What do you think?
Rate this book
The Young Elizabeth: The First Twenty-Five Years of Elizabeth I
Recounts the first twenty-five years of the life of England's Virgin Queen, including her childhood, personality, private life, and romantic intrigues
238 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1971
14 people are currently reading
413 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
December 19, 2018
A well researched and interesting study of the first 25 years of the life of one of England's greatest monarchs.
start with the fascinating background of her ancestors, and the marriage of the widow of Henry V, the French Princess Katherine Valois to
Welsh nobleman Owen Tudor, grandparents to Henry VII, takes us briefly through the Wars of the Roses and the reign of the canny statesman and nation builder Henry VII who the biographer says Elizabeth most resembled in her wisdom and shrewdness.
"If one were to draw up a balance sheet of all the qualities Elizabeth owed to her progenitors one might say she inherited her fine eyes, rather sallow complexion, sharp features and sharp tongue from her mother;together with Anne Boleyn's considerable ability as an actress, her bourgeois determination to drive a bargain and her hysterical tendencies. From her father with his strong Plantaganet streak, came the red gold hair, physical energy, family pride, self-confidence, vanity, personal magnetism, and sure political instinct. From her grandfather that wise and prudent prince, whom in some ways she resembled most of all came the cold, calculating brain, shrewdness in statecraft, opportunism and exact knowledge of the value of money, not to mention an unswerving resolution to hold on to her sceptres against all corners. Perhaps too, beneath it all, there was an element of the the earthy , peasant, cunning of those Welsh farmers from whom had sprung the seneschal to the rulers of Gwynedd".
We learn how losing her mother when she was three years of age and being relegated from a princess to a 'bastard', seeing the execution of her young stepmother the goodhearted , all too loving Katherine Howard,and the close escape with Henry VIII's depth of Katherine Parr caused Elizabeth to associate marriage with death, and may give the psychological reason she never married.
Best covered here are her seduction when she was 14 by Admiral Thomas Seymour, her arrest and interrogation, and the persecution she endured under her sister, the fanatical Bloody Mary. Mostly how she used her wits to survive so she could be crowned
Overall a valuable study.
start with the fascinating background of her ancestors, and the marriage of the widow of Henry V, the French Princess Katherine Valois to
Welsh nobleman Owen Tudor, grandparents to Henry VII, takes us briefly through the Wars of the Roses and the reign of the canny statesman and nation builder Henry VII who the biographer says Elizabeth most resembled in her wisdom and shrewdness.
"If one were to draw up a balance sheet of all the qualities Elizabeth owed to her progenitors one might say she inherited her fine eyes, rather sallow complexion, sharp features and sharp tongue from her mother;together with Anne Boleyn's considerable ability as an actress, her bourgeois determination to drive a bargain and her hysterical tendencies. From her father with his strong Plantaganet streak, came the red gold hair, physical energy, family pride, self-confidence, vanity, personal magnetism, and sure political instinct. From her grandfather that wise and prudent prince, whom in some ways she resembled most of all came the cold, calculating brain, shrewdness in statecraft, opportunism and exact knowledge of the value of money, not to mention an unswerving resolution to hold on to her sceptres against all corners. Perhaps too, beneath it all, there was an element of the the earthy , peasant, cunning of those Welsh farmers from whom had sprung the seneschal to the rulers of Gwynedd".
We learn how losing her mother when she was three years of age and being relegated from a princess to a 'bastard', seeing the execution of her young stepmother the goodhearted , all too loving Katherine Howard,and the close escape with Henry VIII's depth of Katherine Parr caused Elizabeth to associate marriage with death, and may give the psychological reason she never married.
Best covered here are her seduction when she was 14 by Admiral Thomas Seymour, her arrest and interrogation, and the persecution she endured under her sister, the fanatical Bloody Mary. Mostly how she used her wits to survive so she could be crowned
Overall a valuable study.
October 19, 2024
So many greats have come along since the emergence of Alison Plowden, who hardly pioneered but was undoubtedly among the key players instrumental in reshaping this genre into its popular modern form.
