You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.02 AVERAGE
4.02 AVERAGE
Another great history written by Alison Weir. Very engaging and an unbelievable page turner. Every girl should read about one of the strongest and most resourceful women in history.
This is a great biography detailing the incredible life of Elizabeth the First. There are so many interesting facts that are found in this book, that one cannot remember them all. Weir puts life to what could have been just a dry and uninteresting book.
informative
slow-paced
OMG, I finally finished this book after six months! Alison Weir is an extraordinary researcher and a minutely detailed writer and it shows in this tome of nonfiction. History is my most favorite subject to learn about and genre to read but wow, I have consumed enough about the Elizabethan Era to last a lifetime. First I read Weir's [b:The Six Wives of Henry VIII|10104|The Six Wives of Henry VIII|Alison Weir|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1438820765l/10104._SY75_.jpg|430173] and found it so interesting that I wanted to learn more about his second daughter's reign. While I will not take away from the brilliance of Weir's abilities, I must say that this book did not engage me as much as Henry's did. Most of the book focused on Elizabeth's strategies for staying unmarried (which was tiresome for me so it must have exhausted the queen- why do men feel they are superior? Especially considering that the most successful and peaceful reigns of English history have all been under the monarchy of women: Elizabeth I, Victoria, and Elizabeth II); preventing war with Spain; and the three key relationships of Elizabeth's life: Mary Queen of Scots (her cousin), the Earl of Leicester (clearly her true love) and the Earl of Essex (someone she thought would replace Leicester after he died but instead betrayed her).
While these subjects were obviously the dominating focus of her reign, I tired of them, thus taking me a while to finish the book. The constant berating by her councilors to marry and thus provide a successor angered me. She said she wouldn't marry from the start, no means no, leave her alone! On the same token, every aristocrat and lady's maid had to ask Elizabeth's permission to marry and if she didn't give it, they were placed in the Tower. And Elizabeth was not an unbiased ruler, she definitely held grudges. I am so thankful not to live in a time of antiquated ideals about love and marriage.
I was interested in the relationship between Elizabeth and Mary because it is iconic, and I wish they had gotten to meet in person because it really would have altered history. I do admire Weir's comprehensive researching and quoting primary sources in her work but I wish she had included other topics such as more information on Sir Walter Raleigh's journeys, and the role of Shakespeare in Elizabethan times.
Historical nonfiction like this is not for everyone, but if you want to read a well researched, extremely detailed account, Alison Weir is the author for you! I think I may take a break for a minute though- haha.
While these subjects were obviously the dominating focus of her reign, I tired of them, thus taking me a while to finish the book. The constant berating by her councilors to marry and thus provide a successor angered me. She said she wouldn't marry from the start, no means no, leave her alone! On the same token, every aristocrat and lady's maid had to ask Elizabeth's permission to marry and if she didn't give it, they were placed in the Tower. And Elizabeth was not an unbiased ruler, she definitely held grudges. I am so thankful not to live in a time of antiquated ideals about love and marriage.
I was interested in the relationship between Elizabeth and Mary because it is iconic, and I wish they had gotten to meet in person because it really would have altered history. I do admire Weir's comprehensive researching and quoting primary sources in her work but I wish she had included other topics such as more information on Sir Walter Raleigh's journeys, and the role of Shakespeare in Elizabethan times.
Historical nonfiction like this is not for everyone, but if you want to read a well researched, extremely detailed account, Alison Weir is the author for you! I think I may take a break for a minute though- haha.
reflective
slow-paced
I would have loved to see this in novel form because Alison's language in her novel's is fantastic, but the biography style did keep me reading through most of the book interested.
Very well written and engaging! No dry history here, but rather an engrossing account of the days of Elizabeth I.
This book was compelling, but the writing was very strange in places. I listened to it as an audiobook, so perhaps I missed something that was more obvious in the written version, but it seemed as though the author reused quotes several times (either that, or reuses the same phrasing over and over). Additionally, her academic distance made the work feel balanced, but after finishing this tome I still have no idea what Elizabeth I was like. I would have preferred the author take more of a stance. Was she flighty, or brilliant, a flirt or a woman dealing with her patriarchal society, or some combination of the lot? I ended up not much caring about any of the historical figures. If this were fiction, I'd say it lacked sympathetic characters.
I realize this is all critique, but my overall opinion of the book is actually very positive. It was incredibly detailed (sometimes overly so), well-researched, and informative. It didn't have any of the hokey-ness that I often associate with popular history writing. And the subject is fascinating enough to engross even the most avid consumer of fiction.
I realize this is all critique, but my overall opinion of the book is actually very positive. It was incredibly detailed (sometimes overly so), well-researched, and informative. It didn't have any of the hokey-ness that I often associate with popular history writing. And the subject is fascinating enough to engross even the most avid consumer of fiction.
Meticulously researched and very thorough biography of Elizabeth I. It dwelt tediously on all of machinations to entice and avoid consorts among the royal houses of Europe. But Elizabeth was a complex woman with an extraordinary life that is well represented in this book.