Queen of This Realm

Queens of England #2

by Jean Plaidy

In this "memoir" by Elizabeth I, legendary historical novelist Jean Plaidy reveals the Virgin Queen as she truly the bewildered, motherless child of an all-powerful father; a captive in the Tower of London; a shrewd politician; a lover of the arts; and eventually, an icon of an era. It is the story of her improbable rise to power and the great triumphs of her reign--the end of religious bloodshed, the settling of the New World, the defeat of the Spanish Armada. Brilliantly clever, a scholar with a ready wit, she was also vain, bold, and unpredictable, a queen who commanded--and won--absolute loyalty from those around her.

But in these pages, in her own voice, Elizabeth also recounts the emotional turmoil of her the loneliness of power; the heartbreak of her lifelong love affair with Robert Dudley, whom she could never marry; and the terrible guilt of ordering the execution of her cousin, Mary, Queen of Scots. In this unforgettable novel, Elizabeth emerges as one of the most fascinating and controversial women in history, and as England’s greatest monarch.


From the Trade Paperback edition.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical, Tudor Period, British Literature, 16th Century, Royalty

10 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1984

About the author

Eleanor Alice Burford, Mrs. George Percival Hibbert was a British author of about 200 historical novels, most of them under the pen name Jean Plaidy which had sold 14 million copies by the time of her death. She chose to use various names because of the differences in subject matter between her books; the best-known, apart from Plaidy, are Victoria Holt (56 million) and Philippa Carr (3 million). Lesser known were the novels Hibbert published under her maiden name Eleanor Burford, or the pseudonyms of Elbur Ford, Kathleen Kellow and Ellalice Tate. Many of her readers under one penname never suspected her other identities.
-Wikipedia

Reviews

[Gary · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read a dozen historical novels about Queen Elizabeth I, and this one is by far the best.
Comprehensively researched, richly detailed and written in an exciting and vibrant manner, there is not an aspect of Elizabeth's life that the author does not touch on.
From her childhood trauma at the execution of her mother when she was three and Elizabeth being branded as a 'bastard' through to her precarious hold onto her life while she came under danger during the reigns of her father, brother and sister.
Wonderful examination of her sexual exploitation by her stepfather Sir Thomas Seymour, how she escaped death under the reign of her elder half-sister Bloody Mary, as illustrated by her carving of the words "Much suspected by me, Nothing proved can be, Quoth Elizabeth prisoner" into a window at Woodstock Manor.

The book well illustrates what shaped Elizabeth into the cunning and wily, and vain but not unmerciful ruler.
It explores her deep love for Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, her life soul mate,of whom even he, she would not marry, determined to share her throne with no one. also her fascination and adoration of the vain and foolish young Earl of Leicester who she was forced to have executed after his attempts to depose her.
Her religious convictions are shown to be of expedience. she would choose the faith her subjects wanted England to be governed by, which was why she was a Protestant in a fervently Protestant England, reeling from the horrors of Mary I's attempt to transfer the Spanish Inquisition to England.
The book is sympathetic to Elizabeth, nothing like Philippa Gregory's vilification of her, but at the same time does not gloss over her faults.
It portrays her great guilt at the execution of Mary queen of Scots and her finest hour in rallying England to defend her shores and win the great victory against the Spanish Armada that threatened her realm and the freedom of her people-the Spanish ships carried devices of torture designed to bring all of the horrors of the Inquisition to England.Great characterization, realistic and yet fascinating and gripping . True to form of one of Jean Plaidy- who with 50 intriguing title to her name, remains one of the greatest historical novelists of English history
Well worth the time and effort.

[Lois · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was interesting enough but dated.

[Michele · Rating 5 out of 5]

Historical fiction at its best. Jean Plaidy (who is also about ten other people, including Victoria Holt, Queen of the Governess Gothic) not only writes great dialog and interesting plot but actually does her research. This is a top-notch example of how engrossing real history can be -- a bit stilted, perhaps, for those accustomed to the lusty nekkidness of The Tudors or the teen-angst soap-opera that is Reign, but if you prefer your history accurate rather than spicy, you'll be most pleased.

