elizabeth’s life, tackling areas not covered as much by other authors.
Her vision of Elizabeth is a convincing one, of a strong woman of deep principle, fighting valiantly against hot flashes, a failing memory and other ravages of age. She really brings out the human side of Elizabeth I– even the somewhat irritating side. Yes, Elizabeth is capricious, changing her mind often, but all these details serve to build a realistic picture of what she was like.
Reading this book gave me an idea of the kind of adversity she had to go through being a woman on the throne constantly having to prove her worth.
I know I have the body but of a weak and feeble woman, but I have the heart and stomach of a king and of a king of England, too- and think it foul scorn that Parma or any prince of Europe should dare to invade the borders of my realm.
Her love for her country and her people also shines through beautifully.
There will never queen sit in my seat with more zeal to my country, care to my subjects, and that will sooner with willingness venture her life for your good and safety, than myself. And though you have had and may have many princes more mighty and wise sitting in this seat, yet you never had or shall have any that will love you better.
It also made me realize that Elizabeth must have been quite an orator and must have had an imposing presence.
Last thoughts
Overall I liked this book very much. I wanted to love it, but there was one quibble I have with it. The story of Elizabeth 1 is frequently juxtaposed with the story of her rival Lettice Knollys (wife of Elizabeth’s great love – Robert Dudley). So, I expected the book to go into quite a bit of detail over their rivalry over Robert Dudley. However, Robert Dudley dies almost at the very beginning of the book. This made Knollys’ viewpoint unnecessary, boring, and disruptive to the main plot. Knollys’ various love affairs are tedious, and she just doesn’t have anything interesting to bring to the table in terms of plot.
This book would have done far better if the focus remained strictly on Elizabeth. I would actually recommend My Enemy the Queen if you want a more interesting and entertaining take on Knollys and Elizabeth at the height of their rivalry.
