Customer Reviews

Elizabeth I

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Anne Somerset's version of Elizabeth I is thoroughly researched and presented in exacting detail, but despite the minutiae, it is still an interesting read. Somerset expends some space on the details of everyday Tudor life, but this book is primarily an historical work, describing court intrigues, treasonous conspiracies and international incidents in presenting a complete overview of the most important political events of the era. Readers wanting a simple understanding of Elizabethan politics could probably find an easier volume to read, but Somerset's style is quite interesting, and serious students of history will enjoy this work immensely.

This book is not light-weight reading. It's quite thick at 575 pages of fine text. It does, however, cover extremely well Elizabeth's reign and puts many of her decisions in their social context.

The author has relied heavily on primary sources for this work and they give a "flavour" to the time Elizabeth lived in. You end up with a good feel for Elizabeth's mercurial personality. Her chronic indecisiveness and hatred of being forced into a decision. The mine-field of international politics, when phones and TV didn't exist. Second-guessing the opposition, or trying to prevent an opposition from forming.

For an in-depth view of Elizabeth's life, reign and era this book is up there at the top of the list, if you can take the time to read it.

I've read almost a dozen books on the Tudors and this is the best on Elizabeth I. Although I usually get my doses of the Tudors from Alison Weir and Antonia Fraser, Anne Somerset has truly written and organized a beautiful book. An impressive work -- better than any other I've read on the world's greatest monarch.

This is an insightful and fascinating look into the age of Elizabeth I: not only does the author explore her complex private life, but her techniques of holding and exercising power and diplomacy - always mixed together - are examined with a depth that never romanticises this remarkable leader.

The story begins with a frightening look into the battle for succession. Her half-sister, Bloody Mary, at the moment is attempting to re-convert the country with ruthless brutality to the Catholicism of her mother, whom Henry VIII divorced to marry Anne Boleyn, E I's mother. Thus, E I faced not only the normal suspicion of treasonous intent between bitter blood rivals with a personal twist, but also was open in her protestantism during the bloodiest epoch of the Reformation. While E I survived and was crowned as queen, the legitimacy of her claim was always under threat - her difficult though charismatic Catholic cousin, Mary Queen of Scots, served as a living reminder of how easily E I might be replaced on the throne. E I survives, of course, and more or less triumphs over all her adversaries, but she was never bloodthirsty.

Behind this basic plot, Somerset masterfully dissects the machinery of government of the time. As an absolute sovereign, E I had the last word, but she relied on a series of deeply trusted advisors as well as a network of courtiers, with whom she forged extremely close (perhaps physical) relationships. They form a fascinating backdrop as the story unfolds with their attempts to manipulate while serving her. It is as complex as a Shakespearean drama and yet Somerset is wonderfully even-handed in her treatmet of them all, from Cecil and Dudley to the deranged and dangerous step son of Dudley. E I's missteps, pride, and personal need for attention and love are criticially covered in just the right level of detail: not academically over-exhaustive, but satisfyingly complete nonetheless. After reading this, I went to the National Portrait Gallery in London and immensely enjoyed looking at paintings of virtually all of the characters. Finally, the finances of the Kingdon, so interlinked with the patronage system she managed to keep her aristocrats happy, are explained in perfect detail that is never excessive. There is also a clear explanation of E I's carefully engineered religious compromise as embodied in the Anglican Church.

Then there are the details of E I's diplomacy: she held out the prospect of marriage as a tool of this, ever enticing suitors, but never quite committing. It was a brilliant balancing act, in which she often felt personally vulnerable and perhaps even hopeful of finding a love match, while ever cunningly manipulative. This was perhaps the most fascinating for me, with characters surpassing her courtiers, such as the Duke d'Anjou, who preferred men and was later a transvestite before being murdered as the French King. But there were score of others, including Philip II, her great rival in Spain and former brother-in-law, whose Armada she crippled to make England a true world power with new naval techniques.

Warmly recommended. THis is a masterpiece of popular scholarship, beautifully written, and elegantly subtle as well as demandingly critical. It is the perfect supplement to those who enjoyed Cate Blanchett's Elizabeth. The only thing that I would have wanted in this is a more in-depth cultural explanation of the Age she was identified with, but that would be a book in itself.

Anne Somerset's biography on Queen Elizabeth I, was the first historical biography I had ever read. I became interested in finding out more about the famous red-haired monarch from the Hollywood version of her life, in the film "Elizabeth". I knew the film version had taken some license with the historical record, but I felt that the more accurate and less glamorous story about Elizabeth, the monarch, had to be interesting as well.

