Tudor History Lovers discussion

Hello,

I am working my way chronologically through the English Monarchs. I will be finishing Richard III today (This by the way is a good book to read after The Princes in the Tower). I have my reading which up through Charles I except for Elizabeth I. I picked up Elizabeth: The Struggle for the Throne by Starkey. This is supposed to be a good examination of her life before her reign. I am considering following this with Elizabeth I by Somerset but it covers her whole life and this maybe a bit redundant following the Starkey book. Is there a good choice for just her reign? Note, I have already read The Life of Elizabeth I by Weir which was quite good but I want another perspective. Any suggestions would be welcomed.

where did you start? William the conqueror? which book did you read on the first?

I actually started with by R.G. Collingwood . I believe the first biography was by Charles River Editors. The first English monarch biography would have been by Alfred P. Smyth. This was one of my favorites although I should warn there are some very dry sections where he analyzes contract after contract to prove a point. I have include some more questionable entries like Empress Matilda and Isabella of France as there were points when they were the actual ruler. By the way, I am doing the same for Roman Emperors and U.s Presidents. I just started by Charles W. Calhoun. I find by doing this I am getting a more complete picture of history. There are parts of history that most people know like the U. S. Civil War or WWII but there are other points where there are big gaps in our general knowledge. By reading President Buchanan and Pierce's biographies I got a better picture of what led into the Civil War. By reading Alfred the Great's biography I had a stronger sense of pre-Norman England and the first steps to unifying England post-Rome. When I finish these areas of biographies I will focus on other biographies in the same way. Kings of France, Popes, and Chinese Emperors are some of the possibilities on my quest to learn as much about history as I can.

Grant's memoirs are very much worth a read, William.

After Elizabeth: The Rise of James of Scotland and the Struggle for the Throne of England is about half on the last years of Elizabeth, and the other half on the first years of James I, and makes an interesting read.

That sounds interesting. I will put it on my reading list.

There is no book that will ever top Starkey's bio of Elizabeth. The man has a great understanding of her reign and is a great scholar but good companions to that are -besides The Life of Elizabeth I of Alison Weir- Virgin Elizabeth by Christopher Hibbert, Two Queens in one isle by Plowden, Elizabeth and Mary by Dunn, Elizabeth's London by Picard, Time Traveller's Guide to Elizabethan Times by Ian Mortimer (doesn't deal with personal aspects of her reign but it is a great insight of it, especially with how those others than her courtiers lived and were affected by her decisions), The Pirate Queen and Heretic Queen (both) by Susan Ronald, Elizabeth: Renaissance Prince by Lisa Hilton, Collected Works of Elizabeth I and the Queen's Bed by Anna Whitelock.

Thank you for your suggestions. I think I will probably pick-up "Elizabeth: Renaissance Prince" by Lisa Hilton.