This first in what became collectively known as Plowden's 'Elizabethan Quartet' was my starting point, many moons ago, when it seemed that the only established alternatives were the plainest of textbooks, the thickest of dusty tomes or the most absurdly romanticised of fictional accounts.
In my first year at secondary school, I was so bored by so much ... except Elizabeth I, who intrigued me so much I talked my father into driving me around England to the many historic buildings she had lived in or famously graced with her regal presence. To stand beneath those same trees on those very grounds, touch those brick walls, tread on those same floors, gaze from windows Elizabeth had gazed from had me riveted to a subject I've never since left alone. Coming away from such sites left me with indelible memories which only reading Alison Plowden reinforced and kept alive in my restless, easily distracted but hungry young mind, which stubbornly never settled for just any old thing.
This first book also complimented and reinforced my then still fresh viewing of Glenda Jackson's Elizabeth R TV series, itself not recordable before the advent of video.
With much to thank this author for, after a lifetime of special reading she introduced me to, I occasionally revisit her pages which lull me into a haze of other, more personal, nostalgia while reminding me what a fine biographer she was.
For those just beginning the Elizabethan trip, or aficionados extending their coverage, this now comparatively basic piece, in what has evolved into a seemingly infinite genre, will, in my humble opinion, always make for sound, essential reading.
This first in what became collectively known as Plowden's 'Elizabethan Quartet' was my starting point, many moons ago, when it seemed that the only established alternatives were the plainest of textbooks, the thickest of dusty tomes or the most absurdly romanticised of fictional accounts.
In my first year at secondary school, I was so bored by so much ... except Elizabeth I, who intrigued me so much I talked my father into driving me around England to the many historic buildings she had lived in or famously graced with her regal presence. To stand beneath those same trees on those very grounds, touch those brick walls, tread on those same floors, gaze from windows Elizabeth had gazed from had me riveted to a subject I've never since left alone. Coming away from such sites left me with indelible memories which only reading Alison Plowden reinforced and kept alive in my restless, easily distracted but hungry young mind, which stubbornly never settled for just any old thing.
This first book also complimented and reinforced my then still fresh viewing of Glenda Jackson's Elizabeth R TV series, itself not recordable before the advent of video.
With much to thank this author for, after a lifetime of special reading she introduced me to, I occasionally revisit her pages which lull me into a haze of other, more personal, nostalgia while reminding me what a fine biographer she was.
For those just beginning the Elizabethan trip, or aficionados extending their coverage, this now comparatively basic piece, in what has evolved into a seemingly infinite genre, will, in my humble opinion, always make for sound, essential reading.
December 30, 2025
Elizabeth Tudor was a remarkable woman and queen. She was born a princess and declared illegitimate less than 3 years later. This book details her upbringing and the circumstances that transformed her into the best monarch of the Tudor era. This book was such a fascinating read, as Elizabeth faced so many challenges in her young life from her mother's execution, inappropriate behaviour from her step-father to her own, almost, execution during her sister's reign, that shaped her into the formidable woman who refused to marry and ruled England for 44 years.
December 31, 2024
From the Holinshed's Chronicle : 'After all the stormy, tempestuous and blustering windy weather of Queen Mary was overblown, the darksome clouds of discomfort dispersed, the palpable fogs and mists of most intolerable misery consumed, and the dashing showers of persecution overpast; it pleased God to send England a calm and quiet season, a clear and lovely sunshine, a quietus from former broils...and a world of blessings by good Queen Elisabeth.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 16, 2020
seriously i have no memory of this
January 4, 2022
This was a slog
February 6, 2022
It does not include all the details, but it sketches all the main points in a very readable and pleasing style.
to-be-reviewed
September 19, 2015 This is the first of a Quartet of Books which embrace the life and career of Elizabeth the First.
So far I have read them all out of order...the Third, first;
the Second next; the First,third; and the Fourth and Final, last... which will be...OK by me!!when I find a copy !!!