The story of Queen Elizabeth, both as a historical figure and a woman of 16th century England, is a interesting one and Anne Somerset makes it an easy and thoroughly enjoyable read. She goes into great detail and has many annotations to support her statments about Elizabeth, yet at the same time, the reader doesn't feel as if she is reading a scholarly work. It was such a pleasure to read and I found it difficult to put down.

For those of you out there who are either intimidated by biographies and other books about historical figures, or think them dull, this is a great place to start your journey into these kinds of books.

I thought Somerset's Elizabeth I was an excellent biography. At almost every turn you were loaded with so many little facts and intricacies that seemed to go off on another tangent but somehow ended up where it began and leaving you with an even better understanding of the topic.

What I liked was how Somerset presented the information. She was not in awe, and her writing was straightforward and no-nonsense. She didn't try to make Elizabeth seem more than a person, and she included all the aspects of the woman's personality, including an outrageous vanity and an almost childlike stubborness.

While, of course, a biography of Elizabeth I, it is not so much about her, but of every person that had a factor in her life, including a weak, disastrous older sister and queen, a father desperate for sons, the queen's favorite but court-despised Dudley, and her tumultous relationship with her cousin, Mary Stuart.

From start to end, its only purpose is to be as informative as possible, and though it may occasionally wander, it is filled with detail and research, which is all one can truly ask of such a book.

Who is the most important monarch in English history? The case could be made for a number of different figures, from William the Conqueror through Victoria, with a number of other significant figures, including Henry II, Edward I, Henry V and Henry VIII. To me, however, the most important monarch was Elizabeth I, last of the Tudors, who reigned in the second half of the 16th Century.

Anne Somerset's even-handed biography follows Elizabeth's entire life, from her birth - a disappointment to her father Henry VIII who wanted a son - through the dangerous years under the reign of her sister Mary (whose brutality earned her the title "Bloody Mary), to her own lengthy term as queen.

Upon assuming the throne, there was a lot of doubt that a woman could handle the position; in the half-millennium since William I, there had only been two female heads-of-state - Matilda and Mary - and neither had been very successful. Elizabeth, however, would prove quite effective; this would not exactly be a success for women's rights, but instead just placed the throne beyond sex to some extent. During her reign, the religious nature of England itself was transformed, the country became a greater European power and from a cultural standpoint - most notably through the rise of Shakespeare - her reign was a period of growth.

Somerset is a good if not spectacular author, covering Elizabeth's life in great detail. Although a positive biography overall, Somerset does not shy away from the negatives. The marriage intrigues, the battles with Spain and France, the incomplete romances with Essex and others, the complicated relationship with Mary Queen of Scots...all are covered. If you want a good, detailed account of Elizabeth's life, this book will fit the bill.

Anne Somerset's biography on Queen Elizabeth I, was the first historical biography I had ever read. I became interested in finding out more about the famous red-haired monarch from the Hollywood version of her life, in the film "Elizabeth". I knew the film version had taken some license with the historical record, but I felt that the more accurate and less glamorous story about Elizabeth, the monarch, had to be interesting as well.

The story of Queen Elizabeth, both as a historical figure and a woman of 16th century England, is a interesting one and Anne Somerset makes it an easy and thoroughly enjoyable read. She goes into great detail and has many annotations to support her statments about Elizabeth, yet at the same time, the reader doesn't feel as if she is reading a scholarly work. It was such a pleasure to read and I found it difficult to put down.

For those of you out there who are either intimidated by biographies and other books about historical figures, or think them dull, this is a great place to start your journey into these kinds of books.

This is an excellent book and a lively and interesting read. Anne Somerset gives an insight into all sides of the character of Elizabeth. Her moods and feelings, (she was renowned at the time for her short temper), both as a woman and a Queen.

The glamour of the Tudor court and what it was like to be in or out of favour in a clique where a careless word could in some cases cost you your life.

Elizabeth did not suffer fools gladly and the book examines her religious feelings, her sexuality and the way she dealt with conflicts both at home and abroad in what was essentially a man's world. Elizabeth was nobody's fool and although she would listen to her advisers, she had a mind of her own, shrewd and extremely intelligent, and was quite capable of using her authority as monarch to make important decisions for herself.

The book is a delight for anyone with the slightest interest in history.

I had never read a historical biography before, and I had no idea a book like this could be such a page turner. I could hardly put it down! Somerset does a superb job placing this brilliant monarch in the context of her time period. She goes into detail about court intrigues, political strife, and personal relationships. I found the book much more exciting and dramatic than the movie. after reading this book, I felt that I understood not just Elizabeth better, but the whole Elizabethan era. To top things off, Somerset's style is easy to read. The book is well researched and objective; never over romanticizing or over criticizing. Plus, it's a thick book so you get more for your money. I would have liked to hear more about the Queen's supposed virginity (Somerset goes with the Virgin Queen angle) but I'd still pick this book over Allison Weir any day.