In the Days of Queen Elizabeth

by Eva March Tappan

Of all the sovereigns that have worn the crown of England, Queen Elizabeth is the most puzzling, the most fascinating, the most blindly praised, and the most unjustly blamed. To make lists of her faults and virtues is easy. One may say with little fear of contradiction that her intellect was magnificent and her vanity almost incredibly childish; that she was at one time the most outspoken of women, at another the most untruthful; that on one occasion she would manifest a dignity that was truly sovereign, while on another the rudeness of her manners was unworthy of even the age in which she lived. Sometimes she was the strongest of the strong, sometimes the weakest of the weak.

At a distance of three hundred years it is not easy to balance these claims to censure and to admiration, but at least no one should forget that the little white hand of which she was so vain guided the ship of state with most consummate skill in its perilous passage through the troubled waters of the latter half of the sixteenth century.

Genres: History

212 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Eva March Tappan was a teacher and American author born in Blackstone, Massachusetts, the only child of Reverend Edmund March Tappan and Lucretia Logée. Eva graduated from Vassar College in 1875. She was a member of Phi Beta Kappa and an editor of the Vassar Miscellany. After leaving Vassar she began teaching at Wheaton College where she taught Latin and German from 1875 until 1880. From 1884–94 she was the Associate Principal at the Raymond Academy in Camden, New Jersey. She received graduate degrees in English Literature from the University of Pennsylvania. Tappan was the head of the English department at the English High School at Worcester, Massachusetts. She began her literary career writing about famous characters in history and developed an interest in writing children books. Tappan never married.

Reviews

[Sean Sexton · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had a very old copy of this book in my collection for years and years without having really looked at it. When I finally decided to read it, I realized that it wasn't a straight historical work, but rather written for young adult readers. I hadn't realized this before, given the generic style of the binding and cover.

The book ends up being very readable and not over simplistic, given that it targets younger readers. it tells the story of the life of Queen Elizabeth simply and directly, without dumbing the language down for younger readers.

[Stine Diamond-owens · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written in 1902 for 6th grade and up, it's a fascinating read. Author did well to present empathetic views of all players from her predecessor Queen Mary to her cousin Mary Queen of Scotts with negligible if any bias in perspective. The same on the count of religion. Punctuation & writing aren't always as it should be, but the research makes it worth the hiccups.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read for AO Y8. Longer chapters but very interesting read. Would read this again...krb 2/16/21

[Angela Bergeron · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was incredibly interesting. One of my favorite Tappan biographies so far. It touched on the loves of so many people I didn't know well and gave a peak into each of their lives.

[Sara Hollar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pre-read for my Y6 son's history. Fascinating.

[Shandril · Rating 3 out of 5]

Written as a story for young adults, this book gives a good overview of Queen Elizabeth I's life. Found this book online at Gutenberg.org. :)