[Janet Wertman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sigh. Didn’t age well. I enjoyed. It, but I did not like Plaidy’s Elizabeth….too much slapping (Kat! Before she was Queen!). But I still have a pile of Plaidys I found at a used bookstore and this in no way turned me off of them!

[Cindy Heaton · Rating 1 out of 5]

The best word I can think to describe this book is tedious. Elizabeth I is a very interesting person and her life story should not have been all about her relationship with men. I found no strength of character and she appeared to be a ding-bat teen in her emotional relationships up until her death. Elizabeth speaks of her beloved Robert endlessly. Which might be ok except she says the same thing page after page..."I could almost marry him today...but I can't". And she also goes on and on about how she surrounds herself with handsome men at court who are all in love with her and who must show her that love and pretty much court her forever because she can't ever marry, but she wants to be loved. You get the picture? Where was all the interesting spy stuff? Mary Queen of Scotland? Oh she was there, but in the same way as Elizabeth spoke of the men. She should kill her, but not today because she really doesn't want to be remembered for killing another Queen. The first person voice used to tell this tale was the wrong fit.

[Cynthia Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would rank this book as five star as a historical book, but as three star for general reading pleasure. There were quite a few instances when incidents were reported repeatedly as background to new events - too often and too many. It seemed almost as if many chapters were meant to be free-standing stories.


The material was very accurate and the whole of Elizabeth's life as an adult reported very well.

[Ana Luisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tenía altas expectativas sobre este libro, además de que lo compré porque adoro la historia de la reina Isabel I. Podría decirse que me gustó mucho pero no fue la gran revelación.

Tuvo un comienzo muy prometedor, la prosa era fluida, rica en descripción y agradable. Me encantó que nos presentara a una Isabel en las diferentes etapas de su vida y los diferentes personajes que van apareciendo en ella. Por lo mismo de que hay muchos personajes, cuesta trabajo seguir el paso al principio pero te acostumbras.

No me gustó que en el 50% de la trama nos tenga que repetir la narradora (Isabel) que será reina virgen, que no se casará con nadie, que será reina virgen y que no se casará con Robert. Resulta tedioso porque no está interesante que te repitan algo que ya comprendiste al muy inicio del libro.

La transformación de la personalidad de Isabel es muy marcada, al inicio te cae muy bien y después simplemente no la entiendes (parecía adolescente ja ja).

Lo recomiendo para aquella persona que desee saber más datos acerca de la vida de la "Reina Virgen" y toda la Corte que la rodea, conocer una pizca de la historia de Inglaterra y pasar un buen rato. Si el final te desespera, aguanta como buen guerrer@.

[ehme]

I am never ever going to finish this book.

[Dee · Rating 1 out of 5]

By God's Holy Son, Jean Plaidy, if that is your true name .... and you are not really some devious snake of a Spaniard Papist ... how dare you make the story of my life such a tedious, slow, dull scree! And how dare you insult the intelligence of my loving people by slavishly repeating the same stories over again within the space of three or four pages .... do you really think my loyal subjects are as dim-witted and stupid as you???

Away to the Tower for boring us all and for not properly telling the story of my brilliant reign!! Burleigh! Walsingham! Robert Dudley -- rid me of this traitor immediately!

-- Gloriana

[Colleen Earle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed reading this book.
Read like a memoir.
Seems fairly historically accurate. The only thing I questioned was her and Robert’s relationship as I found the he was the focus of the book instead of her reign.
Would be interested in reading other books from this series and the others that Plaidy has written.

[Tracey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book about Elizabeth I .

