Product Description

Publicly declared a bastard at the age of three, daughter of a disgraced and executed mother, last in the line of succession to the throne of England, Elizabeth I inherited an England ravaged by bloody religious conflict, at war with Spain and France, and badly in debt. When she died in 1603, after a forty-five- year reign, her empire spanned two continents and was united under one church, victorious in war, and blessed with an overflowing treasury. What’s more, her favorites—William Shakespeare, Sir Francis Drake, and Sir Walter Raleigh—had made
the Elizabethan era a cultural Golden Age still remembered today.

But for Elizabeth the woman, tragedy went hand in hand with triumph. Politics and scandal forced the passionate queen to reject her true love, Robert Dudley, and to execute his stepson, her much-adored Lord Essex. Now in this spellbinding novel, Rosalind Miles brings to life the woman behind the myth. By turns imperious, brilliant, calculating, vain, and witty, this is the Elizabeth the world never knew. From the days of her brutal father, Henry VIII, to her final dying moments, Elizabeth tells her story in her own words.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #124691 in Books
• Published on: 2003-03-25
• Released on: 2003-03-25
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 656 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Popular historian ( The Women's History of the World ) and novelist ( Return to Eden ) Miles brings deep research to this iconoclastic but only partially successful fictional life of England's "virgin queen," Elizabeth I. Miles traces, through the queen's own voice, Elizabeth's turbulent years as a princess in Henry VIII's court, her uneasy status during the brief reigns of her brother Edward and sister Mary and her decades on the throne. The author leaves no event unreported, describing in detail the defeat of the Spanish Armada, Elizabeth's struggles with Mary, Queen of Scots, and the rise and fall of Essex. In a genre that often uses passionate love scenes to temper the drier affairs of history, a novel about the world's second most famous female virgin presents a challenge. There are love scenes aplenty, however, since Miles depicts the young Elizabeth as being as sexually obsessed as she is frustrated, her interest in men overshadowing affairs of state, religion and the succession to the throne. Miles is at her best in describing everyday Elizabethan life--religion, food, dress, illness. But her Elizabeth lacks the charisma to carry this lengthy chronicle, which is weakened by the device of having the queen, in italicized passages, comment from a pallid, distant hindsight on her past actions. As an entertaining look at Reformation England, this novel succeeds, but it fails at the more immediate task of creating memorable fictional characters from the leavings of history. Literary Guild and Double day Book Club selections; author tour.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
Historian Miles, who has written books on Shakespeare, Ben Jonson, and women's history, here gives a portrait of Elizabeth I that is rich in historical detail. More importantly, her Elizabeth has an authentic voice. Raised by turns as princess, bastard, and potential traitor, Elizabeth does anything she must do to keep her head from the block except renounce her faith (which makes it odd that we get no sense of her as a spiritual person). Having achieved power, she will do whatever it takes to retain it, including denying her powerful sexuality and executing traitors, even her beloved Earl of Essex. Forthright, salty, sensual, regal, and occasionally foolish, this is as real as a character created by words can be. For all historical fiction collections. [Doubleday and Literary Guild selections; previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 4/1/94.]-Marylaine Block, St. Ambrose Univ. Lib., Davenport, Ia.
--Marylaine Block, St. Ambrose Univ. Lib., Davenport, Ia.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Historian Miles' novel is in the form of a memoir that Elizabeth I is writing near the end of her long and amazing life. Through Elizabeth's eyes, the reader sees the life-and-death court intrigues, the religious conflicts, and the prerogatives as well as the high price of power. In addition to being faithful to historical fact, Miles presents a wealth of colorful detail. The personalitiesElizabeth's father, Henry VIII, her sister, Bloody Mary, her cousin, Mary Queen of Scots, and the restare vividly portrayed, as are the sights, sounds, and smells of the Tudor era. Miles also interprets the inner woman, from the frightened girl called away from the security of her exile at Hatfield to present herself at court, to the mature queen: scholarly, vain, shrewd, deeply attuned to such things as the language of dress, capable of great passion, but learning never to let her passions rule. Miles weaves Elizabeth's passions throughout, as various courtiers attempt to marry her off, and the men she loves betray her, prove inadequate, or must be sacrificed for the political good. Miles answers in her own way the question of whether the Virgin Queen was really a virgin. Despite its length, this convincing novel never falters. Mary Ellen Quinn

Customer Reviews

First Person Historical
I really, really don't like first person, especially employed on a historical figure like Elizabeth. But I would have given it a chance if the author had captured the complexity of Elizabeth Tudor-- and the sheer genius.

This is better than the abomination that is P. Gregory's "The Virgin Queen." It is not in the same sphere as the magnificent "Legacy" by Susan Kay.

Can be a little confusing....
If you don't know much about the history of Elizabeth, the names of so many characters can be a bit daunting. Especially when it is mentioned in passing that someone has received a new title, and then pages later they are called by this new name. There were more than a few times of, "WAIT!! Who is this person??" But it really was quite a good book, even if you want to scream at the title character a few times during the reading. If one had a reasonable knowledge of her history, I doubt they would have any of these problems. And there is also an index in the book to help keep everyone straight. After I read this, I picked up "The Virgins Lover" by Philippa Gregory, and compared side by side, Gregory's book isn't even worth a read. (I'm making myself read it, since I spent $12 bucks on the thing.) This is also the only book I've found, though I'm sure there are more, than encompass such a wide range of Elizabeth's life, which really helps one to get a better idea of who she was and why she made the decisions she did.

her father's daughter
king henry viii turn england upside down to get the son he desired.anne give him a daughter and lose her head.but her daughter became the amazing skillful leader her father always thought only son would be.this book give you inside working of tudor life how elizabeth survive it and became england greatest queen.