Elizabeth I: Ruler and Legend [Paperback]

Clark Hulse (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 19, 2003

Making history from the moment of her birth, England's Queen Elizabeth I (1533-1603) was a legend within her own lifetime. To her supporters, Elizabeth I was Gloriana, the Faerie Queene, a dignified and powerful woman who ruled with cunning and skill for forty-four years. To her detractors she was the ruthless supporter of a false religion; the murderer of her cousin Mary Queen of Scots; a wanton woman, herself illegitimate, who sullied the crown with her licentious behaviour. The legends that have grown up around Elizabeth are fascinating, but as this book shows, the truth is just as remarkable.In "Elizabeth I: Ruler and Legend", Clark Hulse brings Elizabeth to life, combining text and images to tell her story through the objects handed down by history. Commemorating the four hundredth anniversary of Elizabeth's death, this handsome volume contains over one hundred photographs of books, manuscripts, maps, letters, paintings, clothing, furniture, and many more artefacts dating from her reign. Each of these objects tells a story, and Hulse uses them as a starting point for a broad and thorough examination of Elizabeth and the society in which she lived.Beginning with an analysis of the political events surrounding her birth, the book describes Elizabeth's relationship with her father, Henry VIII, and the manoeuvring that led to her eventual coronation upon the death of her half-sister Mary Tudor in 1558. As queen, Elizabeth oversaw a period of breathtaking cultural achievement. She kept England from being torn apart by the religious wars raging across Europe, and she withstood both an assassination plot and the massive military threat of the Spanish Armada. This book addresses all these major events, as well as a whole host of lesser-known aspects of Elizabeth's reign. Hulse includes discussions of topics such as the education of Tudor women; markers of identity; portraits of Elizabeth; the queen's speaking style; her interest in America; music at the Tudor court; and literary depictions of Elizabeth by Shakespeare, Spenser, and other poets.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"We cannot get enough of Queen Elizabeth I. For four centuries her image---a blend of courage, vanity, power, and fathomless cunning---has exercised an almost unique fascination. Clark Hulse's lively and learned catalogue places the emphasis exactly where it belongs: on Elizabeth's lifelong fashioning of her own legend. Her rule, and, as she well understood, her survival depended upon her ability to control her representations. Elizabeth I: Ruler and Legend provides a generous sampling of these representations and allows us to gaze upon her with wonder." --- Stephen Greenblatt, Cogan University Professor of the Humanities, Harvard University

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: University of Illinois Press (November 19, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0252071611
• ISBN-13: 978-0252071614
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,554,645 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #95 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > People, A-Z > ( E ) > Elizabeth I

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Elizabeth can not be be separated from the legend that she helped create, November 29, 2007

By 

Deane A. Nelson (VIncennes IN) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Elizabeth I: Ruler and Legend (Paperback)

The last sentence of the book summarizes the excellent thrust of this book. "Elizabeth can not be separated from the legend that she helped create." This book is the companion to the traveling exhibit on Elizabeth I that I was not fortunate to see, but stands on it's own merits.

There has been a plethora of books on Elizabeth I; unfortunately many of them are just chronological listings of events or the author has an agenda or preconceived thesis. This book is stellar in avoiding the usual approach. It is thematic. This book concentrates on the effects of Elizabeth's surroundings on her, and her effect on her surroundings. There two very good reasoned chapters on the religion and sexuality of Elizabeth. The book was meticulously researched and documented and used the figures in the book to visually support the book's themes. A very perceptive, albeit brief, section analyzes how Elizabeth I has been portrayed in cinema. The writing is concise and fluid and to the point.

I give a book on the Elizabethan era or Elizabethan/Shakespeare literature to my family every year as gifts. This is probably the finest.