[Sulie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and my introduction to Jean Plaidy.. This is the first novel of hers that I have read and it WON'T be the last.. she details the Virgin Queen's story extremely well in this novel, it is very easy to read and extremely hard to put down.. the facts wrapped in fiction are incredible and it shows how brave and intelligent Elizabeth was at several dangerous and perilous points in her ascension to the throne and during her rein.. it also details well the strong bonds she had with some members of her court, particularly her trusted advisor, William Cecil... and how she sacrificed love and made the bold move to never marry so she could rule unimpeded and devoted herself to England.

[LibraryCin · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 stars.
This one is about Elizabeth I.

This is only the second Plaidy I’ve read, but it seems that they are very detailed. Which is very interesting, but at times I found it a little long (which is why I didn't give it the full 4 stars). Sometimes it’s hard to think that the book is fiction. Obviously, with the dialogue and such, it is, but I’m thinking that most of what she describes actually did happen, and Plaidy doesn’t seem to play up the rumours. They are mentioned, but in the book, they are just rumours.

[Lorena Rangel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Encontré más interesante y entretenido el libro de Maria Tudor. He sido fanática de Isabel I por sus logros como reina, pero principalmente como mujer. Al inicio la novela comenzó muy bien, pero conforme continuaba hubo un momento en que se volvió tedioso, pues la escritora se centró en las pasiones y vanidad de la reina. Me hubiera gustado leer más sobre todas las glorias que tuvo "edad de oro" y no leer tanto de sus amores platónicos.

[Shelley · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have read other books by Plaidy but they were not this tedious. She managed to reduce this powerful, fascinating woman down to just her idolatry of men. I am sure that factored into her reign, but I didn't need almost 600 pages on it to the exclusion of her policies and masterful leadership.

[Helen · Rating 1 out of 5]

well, that's a week of my life I won't get back

[Alice · Rating 5 out of 5]

Elizabeth I of England is such a mighty figure. She is brilliant, witty, vain, flirtatious, manipulative, astute, determined, and even romantic. Jean Plaidy captures all of these facets of the great monarch in such convincing detail. Elizabeth Tudor leaps off the page in all her glory and complexity. I couldn't put the book down.

We follow Elizabeth from the beginning, but thankfully, Plaidy skips over most of her younger years with all of her father's wives. Elizabeth would've been too young to be an interesting narrator, but she is clearly an observant girl from the beginning. She is always presented as vivacious and precocious, and this sometimes gets her into trouble, particularly with Thomas Seymour and even with her sister Mary's Catholic ministers. However, she learns her lessons well and manages to keep both her reputation and head intact by the time she ascends the throne in 1558.

Jean Plaidy covers a lot of ground in this novel, some events in more detail than others, and many historical legends appear. She dangles marriage over the heads of the various European powers. In some ways, she is very similar to her mother, Anne Boleyn, in that she excels at leading the chase without ever being caught. There's mention of the atrocities in Ireland, her correspondence w/ Catherine de Medici, the privateering of Spanish ships, exploration in the Americas and the founding of Virginia, the great battle against the Spanish Armada, the failed campaign in the Netherlands, the Rising of Essex, and throughout all of this, she cultivates and maintains the love of her subjects. Personally, I long for the day when a novel about Elizabeth includes a scene where she meets the famed Pirate Queen, Grace O'Malley, but that omission didn't dampen my enjoyment of this telling of the queen's life. It was pure joy to read about such an accomplished monarch. She truly was a genius at statecraft and absolutely fearless. I constantly marveled at her.

Various famous faces cross the stage: William Cecil, Sir Walsingham, Robert Dudley, Robert Deveraux, Sir Francis Drake, Sir Walter Raleigh, William Shakespeare (briefly), Mary Queen of Scots, Lettice Knollys, and many others. There weren't as many famous women crossing her path. Bess of Hardwick is barely mentioned when we know they were great friends, while those who get page time do so because they are rivals to Robert Dudley's affections. Most of the book is about Elizabeth's relationship with Robert, as Plaidy really likes to center her heroines around romantic male figures. However, I think this was actually well-balanced because Elizabeth consistently demonstrated how she navigated both her desire for Robert and her desire for the crown. Plaidy illustrated the tough choices she had to make and the petty ways Elizabeth tried to give herself some normal pleasure.

