Elizabeth I: A Life [Paperback]

David Loades (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 23, 2006

Elizabeth I, who reigned over Shakespeare's England and defeated the Spanish Armada, is familiar both from her portraits and as Gloriana, the Virgin Queen. Yet, the reality of her character and her personal attitudes are harder to detect behind the public mask. "Elizabeth I", a major biography by a leading Tudor expert looks in detail behind the public life at the private woman. It treats at length her early years and examines her actions and policies as queen. By any standards, her life was an extraordinary one: her father, Henry VIII, executed her mother, Anne Boleyn, for whose sake he had set up the Church of England; her sister, Queen Mary, came near to having her executed. Coming to the throne in 1558, she remained the only unmarried queen regnant in England's history, holding, for a woman, unprecedented power. She faced major religious and political problems at home and abroad for much of her reign, coping with them by a combination of guile, procrastination and shrewdness. David Loades's biography brings out her remarkable talents and unique achievements.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'Everything a scholarly biography should be, and a good read too.' ~ Richard Rex

"...a balanced and scholarly biography of the Queen's life and reign."

(Contemporary Review )

"...a balanced and scholarly biography of the Queen's life and reign."

(, )

About the Author

David Loades is one of the leading historians of the Tudor monarchy. He is the author of the definitive biography of Elizabeth's half-sister, Mary Tudor: A Life (1989), and of The Tudor Court (second edition, 2003). He is Honorary Research Professor at the University of Sheffield and Director of the British Academy John Foxe Project.

Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Hambledon Continuum (August 23, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1852855207
• ISBN-13: 978-1852855208
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,343,325 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #68 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Historical > British > Elizabeth I