Elizabeth I: Illustrated Edition [Hardcover]

Christopher Haigh (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 30, 2001

• WHY IT WILL SELL

  • Elizabeth I continues to fascinate and intrigue the popular imagination
  • Focuses on her difficult relationships with men
  • Looks at her use of power rather than policies
  • 30 illustrations and new internal and external design.

This is the latest edition of the long time best-seller now with thirty illustrations added and available in a trade hardcover edition. As Elizabeth I, second edition, demonstrates, in the Tudor age it was hard enough to be a king: it was doubly hard to be a queen. Throughout her long reign, Elizabeth's target was survival, and she survived! Elizabeth I, second edition, tells us how.The reign of Elizabeth I was one of the most important periods of expansion and growth in British history, the so called 'Golden Age'. This celebrated and influential study of Elizabeth reconsiders how she achieved this and the ways in which she exercised her power. Elizabeth I second edition, looks at her role in government and the nation and examines Elizabeth in terms of her power rather than her policies, explores her relations with the statesmen of her time and shows how she interacted with the key institutions of sixteenth-century political life. Published in the very popular Profiles in Power series, this is not a biography, though inevitably it contains much biographical material, it instead analyzes the major features, achievements and failures of Elizabeth's career.

Christopher Haigh teaches Modern History at the University of Oxford.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'A sustained reflection on the nature of Elizabethan power that will
challenge historians for a long time to come' History Today "Haigh brings his subject alive with deft touches of humour and provocative comments. His style is always lively, sometimes even racy".Susan Doran "An extraordinarily good book".Journal of Historical Studies

From the Back Cover

 `Controversial, lively and exciting'   History Today     The reign of Elizabeth I is one of the most exciting periods in British History: it is also one of the most controversial.  This celebrated and hugely successful history of Elizabeth's rule is not a conventional biography, but rather a study of the nature of her power and how she used it, through surveys of her relations with Parliament, Council, Church, nobility, the military and the English people.     This new edition is lavishly illustrated and includes a new introduction by Christopher Haigh.     `An extraordinarily good book.'  Journal of Historical Studies.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 243 pages
• Publisher: Longman; 2nd edition (August 30, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0582472784
• ISBN-13: 978-0582472785
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,781,178 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #70 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > People, A-Z > ( E ) > Elizabeth I
  • #92 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Historical > British > Elizabeth I

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good evaluation of Elizabeth's use of power, November 13, 2002

By 

bixodoido (Utah, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Elizabeth I (Profiles in Power) (Paperback)

There are too many biographies of Elizabeth I out there--thankfully this isn't one of them. The author purposely avoided another one, and instead focused on the evaluation of the way the virgin queen used her power. Elizabeth was the last monarch of the Tudor dynasty, and had to rebuild the country after the disastrous reign of Bloody Mary. This book shows how she effectively maintained control of the public, the church, the nobility, the court, the council, and the military, and tells us why Elizabeth was able to hold the throne almost 45 years.

Again, this is not meant to be a biography, so this book assumes that you already have a basic knowledge of Elizabeth's reign. If not, you'll find yourself lost, but if so, you'll learn all kinds of stuff and find yourself looking at this English queen in a whole new light. If you're a student of Tudor England, this one's for you.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Always interesting, October 15, 2000

By 

Isabella U. (Palo Alto, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Elizabeth I (Profiles in Power) (Paperback)

This short book is a good summary of Elizabeth during her reign. It focuses on eight different aspects of her life: the throne, church, nobility, council, court, parliament, military, and her people. It is not very detailed. If you want quick information on the queen, this is the book for you.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Harsh Perspective of Elizabeth I, May 16, 2009

By 

Scaramouche - See all my reviews

This review is from: Elizabeth I (Profiles in Power) (Paperback)

Haigh has a good point about Elizabeth being concerned about her image, but is very harsh in portraying her as simply lucky in what success she has. He argues that she is very indecisive throughout her rule as evidenced particularly in her handling of religion. Unsure as to whether she should acceed to Catholic or Reformist demands, she ended up making concessions for both, to create the more current form of religion. Ultimately, Haigh concludes that as much as Elizabeth I concentrated on her image, she ended her reign relatively unpopular and not as successful as historians have portrayed her in the past. While Elizabeth I's previous historians may have been to generous in their assessments, Elizabeth certainly had more direct effect on her country and rule than Haigh gives her credit for in his work.