Plaidy also downplays Elizabeth's faults, especially her physical ones. We know that Elizabeth was indeed marked by smallpox, but Plaidy assures us throughout the novel that Elizabeth's skin was flawless. In addition, Plaidy says only a couple of teeth were pulled when we know that she actually had pretty bad teeth and could be unintelligible at times; although her loss of hair and use of wigs is often mentioned. Elizabeth seems to be fully self-aware and recognizes her faults, what she calls her "frivolous nature", but it is nevertheless hard to read about how she is almost completely taken in by the Earl of Essex, almost to the detriment of the whole country. In the end, reason and wisdom win out, and Essex is justly punished.

To be royal is to be lonely, and this is often a central pillar of Plaidy's novels. Elizabeth is perhaps one of the loneliest monarchs, but this is done to preserve her power. It is astounding, but it is also sad. One can't help but pity how Elizabeth copes in the life she chose and the pain she inflicts on both others and herself as she made the necessary choices to keep the throne over everything else. Elizabeth is complex, and this story is told "in her own" words, but it is absolutely a worthwhile read.

[Phil Syphe · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Queens of England series is Jean Plaidy's retelling of novels she's already written. The difference being the earlier novels are in the third person; TQOE books are in first person. The books are not sequels to one another; they're stand-alone novels.

“Queen of this Realm” is about Elizabeth I. Like the other books in the series, this one features many events that the narrator has no direct involvement in, so the story has many dry second-hand reports. This, to me, makes the point of rewriting a third-person narrative as a first-person one pointless.

Statements like, “Although I was far from the centre of events, I had my own informants”, are common. Sometimes such are events are relevant to Elizabeth’s story, but in most cases the info is relayed as dry facts, rather than the author finding a way to liven up the narrative. Yet, on other occasions, events have little or no relevance to Elizabeth’s life, so not only does this result in dry facts, it results in irrelevant dry facts.

It’s one of the author’s traits to include as much history as possible in all her novels, which always proves detrimental. We don’t need extensive second-hand accounts of other historical personages just for the sake of it. Take this segment about Katherine Parr, for example:

“It was enough, and by ill fortune the scheming Gardiner was present. According to Katharine he hurried to commiserate with the King, and the others in the chamber fell silent for a terrible dread had fallen on them. When a man has disposed of two of his wives by decapitating them, uneasy thoughts must quickly enter the heads of others. They would wonder how long that necessary part of the body would be with them.”

If the above quote was dramatized, featuring action, dialogue, body language, suspense, etc., it would’ve been highly engaging, but as this is a first-person narrative, it can’t be done, so it should either have been condensed and presented in a less dry way, or better still cut. The focus should’ve been on Elizabeth and her first-hand experiences. If gaps are evident in parts of her history, then what better opportunity for an author to let loose their imagination?

While I consider Mary, Queen of Scots, to have led a more exciting life than Elizabeth I, I skipped many paragraphs relating to her in this book. Elizabeth and Mary never met, though their lives were intertwined. Yet, one long-winded paragraph after another providing dry historical facts about Mary’s life have no place in a first-person narrative of someone who’s never been in the same room as her. 90 per cent or more of this material should’ve been cut.

As the following quote reveals, at times the narrator is recounting facts that someone tells her after they heard news from somebody else: “Soon I heard the whole story from Kat. She had managed to prize it from Edward, the messenger.” I wish the author had concentrated on storylines that Elizabeth was directly involved in, along with creating her own scenes where history has left no record.

This “telling” instead of “showing” is apparent throughout the book, much of which would’ve fit better in a textbook, rather than a novel. Odd lines, like, “Robert was clearly uneasy,” is blatant telling. Why not *show* his uneasiness?

Reported speech is a particularly annoying way of telling instead of showing with dialogue and action: “I thanked her for her concern and said that I was as well as I could hope to be after my sojourn in the Tower.”

