Heretic Queen: Queen Elizabeth I and the Wars of Religion [Hardcover]

Susan Ronald (Author)

Book Description

Release date: August 7, 2012

Acclaimed biographer Susan Ronald delivers a stunning account of Elizabeth I that focuses on her role in the Wars on Religion—the battle between Protestantism and Catholicisim that tore apart Europe in the 16th Century

 

Elizabeth’s 1558 coronation procession was met with an extravagant outpouring of love. Only twenty-five years old, the young queen saw herself as their Protestant savior, aiming to provide the nation with new hope, prosperity, and independence from the foreign influence that had plagued her sister Mary’s reign. Given the scars of the Reformation, Elizabeth would need all of the powers of diplomacy and tact she could summon.

 

Extravagant, witty, and hot-tempered, Elizabeth was the ultimate tyrant. Yet at the outset, in religious matters, she was unfathomably tolerant for her day. “There is only one Christ, Jesus, one faith,” Elizabeth once proclaimed. “All else is a dispute over trifles.” Heretic Queen is the highly personal, untold story of how Queen Elizabeth I secured the future of England as a world power. Susan Ronald paints the queen as a complex character whose apparent indecision was really a political tool that she wielded with great aplomb.

Editorial Reviews

Review

''This is a compulsive, engaging, and vivid history . . . The drama of the English Reformation comes alive.'' --Alison Weir, New York Times bestselling author

''A triumph.'' --Antonia Fraser, New York Times bestselling author

''A searing account of the dark underside of the Elizabethan golden age. Susan Ronald has written a devastating and important reminder of the long, hard road from religious strife to accommodation.''--Amanda Foreman, New York Times bestselling author of The World on Fire and The Duchess

''Ronald deftly pulls together a vast amount of historical research into a compelling narrative that's essential reading for anyone interested in the strife-torn world in which this most fascinating queen used both wits and diplomacy to safeguard her kingdom, despite almost insurmountable odds.'' --Publishers Weekly (starred review)

''Moving from adventures on the high seas to the wars of religion that plagued sixteenth-century England, Ronald serves up a worthy sequel to The Pirate Queen . . . Meaty history wrapped in a palatable biographical format.'' --Booklist

''An illuminating portrait of the twenty-five-year-old woman who led England through religious and political crises with diplomacy, vision and pure force of will.'' --Kirkus Reviews --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

About the Author

Born and raised in the United States, SUSAN RONALD has lived in England for more than twenty-five years. She is the author of The Pirate Queen, The Sancy Blood Diamond, and France: Crossroads Of Europe. Ronald owns a film production company and is a screenwriter and film producer. Visit her online at www.susanronald.com.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press (August 7, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312645384
• ISBN-13: 978-0312645380
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.4 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #843,369 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #33 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > People, A-Z > ( E ) > Elizabeth I
  • #38 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Historical > British > Elizabeth I

More About the Author

Susan Ronald was born in Los Angeles but has lived most of her adult life in Europe - six years in France and over twenty-five years in England. History and translating it into commercially viable projects has been her lifeblood for the past thirty years. HERETIC QUEEN (August 2012) is her fourth published book and the final history she intends to write on Elizabeth I. She has recently completed her first novel SHAKESPEARE'S DAUGHTER which is currently in final edits and which will hopefully be published next year.

With her husband, Dr Doug Ronald (YOUNG NELSONS), Susan owns a film production company called Green Gaia Films (www.greengaiafilms.co.uk) which marries their love of fascinating people of the past and history.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 25 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting and Informative August 27, 2012

By Karen

Format:Hardcover

Susan Ronald's Heretic Queen often reads more like historical fiction than historical biography (this is meant as a compliment). She can be descriptive and gossipy, as well as scholarly. Heretic Queen tells of Elizabeth's efforts to form a balanced kingdom, politically and religiously (the two being related). The author writes in short, pacy chapters and sub-chapters which means the book is a page turner (but can also be dipped in and out of). At times, these chapters have somewhat fantastical titles; `The Puritan Underworld of London' as an example, yet Ronald seldom fails to deliver on the content. Elizabeth naturally dominates the narrative but Heretic Queen also encompasses other influential figures from the period, both foreign and domestic, to create interesting and informative read.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Become a believer October 6, 2012

By S. S. Felzenberg

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

The author has crafted a detailed and engrossing perspective of the forces that shaped the Western world during the reign of the Tudors. Interesting perspectives presenting in exciting tales. Learned a lot. Thoroughly educational and enjoyable. Very well-written.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Phenomenal! April 1, 2013

By Marjorie Bliss

Format:Hardcover

I love history, but have always been reluctant to buy books on the Tudor era. So much has been on TV and so much has been written that I thought -- wrongly -- that there was nothing more to learn. This book is insightful in a way that brings alive the problems Queen Elizabeth faced in maintaining an independent England. Set against the backdrop of the English Reformation and the European civil wars that raged during her reign, I understand for the first time just how challenging was back then. Ronald has written a masterpiece that will not age.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Liz Lite March 29, 2013

By Lawrence Meyer

Format:Hardcover

I've made it about half way through and its going back to the library. The author seems to lack sufficient scholarship in the religious history of the time to command the subject she's addressing. Elizabeth comes off as a contemporary moderate English feminist wending her way through burning stakes. One reviewer has described it as more like fiction than history. Very true. It's more like Barbara Cartland than Barbara Tuchman.

