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133 reviews for:
Elizabeth, the Queen: From the Sunday Times Bestselling Historian
Alison Weir, Alison Weir
4.02 AVERAGE
133 reviews for:
Elizabeth, the Queen: From the Sunday Times Bestselling Historian
Alison Weir, Alison Weir
4.02 AVERAGE
This is an excellent biography of someone I knew about mostly from movies about her and fiction that took place during the Elizabethan era. Weir is an eloquent writer; my only criticism is that she incorporated many, many direct quotations from Elizabeth and others, many others. Direct quotations can support the narrative, but it did make for slow reading. The prose is very dense and it's hard sometimes to keep track of who's who after they've been elevated to Earl or Baron, or whatever. Robert Dudley is also the Earl of Leicester; William Cecil is Lord Burghley, etc.
I did have visions of Lord Flashheart every time Ralegh and Essex appeared in the story.
Weir does an excellent job humanizing the Queen. There are numerous descriptions of her personal habits, living quarters, and the experiences that she alone had. Her relationship with Leicester is thoroughly explained, and there was some dust in my eye reading about her reaction to his death. In case anyone wants to read it for themselves, I'll spoilerize:He wrote her a letter while undergoing treatments he hoped would improve his health. They didn't, and he died before she received the letter. She inscribed the letter "His last letter" and kept it in a box by her bed, which was discovered there after her death 15 years later. The letter has survived and can be seen at the Public Records Office at Kew. She never married, but if she had, it would have been him. Weir does well explaining why Elizabeth resisted all offers of betrothal and why she accepted she could never marry Leicester, although she probably wanted to and he certainly did.
The final chapter describing her death and the elevation of James VI of Scotland as James I also hit me emotionally. Again, Weir does an excellent job conveying the feelings of the court and the nation at her loss. They seemed to have known that it was the end of an era and change was coming. Sadness and grief at her passing, love and appreciation that she had been their queen, nervous trepidation at the coming of James.
I did have visions of Lord Flashheart every time Ralegh and Essex appeared in the story.
Weir does an excellent job humanizing the Queen. There are numerous descriptions of her personal habits, living quarters, and the experiences that she alone had. Her relationship with Leicester is thoroughly explained, and there was some dust in my eye reading about her reaction to his death. In case anyone wants to read it for themselves, I'll spoilerize:
The final chapter describing her death and the elevation of James VI of Scotland as James I also hit me emotionally. Again, Weir does an excellent job conveying the feelings of the court and the nation at her loss. They seemed to have known that it was the end of an era and change was coming. Sadness and grief at her passing, love and appreciation that she had been their queen, nervous trepidation at the coming of James.
Was there ever any doubt of this being a five star read? Hint: no. This book covered Elizabeth’s nearly 45 year reign in remarkable depth for an overview. There are so many quotes and sources sprinkled liberally throughout that one feels transported to Elizabeth’s court. If anything, my obsession with this Virgin Queen has only deepened, my knowledge added to by this book. It’s well written and well organized. Sometimes it’s hard to be sure what year it is but it’s usually stated fairly frequently. Weir gives a lot of detail in an accessible format.
This book is well written, well presented, and strung together in a way that leaves the reader understanding the important players and timeline of Elizabeth's reign.
That said, it's 500 pages and one hell of a long read. If you don't already have a vested interest then this book won't work for you. I thought I knew what I was getting into. I LIKE the Tudor era and I like big books. But as delightfully strung together as this book is, I found myself dragging my feet over finishing it. I think the main issue is that there are too many details and at times it can really bog you down. Then again, all of those details makes the book easy to understand.
Long story short, come prepared for a good but thick read. Possibly invest in the audiobook instead. That would make it livelier and easier to consume.
That said, it's 500 pages and one hell of a long read. If you don't already have a vested interest then this book won't work for you. I thought I knew what I was getting into. I LIKE the Tudor era and I like big books. But as delightfully strung together as this book is, I found myself dragging my feet over finishing it. I think the main issue is that there are too many details and at times it can really bog you down. Then again, all of those details makes the book easy to understand.
Long story short, come prepared for a good but thick read. Possibly invest in the audiobook instead. That would make it livelier and easier to consume.