Language is at times inconsistent. It’s mainly contemporary, which I feel is how it should be, but on certain occasions it becomes archaic: “‘Thou art welcome,’ he replied. ‘I forgive thee. Thou art the minister of justice.’”

It’s usually in letters that the language becomes archaic. I presume it’s the author’s way of being authentic, but it’s ridiculous when most of the book features contemporary language. Things like this quote stick out like a sore thumb:

“Let Her Majesty understand how her singular kindness doth overcome my power to acquit it, who, though she will not be a mother, yet she sheweth herself, by feeding me with her own princely hand, as a careful norice.”

And I’ve no clue what “norice” means.

Continuity error: at one point Elizabeth is described as 66, then a few paragraphs later as 65.

Speaking of age, this is another gripe I have: it’s hard to gauge the passage of time because the novel isn’t chapterized. We get breaks, but no chapters, which can be confusing and frustrating when, with no sense of time passing, we learn that Elizabeth is several years older than you think she is. Every so often, we learn what year it is, but otherwise days, weeks, months, and years blend together.

Also, by not chapterizing her novel, the author is missing a trick. Not only do chapters help to break up passages of time, they serve as mini-cliffhangers, or at least give the reader a moment to reflect on what’s just happened and what might happen next. Hitting “enter” twice and leaving a bit of space between sections doesn’t have the same effect as the end of a chapter and the start of the next.

Emotion: Elizabeth makes it clear over and over that she loves Robert of Essex, and she laments his death for years afterwards; however, the death of her governess Kat Ashley, whom she loved dearly as a child and during the early years of her reign, is referred to as if she were a causal acquaintance. She’s only mentioned once after that, much later in the narrative, and she’s referred to indifferently. I find this inconsistent characterization.

The second Robert in Elizabeth’s life is a much more interesting character than the first one. He livens things up quite a bit, though the author’s dry style of writing means it’s not nearly as good as it should’ve been. Still, this did engage my interest for the most part, as did certain parts here and there, which is why I’ve rated this novel three stars, not one or two, but overall, this is a missed opportunity.

Something about Jean Plaidy’s books keep me coming back for more. Perhaps it’s her obvious love for English and French history, which I share, that draws me back. I wish she’d focused less on turning out as greater quantity of novels as possible and concentrated more on quality writing. A novel like this one should be revised about 20 times, yet this at best feels like a second draft. This was poorly put together. Endless second-hand reports, most of which have no relevance to Elizabeth I, spoil what could've been a great novel.

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Author Jean Plaidy--who went by several pseudonyms, including Victoria Holt--and this is one of many, MANY novels she wrote about English royalty. Queen Elizabeth, the first person narrator of this book, was a favorite subject. I had previously read a book by Plaidy's alternate identity Victoria Holt called MY ENEMY THE QUEEN; that book also featured Elizabeth as a central character, but it was told from the first person perspective of her maternal cousin, Lettice Knollys.

So, this book centered around many historical characters who I already admired and with whose real-life stories I was very familiar. Unfortunately, I found this book to be more like a history lesson than a novel. Although many aspects of the author's style were consistent, her writing as Holt felt like an engaging romantic drama. This book by Plaidy, written in more the style of a diary, with sometimes excruciating historical details involving political plotting, wars, etc. As a result, I found myself skimming most of this book, pausing manly on the parts with more character interactions and personal drama. I did enjoying re-visiting with some of these characters for a time, but if I read more by this author, it will be in her Victoria Holt incarnation.

[Taylor's♡Shelf · Rating 5 out of 5]

Remarks: Margaret George's Elizabeth I is one of my favourite novels and Plaidy's novel very much reminded me of George's. Plaidy's Elizabeth did have her faults but was nowhere near on the scale of say Gregory's (The Virgin's Lover) or Erikson's (Rival to the Queen). One thing I've noticed though is that all the variations I've read so far of Elizabeth plague her as being extremely fickle. I'd be interested in reading some primary sources to evaluate how much of this is based entirely on fact. It seems unlikely that all of it is, seeing as she holds a moniker as "England's greatest monarch" and fickleness doesn't seem to be great evidence of that.