As I had read a few biographies of Eliz I before I found my First Plowden, I was quite content to read in a bit more depth about one aspect of her life and reign.
And so it has been with the next two.
The First Volume of Plowden which I only recently discovered in a Used Books Store was a thrilllll to discover and I read/red it without delay
...such are the Rewards of Delayed Satisfaction!!!
This first volume concerns Elizabeth's first 25 years and climaxes with her eventual crowning as Queen of England.
What occurs before That Crowning one really wouldn't wish on any young person.
Elizabeth's mother, the notorious Anne Boleyn, was beheaded for adultery and incest when her daughter was only 3 years old; she was promptly declared a bastard by her father,King Henry VIII - no scruples when it suited old Harry - so he could marry his 3rd wife which he did almost as soon as Anne's head had been severed.
This was only the beginning for this abandoned child in what was to be one of the most infamous Courts of Europe under the cruellest despots of the Tudor Dynasty.
I look forward to relishing every word having already enjoyed Volumes 2 and 3 of Alison Plowden's excellently researched and written life of, to me, the MOST interesting of all the Tudor Set.
I've read at least 8 other biographies of Elizabeth I
...all had something different to offer about this complex,open-minded, shrewd and vivacious monarch.I'll have to keep adding to, even detracting from or modifying that list of adjectives !!!
A Note Re the Authoress, Alison Plowden:
I LOVE(ie HATE!!)the way trite and unproven adjectives are applied to Historical characters by Hysterical or Sensationalist or Uninformed Commentators /'writers'!! An announcer describing Donizetti's opera "La Maria Stuarda " and the 'fictitious' meeting of the Royal Cousins Elizabeth I and Mary Stuart, referred to 'Bitter' Elizabeth and 'Saintly' Mary.Oh yeah??
Mary Tudor, Elizabeth's older half-sister, has come down to us as "Bloody Mary", a tradition handed down for over 500 years and only recently being questioned. However as far back as 1970, in this First book in her series on Elizabeth Tudor, Alison Plowden wrote early the following in Chapter 12 'A Second Person' page 209 of "The Young Elizabeth", since the evidence has always been available and still is as enquiring historians are presently discovering.
But let us read her words of 45 years ago:
"As Head of State, Mary must,of course,bear ultimate responsibility for the acts committed in her name, but how far she personally initiated the persecution(ie. the burning at the stake of Protestants) which earned her her unenviable nickname(ie. Bloody Mary) remains in some doubt.IN MANY WAYS SHE WAS THE MOST MERCIFUL OF HER FAMILY.Certainly towards her political enemies HER LENIENCY BORDERED ON RECKLESSNESS.
Even the retribution visited on the Wyatt rebels was soon being tempered by the Queen's clemency, clemency which extended beyond the rank and file...(who)WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN SO FORTUNATE UNDER HENRY VIII.
There had been a general spring-cleaning,too,at the Tower and the remaining prisoners left over from the Wyatt and Northumberland affairs were pardoned and dispersed to their homes.HENRY VIII WOULD NEVER HAVE TAKEN SUCH A RISK;NEITHER WOULD HIS YOUNGER DAUGHTER ie. Elizabeth."
"Treason against herself Mary was ready to forgive, but heresy smacked of treason against God and that was another matter.The heretics were were also imperilling their immortal souls and infecting othes by their example. To Mary it would have been an unforgivable dereliction of duty - the duty so clearly laid upon her by the Almighty - if she had not tried by every means at her disposal to save her unhappy subjects from themselves."
History can be written for many reasons,and often many voices do not have their season or find historians prepared to search beyond popular interpretations and palatable versions or historians able and ready to try to walk in the shoes of "the Other"...a huge task.
Mary Tudor's time may have finally arrived. Alison Plowden was a rare forerunner.
So far I have read them all out of order...the Third, first;
the Second next; the First,third; and the Fourth and Final, last... which will be...OK by me!!when I find a copy !!!
As I had read a few biographies of Eliz I before I found my First Plowden, I was quite content to read in a bit more depth about one aspect of her life and reign.
