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A review by beccabeccalee
Elizabeth: The Struggle for the Throne by David Starkey
David Starkey is an apt biographer. He has an eye for hidden history. In this book he captures both the fascinating and bizarre and has a very natural voice for biography. Here he decides to focus on Elizabeth's upbringing (essentially her queen-making) rather than the breast-plate-toting, white-stallion-riding queen of 1500s British imperialism. Here she is, in all her un-glory, the girl before Gloriana - involved in intrigues, assassination plots, the Protestant uprising, family politics, and even some brief and bizarre brushes with romance. The story, like any chapter of British history, is fascinating and complicated. Most of the time I wanted to pick this up and keep reading.
Yet there are moments when Starkey gets a bit caught up in complex party politics surrounding Elizabeth's ascension. He'll rattle off names and point them out as supporters, rebels, half-supporters, flip-floppers, etc. Besides trying to keep all the Northumberlands and Somersets apart, I'm not sure all this politicking gets us much closer to understanding Elizabeth's history as a queen. I think some of this could be spared - it's a bit of a slower read at times. Overall, it's a wonderfully thorough and scintillating portrayal of the young pre-queen and her rise to power (with no details spared). It really made both Tudor and Elizabethan England come alive.
Yet there are moments when Starkey gets a bit caught up in complex party politics surrounding Elizabeth's ascension. He'll rattle off names and point them out as supporters, rebels, half-supporters, flip-floppers, etc. Besides trying to keep all the Northumberlands and Somersets apart, I'm not sure all this politicking gets us much closer to understanding Elizabeth's history as a queen. I think some of this could be spared - it's a bit of a slower read at times. Overall, it's a wonderfully thorough and scintillating portrayal of the young pre-queen and her rise to power (with no details spared). It really made both Tudor and Elizabethan England come alive.