Elizabeth

by Tom McGregor

A novel based on the film "Elizabeth".

Princess Elizabeth narrowly avoids execution during the reign of her sister, Mary, but when she finally becomes queen, she discovers new dangers, not least her love for Robert Dudley, whom she can never marry.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical, Tudor Period

246 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

Reviews

[Phillip · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not since Patrick O'Brian's Master and Commander series have I been captivated by a work of historical fiction. From the moment I picked up the book, I was willingly pulled in to the world of medieval England. Thankfully I knew enough of the history of the time to pick out what was historical fact and what wasn't. Please read this book! You won't be disappointed.

[Breña]

2007 schrieb ich:
Ohne den Film zu kennen, der auf diesem Buch basiert, und ohne bedeutende Kenntnisse der englischen Geschichte habe ich über die Verwandlung einer unbedeutenden jungen Frau zur machtvollen Königin gelesen. Zuerst fand ich es etwas seltsam, dass ausgerechnet ein Mann diesen Prozess beschreibt, aber abgesehen von ein paar Minuspunkten hat McGregor das ganz gut hinbekommen. Allerdings lese ich normalerweise ungern verwickelte Liebesgeschichten, weshalb dieses Buch wohl nie zu einem meiner Favoriten wird.

Nachtrag:
Das Buch habe ich Freitag im Zug und statt TV gelesen, entsprechend schnell war's "alle". Dadurch, dass das Buch eigentlich mitten in Elizabeths Lebensgeschichte endet, hatte ich dennoch das Gefühl "Ich hab da ja noch dieses Buch liegen...". Also hab ich im Internet ein wenig über Madam gelesen, wobei mir auffiel dass McGregor ihr Leben mit viel künstlerischer Freiheit beschrieben hat. Beim Lesen war mir ja schon aufgefallen, dass der Fokus mehr auf ihrem Verhältnis zu Robert Dudley lag, dennoch stört mich im Nachhinein extrem, wie stark die historischen Fakten verdreht wurden.

[Danielle Reily · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am really torn about this book. It was a good read, fast paced and interesting. At the same time it was very inaccurate. I love historical fiction and I don't mind when authors speculate about history, but it was just glaring factual error after glaring factual error. It was well written, just badly researched. I understand that it wasn't the author's intention to write a biography, but it was still frustrating.

[Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Novelization of the film of the same name. I loved the film when I saw it and I love historical fiction. This was a quick read but as with most novelizations of films, not quite the calibre of historical fiction that I usually read.

[Heather Reid · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've never been more conflicted about a book in my entire life. It was such an enjoyable read and was very fun and quick but the historical inaccuracies made me cringe every other page. I simultaneously couldn't wait to read the whole thing yet wanted to throw it across the room. Basically, don't go into it for the history but if you want an enjoyable tale about historical figures/characters you love, go for it.

[Kimberly · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was not impressed with this book at all, and I think the movie is much better then the book. I think if I had not seen the movie this book would have been hard to follow. Overall I felt the book was not written very well, perhaps because it was based on a screenplay. Not worth reading again or recommending to others.

[Lorraine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Historically gunk, but a whole load of fun! It's extremely readable, even though it's full of cliches, it's full of them in a fun way. Nice to read when you don't want anything taxing on your brain but don't want to read stupid stuff that's annoying.

[Sonia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This novel isn't a standout, but I really did enjoy reading it. I always enjoy fiction that takes a historical figure or event and theorizes about the "holes" of the past and Elizabeth is such a fascinating individual.

[Suzanne]

It has been a long time since I have read this. It was one of the first historical novels I read so I can not really tell anymore if this one was good or bad, but I must have enjoyed it at the time, esp. since I spent only 25 cents on the Dutch translation :-)

[Gemma · Rating 3 out of 5]

As far as historical accuracy goes, this is a total dud, but it's still very readable and a good distraction. I feel like if I review the book, I have to review the movie...so...I'll be lazy this time.

[Lauren · Rating 2 out of 5]

The movie was so much better.

[Jana Hill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty short and easy to read. I liked learning more about her history.

[Jasmin · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was okay. I would have preferred more fact and less ficton. However this book is very easy to read

[Becky · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not really historical, mostly just fluffy fiction.