And so it has been with the next two.
The First Volume of Plowden which I only recently discovered in a Used Books Store was a thrilllll to discover and I read/red it without delay
...such are the Rewards of Delayed Satisfaction!!!
This first volume concerns Elizabeth's first 25 years and climaxes with her eventual crowning as Queen of England.
What occurs before That Crowning one really wouldn't wish on any young person.
Elizabeth's mother, the notorious Anne Boleyn, was beheaded for adultery and incest when her daughter was only 3 years old; she was promptly declared a bastard by her father,King Henry VIII - no scruples when it suited old Harry - so he could marry his 3rd wife which he did almost as soon as Anne's head had been severed.
This was only the beginning for this abandoned child in what was to be one of the most infamous Courts of Europe under the cruellest despots of the Tudor Dynasty.
I look forward to relishing every word having already enjoyed Volumes 2 and 3 of Alison Plowden's excellently researched and written life of, to me, the MOST interesting of all the Tudor Set.
I've read at least 8 other biographies of Elizabeth I
...all had something different to offer about this complex,open-minded, shrewd and vivacious monarch.I'll have to keep adding to, even detracting from or modifying that list of adjectives !!!
A Note Re the Authoress, Alison Plowden:
I LOVE(ie HATE!!)the way trite and unproven adjectives are applied to Historical characters by Hysterical or Sensationalist or Uninformed Commentators /'writers'!! An announcer describing Donizetti's opera "La Maria Stuarda " and the 'fictitious' meeting of the Royal Cousins Elizabeth I and Mary Stuart, referred to 'Bitter' Elizabeth and 'Saintly' Mary.Oh yeah??
Mary Tudor, Elizabeth's older half-sister, has come down to us as "Bloody Mary", a tradition handed down for over 500 years and only recently being questioned. However as far back as 1970, in this First book in her series on Elizabeth Tudor, Alison Plowden wrote early the following in Chapter 12 'A Second Person' page 209 of "The Young Elizabeth", since the evidence has always been available and still is as enquiring historians are presently discovering.
But let us read her words of 45 years ago:
"As Head of State, Mary must,of course,bear ultimate responsibility for the acts committed in her name, but how far she personally initiated the persecution(ie. the burning at the stake of Protestants) which earned her her unenviable nickname(ie. Bloody Mary) remains in some doubt.IN MANY WAYS SHE WAS THE MOST MERCIFUL OF HER FAMILY.Certainly towards her political enemies HER LENIENCY BORDERED ON RECKLESSNESS.
Even the retribution visited on the Wyatt rebels was soon being tempered by the Queen's clemency, clemency which extended beyond the rank and file...(who)WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN SO FORTUNATE UNDER HENRY VIII.
There had been a general spring-cleaning,too,at the Tower and the remaining prisoners left over from the Wyatt and Northumberland affairs were pardoned and dispersed to their homes.HENRY VIII WOULD NEVER HAVE TAKEN SUCH A RISK;NEITHER WOULD HIS YOUNGER DAUGHTER ie. Elizabeth."
"Treason against herself Mary was ready to forgive, but heresy smacked of treason against God and that was another matter.The heretics were were also imperilling their immortal souls and infecting othes by their example. To Mary it would have been an unforgivable dereliction of duty - the duty so clearly laid upon her by the Almighty - if she had not tried by every means at her disposal to save her unhappy subjects from themselves."
History can be written for many reasons,and often many voices do not have their season or find historians prepared to search beyond popular interpretations and palatable versions or historians able and ready to try to walk in the shoes of "the Other"...a huge task.
Mary Tudor's time may have finally arrived. Alison Plowden was a rare forerunner.
May 22, 2013
The first volume of Alison Plowden's “Elizabethan Quartet” focuses on the first 25 years of Elizabeth's life and successfully brings to life the young Elizabeth Tudor during the years when her life held no promises, when death seemed almost inevitable, up through her coronation. This is a non-fiction work and one I found both comprehensive and engaging. Alison Plowden has a wonderfully engaging style which in turn offers her readers a peppy read.
