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A review by alisonb13
The Queens and the Hive by Edith Sitwell
4.0
A richly rewarding and fascinating account of the Elizabethan period, incredibly rich in detail and contemporary accounts. Not always easy to read due to the use of an astounding number of original sources the style and spelling of which requires extra concentration (and in my tattered old copy picked up second hand was in tiny print!).
Also often flips back a few years to cover parallel events and so resurrects people already killed off, but well worth the effort as the lives, personalities, intrigues and achievements of the period are so vividly evoked. Initially distracting after coming straight from Mantel’s Wolf Hall trilogy, Edith Sitwell’s astute, wry, but compassionate commentary is a beautifully written and enjoyable companion: ‘..the dangerous Mary (Queen of Scots) had to be disposed of. Murder was the obvious, most sensible way....but at first Queen Elizabeth was inexplicably sensitive on this point.’ Covering the period (in parts retrospectively) from the death of Henry VIII to the death of Elizabeth herself in 1603, it takes in the intrigues and political machinations and repercussions of events ranging from the murder of Lord Darnley, St.Bartholomew’s Day Huguenot massacre, the defeat of the Spanish Armada, Irish rebellions and beheading of many. It brings to life the well known and less known (found myself endlessly referring back to Wikipedia for who belonged to who - should have done myself a chart at the start with notes) from a spectacular period of history but particularly Elizabeth herself. Fabulous!
Also often flips back a few years to cover parallel events and so resurrects people already killed off, but well worth the effort as the lives, personalities, intrigues and achievements of the period are so vividly evoked. Initially distracting after coming straight from Mantel’s Wolf Hall trilogy, Edith Sitwell’s astute, wry, but compassionate commentary is a beautifully written and enjoyable companion: ‘..the dangerous Mary (Queen of Scots) had to be disposed of. Murder was the obvious, most sensible way....but at first Queen Elizabeth was inexplicably sensitive on this point.’ Covering the period (in parts retrospectively) from the death of Henry VIII to the death of Elizabeth herself in 1603, it takes in the intrigues and political machinations and repercussions of events ranging from the murder of Lord Darnley, St.Bartholomew’s Day Huguenot massacre, the defeat of the Spanish Armada, Irish rebellions and beheading of many. It brings to life the well known and less known (found myself endlessly referring back to Wikipedia for who belonged to who - should have done myself a chart at the start with notes) from a spectacular period of history but particularly Elizabeth herself. Fabulous!