It was a long read but any novel that spans Elizabeth's life from adolescence to death needs to be long. I liked this Plaidy novel better than her Angevin ones. (I noticed that Elizabeth's novel was written in first-person and Richard's was written in third. Does she only write in first for her female subjects?). I'm excited to continue my way through my Plaidy collection this year and hope to find some more jems.

[Cassy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is another one of those times I REALLY wish that Goodreads had a 1/2 star rating. I would give this a solid 3 1/2. Mainly because of the ending.

This book could really only be considered fiction because Plaidy gets inside of Elizabeth's head. She doesn't from the first person POV and, of course, we could never really know what was going on in Elizabeth's head so it has to be fiction. I'm sure a lot of the conversation are interpretative, but I bet they're pretty close to what was said.

Plaity did her research and, as a reader, I really appreciate that. I think she got the moods of Elizabeth just right. Yes, she was a powerful ruler who loved, and was loved by, her people. She hated war, had her favorites and tried to do everything she could for England. But she was temperamental. She threw temper-tantrums when she didn't get her way or when people didn't do things exactly as she wanted. She manipulated the people around her, people who loved her, so that she could have the thrill of the chase but never have to actually be caught. Part of that was indeed politics, but part of that was just her own vanity, and Elizabeth was the vainest of them all.

My main complaint with Plaity is that she had a hard time keeping my interest. Elizabeth is exciting! During both her youth and Mary's reign, her life was constantly in danger. And, truth be told, that danger never really came across the pages to me. Elizabeth was also a brilliant politician and, while I did get that sense from Plaity, I didn't get the excitement and the true genius the woman really was.

However, the thing about Plaity that really warmed me to this book was the ending and, as we all know, a good ending can really save a book. The Spanish/English battle on the seas was a HUGE win for the English because it basically established that the English, not the Spanish, were the dominant force on the ocean. Not something to be taken lightly since Spain had been the strong arm of Europe for so long. Elizabeth gave this most beautiful speech to her troops before hand (which, you can find in its entirety here. I highly recommend reading it. Politicians could really take a page out of this woman's book.) Plaity actually included this speech in her book, which I loved. I loved that she kept things like this because it made the book that much more real.

When Plaity talked about the battle, everything leading up to it and what was happening, everything in the battle, you couldn't help but be drawn into the excitement. I mean, I KNEW what was going to happen. I KNEW the English were going to win. I KNEW the Spanish were going to get their butts handed to them on a platter. But that didn't stop me from eating up every word.

Plaity also brought us through enormous grief after this. Elizabeth was an old woman by the time this happen (well, old for her time.) She was in her late 40s to her early 50s. All of her friends and councilors and the men and people she loved most began to leave her life. It was really a heartbreaking thing to read, because you realize everyone she held dear left her. She lived to 69 (really, a remarkable age for that time period. I believe mostly due to her regiment of cleanliness.) but those around her began much sooner, starting with Robert Dudley and ending with William Cecil.

I really liked how Plaity handled Dudley. The most scandle surrounds him and throughout history there has been a "did they/didn't they" around the two. And while I do think he was the one man the Queen did truly romantically love, I don't think they ever consummated that love. Elizabeth was all about the power, all about holding onto that power and making sure SHE was the one who ruled her country, not someone else. It was why she never married. She could never suffer being ruled by a man, or having to share the sovereignty with a man.

I don't think she could have ever allowed a man to bed her, and Plaity takes that approach also. Bedding is just another form of male domination and Elizabeth was resoundingly against that. No man would have any power over her. What's more, I don't believe she would ever risk an affair. Liaisons with men meant a possible pregnancy. Pregnancies are something that can't be hidden. Becoming pregnant would forever diminish her power and she would not have taken that kind of risk.

