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13 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Historical Pleaser, September 7, 2010
This review is from: Elizabeth's Women: Friends, Rivals, and Foes Who Shaped the Virgin Queen (Hardcover)
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Queen Elizabeth One has always been one of my favorite historical figures to read about. Not only was she a strong and determined woman who fought to keep her throne, she did so in a time where men ruled the world and she managed to be wily, courageous enough and stubborn enough to keep her heritage, not to mention intelligent. When I saw this book was up for grabs, I had to read it. I read it in three days as it was that interesting. Elizabeth is a rare figure of history to study and there has been a lot of books written about her through the years. Her allure and mystery still continues today. This book is different from the others I have read. This book is about Elizabeth's intimate friends, the women in her inner circle. The familiar names become even more personal in this book. There is one disappointment though, a lot of these pages are re-hashes of Elizabeth's life and what have been published elsewhere, so there were a lot of familiar reading in this book. But this book does share more details of the women that have the greatest influence on Elizabeth as well as holding power over her court. This book mentions her mother, the infamous Anne Boleyn; her governess, Kit Astley; her sister, Mary, who became queen; her notorious cousin, Queen Mary of Scots; her cousins, the Grey Sisters and so forth. This book is not exactly a flattering book about Queen Elizabeth ... it shows her in her darkest and most insecure moments of life. However, the author did not paint her unfairly because Elizabeth was above all else, a woman who was on the biggest stage of life. There were very few people that saw Elizabeth as she really was, completely make-up free and natural and these were the stories about these women. However, Elizabeth was a harsh queen to live with and these stories show that. At the same time, one can see how loyal these women were to Elizabeth and how richly she rewarded those who were loyal to her (except for the case of Lady Mary Sidney, who contracted smallpox after taking care of the queen when she suffered it). The author paints a woman who kept her cards close to her chest and at the same time, showing her suffering under tremendous strain as a neglected daughter and as a monarch determined to keep her small country together. If you like history, and you like reading about Queen Elizabeth, you will enjoy this book. It does share a lot of the personal details that are lacking in other books about the Tudorian times. Even if you've read the other books on the queen, this book is still different enough for one to appreciate the different insights of Elizabeth's women and friends as well as her rivals. 9/7/10
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12 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Could Have Been Better--Should Have Been Better, October 28, 2010
This review is from: Elizabeth's Women: Friends, Rivals, and Foes Who Shaped the Virgin Queen (Hardcover)
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Elizabeth's Women: Friends, Rivals, and Foes Who Shaped the Virgin Queen by Tracy Borman is a very well researched look at the life and reign of Elizabeth I, queen of England. Daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, Elizabeth's childhood was filled with drama that could easily fill many books and most scholars have already pondered the impact of her mother's beheading had on Elizabeth in her growing up. But what about the step-mothers who followed (there were four more wives after Anne Boleyn's death), Elizabeth's step-sister Mary, and the many servants and aristocratic women both within and beyond England's borders? I was so excited to know that someone was going to explore such a wonderful moment in England's history through the prism of women's experiences. Unfortunately, the feminist in me withered as most of the stories are told from a petty and nearly apolitical position. The Spanish Armada is barely addressed and even when Sir Walter Raleigh makes an entrance, his volatile presence is subjugated to petty flirtations and exploits in the bedroom. The man led a rebellion against his queen and was executed for treason and yet, after reading this book, I know more about his sexual intrigues than I do his political ones. So in spite of the exceptional scholarship, I have to say that I would not recommend this as a primary look at Elizabeth I; rather, I would suggest anyone interested in her life read another book about her and then read this one as a compliment or a slightly different perspective. And for those who are hoping to find loving and empowering relationship between women supported in this text, the few inspiring friendships Elizabeth seemingly had are very few indeed. In fact, one almost gets the sense that her relationships with her male counselors and flirtations with various courtiers held more weight in Elizabeth's life over all. I would barely recommend this book, however, for in spite of the research the editing is so poorly managed as to be insulting. I am appalled that the editor didn't encourage Borman to use any word other than "ensured" (which in my edition is mis-spelled nearly every time as "insured") because Borman clearly is enamored of the word and I literally had to set the book aside because I found it tedious to read. The first time I read that Elizabeth was "incandescent with rage" I snickered at how the prose drew such attention to itself. Given how often Borman uses clichés, why the editor didn't just let her use "flew into a rage" again, especially after allowing the over-use bordering on abuse of "ensure," I was further amused to find that this incandescent rage would manifest on the page more than once. Really? Can't we find another way of saying Elizabeth was angry? Or were we insuring that our reader wouldn't notice how blatant it sounded if it were used more than once? Other issues I had are editorial as well. There is a redundancy of information that could have easily been revised so that the book would read more fluidly. Before Mary, Queen of Scots, escapes to England the reader is told her son, James VI, would have her body properly buried long after her death. But don't worry because you'll read this, dear reader, one more time before Queen Mary of Scots actually is beheaded and buried so just in case you don't remember you've already been told about this Borman and her editor will make sure you read it one more time after the beheading. So shame on her editor for not being more diligent and someone please give the author a thesaurus with the word "ensure" highlighted so she can maybe, just maybe, use another word. Please. So it's a great idea for a book about Elizabeth, even one that is well researched but the execution is lacking and I would encourage and urge anyone interested in learning about Queen Elizabeth I to read another book first, even two or three others, before settling for this one.
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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
The awkward "three star" review...., October 28, 2010
This review is from: Elizabeth's Women: Friends, Rivals, and Foes Who Shaped the Virgin Queen (Hardcover)
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It's awkward to say about a book "It's ok". You should come down authoritatively about its merits or its problems. But, this book, which describes various women who were important to the history of Elizabeth I, is just that - ok. The book discusses a number of women who played an important role in Elizabeth's life: her governess, Kat Ashley, and her waiting women, some of whom were important gatekeepers to the Queen. It also covers politically significant figures, such as her various stepmothers (for her father Henry VIII remarried four times after her birth), her half sister Mary Tudor, who imprisoned Elizabeth in the Tower, and Mary, Queen of Scots, with whom Elizabeth had a long, complex and prickly relationship, which eventually led to Mary's imprisonment and execution. It is a very *thorough*, in that it touches upon almost all of the women who were involved in Elizabeth's long life. The author's choice of historical sources is generally sound, although she seems to defer too much to Agnes Strickland, a Victorian historian who relied on many sources that are no longer considered sound. The real problems are with the structure and thesis of the book. The author tends to jump from topic to topic to topic, so that the book feels a bit fragmented. It is also unclear who the intended audience is. The author assumes a good knowledge of Elizabeth's personality and the time-line of her life. There are many references to future events that may be obscure or confusing if you are not already familiar with Elizabeth's biography. Above all, the book is at odds with the spirit of Elizabeth and her age. She saw herself as an exceptional woman in a man's world, and was energized and excited by playing games of love and power with the men around her. Overwhelmingly, Elizabeth assumed that the women who supported her, such as her governess and waiting women, were simply there to serve her. She thought nothing of taking them for granted, abusing them, even beating them, and arbitrarily sending them into exile. In fact Elizabeth seems not to have liked other woman very much, and wanted a very male world to revolve around her. If you are really interested in the minutiae of Elizabeth's life, this book will probably find a place in your library. Otherwise it isn't a "must read" by any stretch of the imagination. [Joint review by Geoff Arnold and Kate Stout]
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