Plowden is careful to label any conjecture and possibilities as such and before long this reader felt comfortable trusting Plowden to uncover and reveal information without distortion, which is not an unremarkable accomplishment in itself. Plowden offers her reader a very straightforward interpretation of the historical record and successfully presents many counter arguments of long held historical assumptions convincingly.
In The Young Elizabeth, Plowden examines the forces which shaped Elizabeth’s personality during this formative period in her life. During these important years Elizabeth knew very little security and her life was marked by loss, fear and suspicion. The reader is able to see, however; how these years gave Elizabeth a more rounded world view and were the foundation of Elizabeth’s personality and a huge contributor to her success as a Monarch of moderation.
Plowden is careful to label any conjecture and possibilities as such and before long this reader felt comfortable trusting Plowden to uncover and reveal information without distortion, which is not an unremarkable accomplishment in itself. Plowden offers her reader a very straightforward interpretation of the historical record and successfully presents many counter arguments of long held historical assumptions convincingly.
In The Young Elizabeth, Plowden examines the forces which shaped Elizabeth’s personality during this formative period in her life. During these important years Elizabeth knew very little security and her life was marked by loss, fear and suspicion. The reader is able to see, however; how these years gave Elizabeth a more rounded world view and were the foundation of Elizabeth’s personality and a huge contributor to her success as a Monarch of moderation.
August 25, 2010
It was such a good biography of Elizabeth. Athough there were some troublesom paragraphs, I really enjoyed it. I liked how the book started, before Elizabeth was born and discribing the political atmosphere. The book is full of fact and sources of different kinds. It was small print but easily enjoyed and read-able.
The cover itself guves you an idea about the book. But basicly it starts with the time that King Henry VIII becomes king and marries Cathrine. It then describes Elizabeth's childhood before and after her mother's death, the time her of her fathers death and relationship with her sister, Mary. Also the what happened to Elizabeth and John Semour, the period of her brother's rein and how her relationship with Mary changed her prospective of life. The book also looks into why Elizabeth decided never to marry and what made her to be what she was.
This is my first biography that I read of Queen Elizabeth. I say that it is something that I can pick up and read again and again and grow no bordem
The cover itself guves you an idea about the book. But basicly it starts with the time that King Henry VIII becomes king and marries Cathrine. It then describes Elizabeth's childhood before and after her mother's death, the time her of her fathers death and relationship with her sister, Mary. Also the what happened to Elizabeth and John Semour, the period of her brother's rein and how her relationship with Mary changed her prospective of life. The book also looks into why Elizabeth decided never to marry and what made her to be what she was.
This is my first biography that I read of Queen Elizabeth. I say that it is something that I can pick up and read again and again and grow no bordem
January 5, 2019
This is the first volume of Alison Plowden's Elizabethan quartet that deals with the first 25 years of Elizabeth's life. This is a very engaging portrait of the young Elizabeth Tudor, bringing to life her many identities as ruler, woman, and politician, with a writing style, I thoroughly enjoyed. This is a marvelous example of narrative history. Elizabeth was born in 1533, the product of the doomed marriage of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. After her mother's execution, Elizabeth was disinherited and finally imprisoned by her jealous half-sister, Mary. Her childhood was one of fear and danger, as she was aware from the outset that the eyes of the world were upon her and that to survive she would have to rely on her own judgment and strength of character. This she did and though many tried to use her for their own ends, however on the death of her sister, she came out of hiding to became Queen, Gloriana—England's most iconic queen. I am ready for the next in this wonderful historical narrative series.
January 21, 2013
This is a fictional story with non fiction aspects, focusing on Queen Elizabeth 1 when she was a young girl. It is a great book to convey to children what life was like in England 500 years ago and will also teach them a little bit about the Tudor dynasty and key events from the Early Modern Era without being too laboring for them. This book is especially useful in teaching about chronology and ordering events from the past, as well as portraying to children that life in England wasn't always as pleasant as it is now.