But it was still heartbreaking to see Dudley die. She loved him dearly and he was the first to leave her. Plaity thinks her grief caused her to make mistakes later when it came to some of Dudley's family.

Cecil was always the one that upset me the most. Cecil was with her from early on, even when Mary was on the throne. He threw all his work and devotion and livelihood into Elizabeth and her reign. And he was with her the longest, even leaving her his son, who was more than capable to take his place. Plaity's tale of his death had me almost in tears because you could tell that Elizabeth saw this as the last of her friends, the last of her generation. All that she had known of her time, of her reign, was coming to an end with Cecil. I think in some ways, Cecil was an even greater friend to her than Dudley. Dudley she loved romantically, had a friendship that could never be broken. But Cecil made sure she kept her crown, that her country stayed safe and always in her hands and Elizabeth loved nothing more than her country.

If you are a fan of Tudor England, pick this book up. I enjoyed reading it. It's not a fast read, but the ending makes it worth it and, honestly, I just love reading about Elizabeth.

[A · Rating 3 out of 5]

Long and tedious, but interesting at times. The Queen says the same things over and over throughout her life: she loves Robert, but can't marry him; she loves her subjects--they are of utmost importance; she loves her men (Burghley, Walshingham, etc.); she is fascinated by, yet despises Mary Queen of Scots; Christianity is all that matters, not how one worships; her white skin and slender hands are her most beautiful qualities; Lettice Knollys is a she-wolf; and on and on and on over and over. Again, this had some interesting parts, especially because I haven't read anything about English royalty before.

[Tamara · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a fascinating look at England royalty in the mid to late 1500's. There are so many lessons about life in this period of time and more than 500 years later some things have not changed. Queen Elizabeth I had a unique take on life and her role. As the daughter of Ann Boeyln (who was executed when Elizabeth was 3 yrs old), Elizabeth education and experiences would define her beliefs of a would be Queen. She held to this beliefs when she went to the throne at 25 years old and ruled 44 years. Highly recommended.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

The good - I learned a lot from reading this book. It's well written, as far language use and grammar are concerned and it's historically informed.

The bad - Queen Elizabeth comes across as a lovesick narcissist. Maybe she was, but it doesn't make for great reading. And the book is horribly repetitive. There are about four big ideas (men love her for her power/crown and less so her person; if she marries, her husband will rule through her, so she can't marry; she's afraid to be old and unattractive to men; and war is bad and peace is good) in what is a loooong book.

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this first person view of the life of Elizabeth I. It was quite different from my usual historical fiction reads, going more into personal details rather than surrounding detail. I was fascinated to have this in depth look into the person who was Elizabeth from youth to old age: her determination never to be ruled by a man, her love affair with Robert L, her even greater love of the English people.
Even though the book is fairly long it holds your attention from beginning to end.

[Carolina Diaz · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a very interesting read. Jean writes the book in first person as if Elizabeth was telling the story herself. It takes you from the beginning of her life all the way to the very last moments. Her love for her people and her encounters in her personal life. Specially her love for Leicester the man she loved but never married. It is very well researched which allows a deeper dive into historical times. You learn a lot while reading the book. I believe it’s one to read.

[Coleen Dailey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I very much enjoyed this book. I have read a lot about Tudor England, both fiction and non-fiction, and I liked that this was from the perspective of Elizabeth herself as a memoir. It covered her entire life and most of the important points of history during her reign. I may try to find her books on the Borgias and Medicis.

[Ike Muoma · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very readable read.

A very good historical fictional account. If more events and periods in history were written like this, maybe it would make it more interesting for children. I now plan to read a biography on Elizabeth I.

[Clayton Brendle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Queen Elizabeth bright to life

As ever Jean Plaidy reaches into the heart and soul of a queen. She makes one believe that we have travelled back in time to share the queen's joys and burdens. As in her lifetime it was sad to reach the end. I highly recommend this book to all!

[Kristen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Excellent, detailed look into the life of Elizabeth I.