Elizabeth: The Struggle for the Throne [Hardcover]

David Starkey (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 21, 2000

An abused child, yet confident of her destiny to reign, a woman in a man's world, passionately sexual -- though, as she maintained, a virgin -- Elizabeth I was to be famed as England's most successful ruler. This brilliant new biography, by concentrating on the formative early years -- from her birth in 1533 to her accession in 1558 -- shows how her experiences of danger and adventure formed her remarkable character and shaped her opinions and beliefs. A uniquely absorbing tale of one young woman's turbulent, courageous and seemingly impossible journey towards the throne, it is the story of the making of a queen.

In growing up, Elizabeth experienced every vicissitude of fortune and every extreme of condition. She was three years old at the time of her mother's execution; when she was a young woman, her step-father cut her dress off of her with a knife. She had been Princess and inheritrix of England -- then bastardized and disinherited. At sixteen she was the head of a great princely household. Yet she was also an accused traitor on the verge of execution. Amid all this, she had mastered the most advanced classical curriculum of the day. But it was her lessons in the school of life that mattered more -- and that taught her her humanity.

David Starkey re-creates a host of extravagant characters, madcap schemes and tragic plots, while using original documents to point up the importance ofthe rituals of power and life at court. He writes with exceptional clarity about religion and constitutional history. Elizabeth, whose own Protestant faith was personal and sophisticated, was extremely judicious in her handling of Reform, as in her choice of advisors and councilors. Here, too, is a fresh view of the famous rivalry between the daughters of Henry VIII: the pious Catholic Mary and her clever sister. While Elizabeth remained utterly devoted to her father, she was also determined not to lose her opportunity for power -- and not to make the same mistakes as Mary. The skill with which she achieved her goal proved to be a sign that England had reached a watershed moment in its history. Starkey's close attention to detail and vivid storytelling ability combine to produce a narrative of these extraordinary years that reads like a novel. Meticulously researched and enormously compelling, Elizabeth is a masterpiece of biography.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, Good Queen Bess; Elizabeth I holds a unique place in the English imagination as one of the nation's most powerful, charismatic, and successful monarchs. Elizabeth usually is imagined as the icy, untouchable figure, re-created memorably on screen by Bette Davis and Dame Judi Dench, but that vision of Elizabeth ignores the turbulent years of her early life, from her birth as the daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn in 1533 until her accession to the throne in 1558 after the death of her sister Mary. It is these early years that are the subject of David Starkey's fascinating Elizabeth, which was written to accompany the television series about her life.

Starkey argues that Elizabeth, in her first 25 years, "had experienced every vicissitude of fortune and every extreme of condition. She had been Princess and inheritrix of England, and bastard and disinherited; the nominated successor to the throne and an accused traitor on the verge of execution; showered with lands and houses, and a prisoner in the Tower". He draws on his skills as a respected Tudor historian to produce a deft account of the religious, political, and dynastic maelstrom of mid-16th-century England that reads "like a historical thriller." The book carefully picks its way through the finer points of contemporary religious conflict and the peculiarities of Tudor court ceremony, while exploring also the formation of Elizabeth's character in relation to a murdered mother, a charismatic father, a tortured sister, and a predatory guardian. Highly readable, and written with verve and pace, this is a fascinating account of the young Elizabeth. --Jerry Brotton, Amazon.co.uk

From Publishers Weekly

The Virgin Queen's posthumous retinue of admirers is threatening to outnumber the acolytes who surrounded her in life; here, in a very accessible way, Cambridge University historian Starkey (The Inventory of King Henry VIII etc.) addresses Elizabeth's young life in all of its "aching vulnerability," following her from childhood into the earliest years of her reign. Eschewing the evocative extravagance of Alison Weir's Life of Elizabeth I, this book's 44 brief chapters move crisply. Starkey's account is innocuously populist: he aspires to telling "a wonderful adventure story," in which allegations of childhood sexual abuse at the hands of Elizabeth's stepfather, Thomas Seymour, remain more spicy than disturbing. Still, despite his admission that he himself has half fallen for Elizabeth, what separates Starkey from other popular historians of the reign is his resolute avoidance of sentimentality. He presents us with a hard-headed queen, quite capable of chopping off the right hand of an obstreperous pamphleteer. He steers clear of the temptation to romanticize her as a national savior, suggesting that the restored Catholicism of the preceding reign (once described by a historian as "the least English episode in our history") was no less quintessentially English than Elizabethan Protestantism, itself eventually destined to degenerate into intolerance. 16 pages of color illustrations not seen by PW. (Dec. 2)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: Harper; 1st edition (November 21, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060184973
• ISBN-13: 978-0060184971
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.5 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (46 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,029,984 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #46 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > People, A-Z > ( E ) > Elizabeth I
  • #52 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Historical > British > Elizabeth I

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

53 of 58 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A biography of the young Elizabeth I for the new century, November 28, 2000

By 

CYNTHIA ABEL (OMAHA, NE USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Elizabeth: The Struggle for the Throne (Hardcover)

Starkey brings his expertise on the Tudor era for a new look at the young Elizabeth I from her birth through her coronation and the religious settlement that set the tone of her reign.

