Still Alive

Although I don't have an actual new post this week, I am still here. I figure you're probably a little burned out on books about Tudor England, so I decided not to do a full review on the last one I read: I, Elizabeth by Rosalind Miles (I will do a mini review at the end of this post). Hopefully I'll have a post of some sort for you next week, maybe something other than a book review if I can manage to whip it up. Also, I wanted to provide you this link to my Refugeek Pinterest board which has lots of anime/Doctor Who/Sherlock/video game related stuff.

I, Elizabeth is another historical fiction selection about the life of Elizabeth I. This one focuses on Elizabeth's two great loves: Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, and his step-son Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex. The relationship between Elizabeth and Robert Dudley is, at it's core, a tragic love story on par with the likes of Romeo and Juliet. They were two people who loved each other deeply, but were destined to never be together. Later in life, Elizabeth was entrapped in a one-sided love with the Earl of Essex which had disastrous consequences for the Earl. This was an engrossing read. Even if you haven't previously read much about Elizabeth, I think that you will still find this interesting. 

Also, if any of you got the reference from the post title, this video is for you (also, the cake is a lie):

The Lady Elizabeth

(Disclaimer: I really am obsessed with Tudor England, and I'm okay with that. This book, however, is historical fiction, and I'm going to review it as such. I'm not going to comment on the veracity of any of the dates or events of the book.)

Elizabeth I remains one of the most fascinating and enigmatic monarchs of all time. Her ascension to the monarchy was unlikely, being not only declared a bastard, but also as third in line to the throne. Although she inherited a country torn apart by religious differences and devastated by debt, she left it as one of the most powerful and culturally advanced in all of Europe.

The Lady Elizabeth by Alison Weir focuses on Elizabeth's life before she became queen. Elizabeth was born to Henry VIII and his second wife, the much-hated, Anne Boleyn. At the beginning of her life she was the heir-apparent, displacing her older sister Mary, who had been declared a bastard upon the dissolution of her mother's marriage to the King. Her charmed reign as the Lady Princess was cut short when her mother was beheaded on charges of treason and her father took his third wife when Elizabeth was just shy of her third birthday. These are the events that set the stage for Elizabeth's childhood.

Young Elizabeth, 1546, by an unknown artist

I think that I would have liked this book better as pure fiction than as historical fiction. The actual events provided a frame-work for the story, but the happenings in-between and some of the characterizations feel off to me. Some points of Elizabeth's characterization struck me as odd, such as her feelings towards her father. While I agree that she loved her father, as all daughters do, her feelings are too simple. This man is not just her father, he is the person that ordered her mother to be beheaded and her to be declared illegitimate. Henry VIII held her fate in his hands. I think that Elizabeth would have loved, hated, and feared her father in equal measure, but that is not how it is portrayed in the book.

Also, without going into too much detail about the plot, I think that the book would have been just fine without the climatic events of what happens between Elizabeth and the Lord Admiral. While it did make for good reading, it did not seem like something that Elizabeth would have let happen. She was, even as a teenager, extremely smart and excruciatingly aware of her position and reputation. I do not think she would forget that in a fit of teenage fancy.

Overall, this book is very good. However, if you're looking for a book to learn more about Elizabeth I, I would look elsewhere. If you have some prior knowledge of the historical Elizabeth (perhaps even from one of Mrs. Weir's historical biographies) then this is a kind of fanciful what-if of her young life. And, if you like historical fiction, then this would be a good read for you.

Review of Tudor: The Family Story

The Tudors were, at best, and unlikely royal family. Their rise to power was part chance, part careful planning, and a copious amount of luck. The beginning of the Tudor dynasty was a lowly squire, with an odd Welsh name, who married a widowed Queen. Through the machinations of their children and, possibly most importantly, their daughter-in-law Margaret Beaufort, their grandson would eventually rise from relative obscurity to become King Henry VII.  The Tudor family would rule England from 1485 until Elizabeth I's death in 1603, through political and religious upheaval. Though they are often defined by some of the radical decision they made, the era of the Tudors helped shaped all the way through the present.

First of all I would like to say the I love English history. I have found the stories of kings and queens of England fascinating since I was a girl and read a biography of Elizabeth I. While I have not read a good historical book in a while, this has really re-immersed my brain into Henrician/Elizabethan England. This book is a wonderful complete view of the Tudor era, covering their beginnings, their rise to power and their fight to keep it. This is an interesting look at not only the monarchs of the period, but the people who helped them get there and the people who wanted them gone. What I most enjoyed about this book is the concise and approachable way it is written. Some history books tend to be extremely dense, but this book avoids that by exploring the personal, as well as political, lives of those involved. However, the one problem I had with it was the same that I have with many history books: with so many names and inherited titles it is sometime extremely difficult to keep all the players straight without an extensive cheat sheet.  

Overall, I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who loves English history or anyone that wants to learn more about English history during this period. This is not just history, it is the story of one of the most remarkable families in English history. 

From left to right: Elizabeth of York, Mary I, Edward VI, Henry VII, Queen Jane Seymour, Elizabeth I, and Henry VII

This review is of an ARC of Tudor: The Family Story received from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.