What, for example, do you make of this sentence? "Since the beginning of the sixteenth century, there had been a male fascination with the female form, a male need to understand the maternal body's secrets and how a woman could represent both the innocent nourishment of maternity and man's bestial desires."

What idea is that supposed to get across? Since I assume the author would grant that male fascination with the female form started sometime before 1500, what exactly about that fascination had taken a new direction at 1500? I have no idea nor does she make it clear.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Heretic Queen, by Susan Ronald January 13, 2013

By DH

Format:Hardcover

There is a very glaring historical error in this book. On page 77 of the hardcover US edition, as well as on page 99, the author refers to Lady Margaret Douglas, mother of Henry, Lord Darnley, as "the elder sister of Henry VIII" and as "Elizabeth I's aunt." This is a ghastly error. Margaret Tudor, elder sister of Henry VIII, died in 1541. Her first marriage was to James IV of Scotland. Their son was James V of Scotland. His daughter, with Marie de Guise, was Mary, Queen of Scots. It was through her grandmother, Margaret Tudor, that Mary derived her claim to the throne of England. Margaret Tudor's second husband was Archibald Douglas, Earl of Angus. Their daughter was Lady Margaret Douglas. She married Matthew Stewart, Earl of Lennox. Their eldest son was Henry, Lord Darnley, who married Mary Queen of Scots. Therefore, Darnley and Mary shared Margaret Tudor as a grandmother, and both derived their claims to the English throne from her, which is one of the many reasons Elizabeth opposed the match. Therefore all references in this book to Lady Margaret Douglas should refer to her as Elizabeth I's first COUSIN rather than her aunt. The lack of understanding of this fundamental fact, ie where Mary Stuart derived her claim to the throne of England, puts all the the information in the book in doubt.

4.0 out of 5 stars Religion at it's worst!!! March 7, 2013

By ganddw42

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

"The Heretic Queen" by Susan Ronald. The story of Queen Elizabeth I and the wars revolving around the years following England's departure from Catholicism. It is an account of Elizabeth's problems with the Catholic Church in retaining her countries Protestant flavor. But, I often get the impression from reading this account that Elizabeth I literally shoved Protestantism down her subjects throats in order to attain her goals of making England a Protestant country. No other religious belief was tolerated at the time. It wasn't until the 18 hundreds that Catholicism was no longer illegal in England. In this case the Protestant religion was the Anglican religion that is very similar to Catholicism without the Pope. So similar that the Puritan's (which were a form of Anglican) totally rejected it as too Popish. They believed in a more ritual free staid form of the religion. They were also an outlaw religion at the time that was punishable by imprisonment and worse. As a result many left for the new world and the America's. So they could practice their religion in peace, only to become just as tyrannical as Elizabeth and not allow any other religion but the Puritan religion. So, it's a primarily a prelude to our own history. And gives a good account of the climate in Europe at the time. And what the average American needs to know about our own history.
In ways, I can see why this was a necessity, Elizabeth's reign was constantly being threatened by Catholic usurpers for her power. But, in other ways she doesn't appear to be any more religiously tolerant than the Pope and the Catholic church. I realize that's only my opinion which doesn't mean much. And appears to have been equally brutal in dealing with any differing opposition to her chosen religious belief.... Many a Catholic met their fate on the gallows and were drawn and quartered. Some of the tortures inflicted upon assassin's as well as hapless religious victims is enough to sicken even the strongest stomach. It was a very turbulent era in history. With the world changing when it came to religion and one faction trying to stop any change. And the other faction trying to shove a change upon everyone.
The only criticism I have for the book there are times that it drags. But, invariable a more interesting point shows up to keep the reader interested. But, it is a good account of the religious upheaval of the day. The endless wars over religion. So one has to stick with it in order to make it through the book.
The whole book gives one a whole new appreciation for our Separation of Church and State and ability to worship without government interference. And makes one glad they are able to live in a country where we have freedom of religion and freedom from religion. So I see this book as must for those who do not see any need for a Separation of Church and State. It gives the reader a good taste of what it might be like if we did not have a Separation of Church and State and the government were allowed to regulate or dictate religion. It's religious intolerance at its absolute worst on all accounts. Not one faction being any worse than the other. Read more ›