Synopses & Reviews
Perhaps the most influential sovereign England has ever known, Queen Elizabeth I reigned prosperously for more than forty years, from 1558 until her death in 1603. During her rule, however, she remained an extremely private person, keeping her own counsel and sharing secrets with no one — not even her closest, most trusted advisors. Now, in this brilliantly researched, fascinating new book, acclaimed biographer Alison Weir brings the enigmatic figure of Elizabeth I to life as never before.
Here are provocative new interpretations and fresh insights on the intimacy between Elizabeth and Robert Dudley, who rose from Master of the Horse to become Earl of Leicester; the imprisonment and execution of Elizabeth's rival, Mary Stuart; Elizabeth's clash with Philip of Spain, once her suitor and then her enemy; and the cruel betrayal of her beloved Essex.
Against a lavish backdrop of pageantry and passion, intrigue and war, Weir dispels the myths surrounding Elizabeth I and examines the contradictions of her character, exploring complex questions. Elizabeth I loved the Earl of Leicester, but did she conspire to murder his wife? She called herself the Virgin Queen, but how chaste was she through dozens of liaisons? She never married, but was her choice to remain single tied to the chilling fate of her mother, Anne Boleyn?
An enthralling epic that is also an amazingly intimate portrait, Alison Weir's The Life of Elizabeth I is a work of deep reflection and extraordinary scholarship — a mesmerizing, stunning reading experience.
Review
"A riveting portrait of the queen and how the private woman won her public role." Kirkus Reviews
Review
"An excellent account of the greatest of England's remarkably great queens." Daily Telegraph
Review
"Weir succeeds in making Elizabeth and her subjects come to life in this clearly written and well-researched biography." Library Journal
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. [491]-508) and index.
About the Author
Alison Weir is the author of Britain's Royal Families: The Complete Genealogy, The Six Wives of Henry VIII, The Princes in the Tower, The Wars of the Roses, and The Children of Henry VIII. She lives outside London with her husband and two children.