Customer Reviews

Elizabeth I (Profiles in Power)

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

 

 

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.

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.

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.