Most intrigingly, Starkey convincingly argues that Elizabeth had a relatively secure childhood, adored her father(and had good reason to), was not a helpless princess-in-waiting, but a great magnate in her own right by adulthood, with a sizable affinity, and probably did plot or condone her servants plotting against her sister, Mary I. These are just a few of the conclusions Starkey draws about Elizabeth, using surviving contempory documents and evidence.

There are a few flaws to the book: most noticeably, Starkey uses some modern slang and comparisions that may well yank the absorbed reader from Elizabeth and her world that he otherwise so throughly draws. Tudor history amateurs, like myself, will spot Starkey's incorrectly stating Anne Boleyn had dark auburn hair and other small details as disturbing. Also when discussing Elizabeth's Protestanism under her brother Edward and paying especial attention to the simple, modest wardrobe, Elizabeth adapted as a Protestant symbol of proper womanhood, Starkey does not point out how revolutionary such simple and plain dress was for royalty, who were expected historically to pile on rich fabrics and jewels as their right, but how much it saved Elizabeth in costs. Starkey also fails to mention that in the early years of her reign, Elizabeth continued to dress herself fairly understatedly(again saving money in the years England was rebuilding itself from debt to solvency). But this is an altogether reccomended biography for those unfamiliar with the early years of Elizabeth I.

52 of 57 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good and Bad points, April 17, 2001

By 

A. Maxham "Just trying to help..." - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Elizabeth: The Struggle for the Throne (Hardcover)

I very much admire Mr. Starkey's purpose in writing this book. He makes the case in the beginning of the book that much ado is made of Elizabeth's Gloriana years- the near-stereotypic years of Elizabeth in white face and huge ruff, draped and dripping in pearls. However, not as much information has been provided concerning her early development as a child, and really, as a human being. This exploration of the psychological development and its influence on later life does seem to be the new popular wave in biographies- "The People You Thought You Knew," and all that. I was very excited by the prospect of the additional detail and attention paid to this more-neglected period in Elizabeth's life.

Did he succeed- Well, yes. Sort of. If you've never read anything about Elizabeth, I can't say I really recommend this book as a starter- I think I'd start with another book- perhaps the books by Alison Weir? Her book on the children of Henry VIII covers much the same ground and other detail as this one, and she has another book focusing on the totality of Elizabeth's life. These may be a better initial orientation.

However, if you are familiar with Elizabeth's life- there is some new and interesting discussion in here- learning more about when famous paintings were painted, the history of clothing in those paintings, dispelling myths (or at least making an argument for dispelling them), and the re-interpretation of communications (Eg: When Elizabethe complains of being ill-used by her family, she probably didn't mean "family" in the modern sense of biological family (i.e., the Queen Mary), but instead the 1500's meaning of family, which referred to the staff and help who lived with her.)

There is some frustration in the support of assertions in the book. For example, Starkey will be making a point about a speech, discussing how important it is, or that it really set the stage for X to happen- and then- nothing, or perhaps very little information about the text of this important speech. I'd flip back and forth thinking maybe I missed it, but, alas... Perhaps I'm too used to sound-bites- this is possible. But frequently I was left with an impression of the importance of an event, without a good feel for the content.

The biggest problem with this book is the writing. For starters, the editing could be better- for example, on p. 218 the word "enjoy" is used instead of "envoy," unless "enjoy" is some British word for "diplomat" that I'm not familiar with (as a side note- we all make mistakes, but that's what editors are FOR if you have one!). More disturbing- the sentences are SO choppy, and it does interrupt the flow of the read. (p. 279, "Elizabeth and Cecil found themselves in a mess. And they had only themselves to blame. For they had hopelessly underestimated the effectiveness of the lords' resistance.")

Bottom line: if you've never read a book on Elizabeth, there are better places to start. This work really focuses on the first 25 years or so of her life. If you have read books on Elizabeth, this is a relatively quick read and makes some interesting arguments. But get ready. To read somewhat choppy sentences. Assuming that doesn't bother you. It's worth reading. But I want to set your expectations.

44 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good attempt but dissapointing in accuracy, January 3, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Elizabeth: The Struggle for the Throne (Hardcover)

I couldn't wait to read this book. When I finally got a copy, I settled down and read for many hours. I was disappointed in what I found. The dust jacket praises the book as "meticulously researched." If it was, then why on page 12-13 does the author find it a quirk of history that Henry VIII's love letters to Anne Boleyn wound up in the Vatican Library? Scholars of Anne Boleyn and Katherine of Aragon know that the letters got there during Henry's attempts at divorce - they were sent there by the Spanish faction to help persuade the Pope that Henry's real motives for a divorce were less than aboveboard. Reading further, I found more and more mistakes, such as the one about Anne Boleyn's hair color. In one instance he even confused two of Henry's wives (Anne Boleyn and Anne of Cleves, perhaps an editing mistake). I realize that it is a huge task to try and condense any history of Elizabeth into a short book (a little over 300 pages, my favorite book about Elizabeth is over 700 pages), but that does not excuse the mistakes.