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4.02 AVERAGE
4.02 AVERAGE
I really did not like this book. I tried so hard to like it, but I just got upset every single time I had to read the same thing over and over again. I understand that Elizabeth I did not want to get married. I didn't need it repeated to me 5-6 times in one chapter. It felt like there was allot of filler was used to make this book longer.
Uitstekende biografie over Elizabeth I, door Alison Weir. Fijne schrijfstijl en ontzettend veel interessante details, maar ook gewoon heel duidelijk en prettig leesbaar.
I loved this book! Weir is an amazing historical biographer. I appreciate how she examines all sides of debated issues without making a lot of assumptions about motives.
This book is about Queen Elizabeth's reign, all of the ups and downs. It shows the Queen as a human being, incredible and inspiring, but human. She makes bad decisions, throws tantrums, and holds grudges. She also shows great courage, amazing diplomacy, and loyalty.
This isn't a book for people who aren't already interested in history. It goes into a lot of detail. Weir is really good at humanizing history and people from long ago, but it is still about times, politics, and relationships that can be hard to relate to in the 21st century.
Altogether this book was a great look into one of the most interesting times and historical figures, at least in my opinion.
This book is about Queen Elizabeth's reign, all of the ups and downs. It shows the Queen as a human being, incredible and inspiring, but human. She makes bad decisions, throws tantrums, and holds grudges. She also shows great courage, amazing diplomacy, and loyalty.
This isn't a book for people who aren't already interested in history. It goes into a lot of detail. Weir is really good at humanizing history and people from long ago, but it is still about times, politics, and relationships that can be hard to relate to in the 21st century.
Altogether this book was a great look into one of the most interesting times and historical figures, at least in my opinion.
Finally finished this book! It was really good, at times reading like a suspense novel. But it was also really dense, which made me read it a bit more slowly than I think I otherwise would have. Both because of the amount of information I had to digest with every page, and also because I was constantly looking up the various people who are mentioned.
This was quite a heavy going book and some chapters were less interesting than others but again Alison Weir delivers. I really enjoy Alison Weir's books. She has done so much research for all of them that I am amazed she writes so many books.
This lady was something else. She doesn't have the same notoriety as her sister, queen Mary, a.k.a bloody Mary. She does surpass her in people thinking she was the first queen of England.
Going over her life is interesting but at the she time boring. Contradictory I know but I did notice my mind wandering at times.
Going over her life is interesting but at the she time boring. Contradictory I know but I did notice my mind wandering at times.
An excellent history of the influential and intriguing Queen Elizabeth I. Weir strikes a nice balance between social and political history, and keeps things readable without falling into a novelistic narrative. Definitely recommended if you are interested in Elizabeth or the Tudors.
This was my first non fiction from Alison Weir. The book is very detailed and I learned a lot about Elizabeth I. Unfortunately, it came up dry a lot if the time. It was good for a pre bedtime read.
While it is fascinating to learn that Elizabeth Regina had 3,000 dresses and new pairs of shoes made to order every week, I had thought that maybe it would be useful to know a bit about the political world she brought to abeyance during her forty-five year reign of relative peace. There is entirely too much back and forthing about how she kept suitors at bay and not nearly enough explanation of the geo-political context. Why weren't the English able to establish colonies in the Americas when Spain was? What were her relations with the Irish before the rebellion by Tyrone? How did she manage James, Mary's son? What were her feelings about the enclosure movement that forced London's population to double during her lifetime? And why is Shakespeare, and indeed all the other playwrights of what was the golden age not only of exploration by sea, but also by letters, mentioned only a few times?
This biography is exhaustive in quoting primary sources and describing the queen's dresses (including one that revealed her entire nude torso to an ambassador when she was well into her sixties). However, in its treatment of anything but her personal relations with court favorites like Dudley and Essex, it is superficial. I was ongoingly disappointed not to have been better informed at the end of 500 pages.
And why did Weir leave out key details about the defeat of the Spanish Armada?!
This biography is exhaustive in quoting primary sources and describing the queen's dresses (including one that revealed her entire nude torso to an ambassador when she was well into her sixties). However, in its treatment of anything but her personal relations with court favorites like Dudley and Essex, it is superficial. I was ongoingly disappointed not to have been better informed at the end of 500 pages.
And why did Weir leave out key details about the defeat of the Spanish Armada?!