I would use this book in a year 3 or 4 class and perhaps get them to write about what we can tell about Tudor England, how they think they would have liked being a child during the 1500's or list what kind of things they think were better then and better now. My Mum read this to me when I was about 9 and it really sparked an interest in History for me, so hopefully it can do the same for other children.
I would use this book in a year 3 or 4 class and perhaps get them to write about what we can tell about Tudor England, how they think they would have liked being a child during the 1500's or list what kind of things they think were better then and better now. My Mum read this to me when I was about 9 and it really sparked an interest in History for me, so hopefully it can do the same for other children.
August 1, 2010
Queen Elizabeth I. Everyone knows she was one of the greatest rulers in history. But not everyone knows about the time BEFORE she became queen (the first 25 years of her life). This book explains, in great depth, the social, political and religious maelstrom that swirled around Elizabeth from the moment of her birth. Her tightrope walk through the battles between Catholics and Protestants, the deaths or executions of her mother, brother, cousin, and numerous friends and relatives. How she had to use every shred of intelligence and political shrewdness just to survive. And how her keen mind and intense education (amazing for a man...strikingly more so for a female of the time!) helped her live...ascend the throne and turn her country from a back-water nation into the strongest country in Europe! 5 STARS!
May 6, 2008
Elizabeth I is one the most famous woman in history, and yet history books concentrate on the accomplishments of her reign without paying much attention to the woman behind them. This book is a wonderful introduction to Elizabeth the woman- well researched and detailed, it is never-the-less an enjoyable read for the non-historian. By reviewing the early incidents which shaped Elizabeth and her view of the world, Plowden lays the groundwork for explaining her actions thoughout her long reign. I haven't read the rest of the series yet, but I am looking forward to doing so in the near future.
January 8, 2011
This was a great book that help tell why Elizabeth the the queen she was. This story almost all before she becomes Queen of England. It starts with the back story of how she was born but the story focuses on the time between the death of Henry VIII and the death of Mary I. It tells the story both from Elizabeth's prospective but also from other historical accounts at the time. This is because Elizabeth wrote little down durning this time.
February 8, 2011
I read this book beacause I am going to do a biography on Queen Elisabeth, I learened more than I thought was possible to learn from one book! It is a pretty tough read for a seventh grader but it was worth it. The author uses quotes from primary sources so sometimes you have to read Elisabethian english! It wasn't the most enjoyable book but it was very educational.
July 29, 2007
This book is very detailed and probably will be boring unless you know a little of English reformation history already. But it is a very thorough introduction to the life of Elizabeth I and how she came to be the political and historical figure that we know her as. It's interesting!
March 31, 2008
This book was very interesting but it was a little hard to keep all the people straight. It got a little less confusing toward the end. It doesn't help that everyone in 1500 England intermarried.
September 13, 2008
Ms. Plowden has this nice little edge of snark that I like. I've yet to read something of hers that I didn't enjoy.
November 17, 2010
This relating of facts and events in the pre-reign years of Elizabeth I's life was so readable, I would've thought it fiction!
April 5, 2010
This was a great book to get an idea of the early life of Elizabeth and the Tudor line!
June 9, 2010
Easy to read history of Elizabeth's early years. Good quotes and history. Elizabeth could have been fleshed out more as an individual.
July 28, 2010
not one of the best biographies but a very interesting lady, obviously. I might check out some other sources cause I think I missed a lot from this biographer.
August 5, 2013
Elizabeth 1 is my favorite historical figure. So much is known about her later life as queen, and I thoroughly enjoyed learning about her earlier life in this book.
June 25, 2012
This book was fascinating and had a lot of great detail about Elizabeth's life before she became Queen!
July 17, 2012
An interesting read for those who know little about the early years of this Tudor queen. Well written and generally well researched.
July 16, 2015
LOVE all things Tudor, and this is a good one.
March 6, 2013
Need to re-read to compare with more recent volumes about her.
May 1, 2012
A delightful book, readable ....
May 31, 2018
Very easy biography of Elizabeth's years to her accession to Queen. Part of a set of four.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews