Customer Reviews

His Last Letter: Elizabeth I and the Earl of Leicester

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Westin taps into the final three years of the dance between Elizabeth I and Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, at the critical moment of her defeat of the Spanish armada off England's coast, finishing Philip's hopes of invasion. Elizabeth has been long immersed in her role as England's Virgin Queen. In chapters that move between the announcement of the earl's death in 1588 and the early years of the passion between Elizabeth and Dudley, Westin perfectly captures the push and pull of a love Elizabeth could never fully own for the sake of her country and her personal vision. The days of youth and beauty past, Elizabeth is comforted by Dudley's unchanging love, that fact that they still see one another in the bright days of their love a balm to her troubled spirit and the indecisiveness that plagues her reign.

Elizabeth has unerring political instincts, but as a woman she suffers greatly for her chosen role, unable to share her crown with any man, even her beloved Dudley. Tormented by his marriages and infidelities, Elizabeth is not so foolish as to deny she has offered him no alternative, the two living with this grim reality, yet unable to be parted. And like moth to flame, hopes of marriage to a queen finally spurned, Dudley devotes himself entirely to Elizabeth's best interests, as tortured as she by their separations and her decision to rule alone. Westin captures the spirit of the times in Elizabeth's Tudor court, the fawning courtiers, the handsome young men who flatter the queen, the growing threat from Spain and the decision whether to behead Mary, Queen of Scots, who never ceases planning treason against Elizabeth.

But the heart of this novel is in the tension between Elizabeth and Robin, who can never be together as equals, their every move watched and reported, an intimacy made unbearable by reality and the demands of the crown. The young Elizabeth comes to life again, terrified of a father who cut off her mother's head, of men whose promises always prove false, of a Catholic sister who imprisons her in the Tower during her reign. This queen has spawned myths, but perhaps none so telling as the love she bears for Robert Dudley. While the impetuous Earl of Essex awaits her favors, even his handsome beauty is eclipsed by Dudley's loyalty. This portrait of Elizabeth is beautifully rendered, the ambivalence of a queen with a woman's heart. Her loneliness is palpable, as is her will as queen. Luan Gaines/2010.

The Virgin Queen of England, Elizabeth I, has depended on the love and support of Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, for thirty years. They were playmates as children, and locked in the Tower together under the reign of Elizabeth's half-sister, Queen Mary. When Mary died, and Elizabeth became Queen, she and her "sweet Robin" were recklessly infatuated with each other. But year after year went by, and though Elizabeth piled gifts and titles upon Robert, she never gave him that which he wanted most - her hand in marriage. Through countless quarrels, Elizabeth's flirtations with the princes of Europe, Robert's marriages, and endless jealousies the two remain united in their hearts. Now, when Elizabeth should be celebrating her great victory over the Spanish armada, she sits silent and lost in memories, holding Leicester's last letter and mourning the loss of her great love.

For the most part, "His Last Letter"focuses on the last three years of Leicester's life, when he and Elizabeth are mostly resigned to their roles in life. He is her most faithful servant; she is the proud Virgin Queen. But the book jumps all over time, as memories are wont to do, so we also see the two lovers throughout their youth, too.

One of my favorite parts of the book was a brief time when Elizabeth toyed with the idea of marrying Leicester to Mary, Queen of Scots. She is so resistant to sharing power that she would never marry Robert herself, but she considers raising him up to be a king in Scotland because no one would protect her interests more loyally. Although the plan never comes to fruition - and Elizabeth admits to herself that she was never entirely serious about it - it really showed just how dedicated Elizabeth was to protecting her position, no matter what the cost would be to her personal life.

More than any other fictional account of Elizabeth's life I've read, Westin also focuses on how Elizabeth's strained relationship with her father damaged her ability to have a normal relationship. In the case of her own mother, and Henry VIII's subsequent wives, the young Elizabeth saw how quickly a woman's lot could change based on the whims of her husband. Queen Elizabeth hoarded her power so jealously partly due to fear that any man she raised up to be her husband would one day be able to cast her aside as her father had done to so many of his women.

A bittersweet tale of a romance that could never be, "His Last Letter" was a fantastic story that explored the fragile balance between Elizabeth, the woman and Elizabeth, the Queen and her consort in all but name, the Earl of Leicester.

Growing up, Princess Elizabeth and Robert Dudley play together as each share a common bond of how fickle life can be in the court of her father King Henry VIII. As young adults, Princess Elizabeth became the Queen and Dudley her beloved "Robin". Everyone expected them to marry, but she was fearful of having a spouse. Ironically that enabled him to have two other wives and many lovers though he would give all up if she married him. Angered by his women though she flirted with men, her jealous Highness at times wished otherwise as she loved her cherished Robin. Yet through all the political and personal chicanery, their love survived even after his death.

The story line is extrapolated from a deathbed love letter Sweet Robin wrote to his beloved middle aged "Virgin Queen" who chooses political sensitivities over personal desires. Although Elizabeth has been the subject of nonfiction and fictional accounts in books and movies, fans who relish historical biographic fiction especially of the British royalty will want to read Jeane Westin's powerful look at the love between the Earl and his queen.

Harriet Klausner

In Jeane Westin's sophomore release she tackles one of the most intriguing love stories in history...that of Queen Elizabeth I of England and Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester.

His Last Letter focuses on the last three years that Elizabeth and Robert were together before his death and alternately goes back to various pivotal points in their relationship. I thought the author did a fantastic job at this, giving the reader glimpses of their tempetuous past and then bringing it back to their final years, showing how those events transformed their relationship (though I wish she would have touched on the death of Robert's wife Amy a bit more).

"Always she must deny her woman's wants, a queen outside, a woman inside."

Westin's characterization of Elizabeth reads true and I felt she gave her a great voice. Not only did Elizabeth have to be strong to survive in a world dominated by men, but she also had a constant battle of wills raging between her head and heart when it came to Dudley. Their bond, forged in childhood, sealed while they were both prisoners in the tower and was tested relentlessly throughout their lives; Elizabeth's wooing of foreign princes to satisfy her council fueled Robert's jealousy, Robert's marriage to Amy Robsart and her subsequent scandalous death and again when Robert secretly married Lettice Knowlys, Elizabeth's cousin, all threatened to shatter their entanglement but their love would prove too deep. Elizabeth would banish him, and in the next breathe send for him to return to her again, never able to be parted long from her sweet Robin.

Engaging, heartfelt and touching, I highly recommend His Last Letter and am very much looking forward to future novels by Jeane Westin.

I was anticipating a new and interesting take on the relationship between Elizabeth I and Robert Dudley when I purchased this book. 25 pages into it, I was muttering out loud, "Yes, I know Robert wants to be with you, but you won't marry him but since you're the queen you get to control him." The author must have written this well known theory 100 times (I may exagerate somewhat but that's what it felt like reading this insipid book.)

His Last Letter was so completely boring that I won't even give it to our annual book drive - I don't want anyone else to have to sit through this book - even if it's free.

His Last Letter opens with the biggest triumph of Elizabeth I's reign: the defeat of the Spanish Armada. They say it could never happen, that the fleet was unsinkable, especially by some fledgling island country led by an unmarried woman who is the daughter of a supposed witch and whore. But they were wrong. Thanks to Elizabeth's less than ethical relationships with pirates, for lack of a better term, such as Sir Francis Drake, she brought England one of its greatest victories and began the decline of the once-great Spanish empire. Everything seemed to be perfect, but it was the furthest thing from for the Queen. The love of her life, the man she was never able to marry, Robert Dudley, was dying.

Through a series of time-jumping flashbacks, author Jeane Westin explores the strange, complex relationship between Queen Elizabeth I, daughter of Henry VIII and the notorious Anne Boleyn, and Robert "Robin" Dudley, the Earl of Leicester. From childhood, all the way through the end of Dudley's life, Elizabeth battles with the tension of her love for Dudley, his need to be with her (his marriage), the complex political webs woven throughout court and the constant issue of Elizabeth's marriage -and her adamant stance that she would never marry and share power, as her father's many marriages had taught her.

Told in compelling, at times nearly poetic prose, Westin paints a believable portrait of forbidden love, genuine romance, political intrigue and the very real difficulties of Elizabeth's reign, ranging from marriage to Mary, Queen of Scots and issues of succession. Weaving together historical details seamlessly with romance, I found myself pulled into the world of Elizabeth and Robin, cheering them on, but always knowing they could never be. I particularly liked how this novel portrayed romance without being too mushy or over the top, but real rather than romanticized.

Apparently, His Last Letter is actually a sequel/follow up to Westin's previous novel, The Virgin's Daughters, which explores the earlier years of Elizabeth I's reign. But even though I haven't read Virgin's Daughters, I had no problem following His Last Letter and being completely drawn into the fascinating, compelling tale of Elizabeth and Robin Dudley. Though sometimes the constant time jumps each chapter got a little confusing, His Last Letter is fabulous historical reading.

I did not appreciate this book's portrayal of Elizabeth I at all. How could a woman as petty and empty-headed as Ms. Westin makes the Virgin Queen out to be hold her throne for so long? Where is the cunning girl who managed to keep her life and claim to the throne intact through incredible threats? Where is the dazzling strategist who did so much to make England what it is today? Where is the shrewd, controlled person Elizabeth proved herself over and over again to be?

In this novel, she is reduced to a snivelling, brainless sop who cares for nothing except her beloved Robin, pining after him continually, bursting into tantrums and threatening his execution at the slightest indiscretion until she is talked down by her calm, wise councillors.

Ridiculous.

Did Elizabeth Tudor throw tantrums? Of course. She was her father's daughter. Did she bask in the devotion and admiration of courtship? Of course. She was her mother's daughter. But did she allow these passions to control her life? Of course not. She was very much her own person, a smart, savvy person who knew how to keep her head.

Whoever the Queen Elizabeth this book centers on is, she certainly is not the woman who gave her name to an age, the woman I've studied and admired most of my life, the woman known to many as Gloriana.

This book is far beneath her.

I have not read Jeane Westin's other book on Elizabeth I. For this book, I am only about half way through. It is interesting enough to finish, but the book isn't pick up and read straight through interesting.

The author uses the chapter headings to tell the reader which perspective is being used for the chapter. I think that is a cheating writing technique. First, why not just pick one perspective and stick to it? Honestly, if the author hadn't cheated and just told it in the chapter headings, there isn't enough writing difference between the two perspectives to signify a change. There is a shift in pronouns from 'he' to 'she', but that is about it. I don't feel like the Leicester perspective is manly enough.

In both perspectives, the overriding theme is, "Oh, I wish I could be with this person." When that is the overwhelming consensus of each and every chapter, it gets boring. The subject matter contains two very dynamic people, and I just think that the story could have been written in a way that better developed their multi-dimensional characters even in the context of the love story. Again, I haven't finished yet.

In 'His Last Letter', Jeane Westin gives readers a nearly exclusive look at the complex relationship between Queen Elizabeth and Robert Dudley the Earl of Leicester by focusing her narrative on several different critical periods in their lives with little attention paid to the queen's other favorites or politics.

Westin's chronology of events is completely out of order; she begins her story describing events that occur in 1588. The story unfolds when Elizabeth or Robert are reminded of something that happened between them years ago and Westin takes us to the past where we learn more about their relationship and the events that recalled us to that time.

At first I found the chronology, or lack there of, distracting and bothersome but once I got a few chapters into the book the order of events wasn't an issue and I could see how the story connected from one point in time to the next and I didn't mind the order of events.

I think the relationship between Elizabeth and Leicester is fascinating and I enjoyed Westin's version of events though I think she was a bit on the sympathetic side in her portrayal of Robert Dudley.

This is a story that I could read many different versions of and not grow tired of, for the mere fact that we'll never really know what was truly between them. We have the speculation of their contemporaries at the time but that can only tell us so much.

If you are looking for a more comprehensive novel on Queen Elizabeth I recommend Susan Kay's Legacy: The Acclaimed Novel of Elizabeth, England's Most Passionate Queen -- and the Three Men Who Loved Her. Which I also enjoyed very much.

Robert Dudley's last letter he wrote to his Queen Elizabeth I has always captivated me. The letter was discovered after Elizabeth passed away. She had kept it in a keepsake box and had written on the outside of it "his last letter". A treasure from the man I view as the only true love of Elizabeth's lifetime. It has have been some time since I have read anything focusing on Elizabeth because I have been a bit burnt out on her lately. "His Last Letter" was just too irresistible for me to pass up. Jeane Westin skated from memory to memory of Robert and Elizabeth's life of turmoil, love, and war. Giving the reader one of the best portraits of Robert and Queen Elizabeth's complicated relationship.

Now as all of you know Robert Dudley was Queen Elizabeth I long time favorite, he passed away sometime before Elizabeth I. I loved Westin's approach; she wisely keeps the story exclusive to the love between the two. Not at one time did it go beyond that and thank goodness because their love is my favorite aspect of Elizabeth's life.

Westin sets the opening act on the eve of Elizabeth's victory celebration of defeating the Spanish armada. Elizabeth starts to wonder were her long time favorite Robert Dudley is. She knew after the victory he was unwell and had him take to the waters at Cornbury for a speedy recovery. When she demanded to know where he was, she received a letter from him that would change her forever. The color in Elizabeth's whole world disolved away when she was told the devastating news that her "eyes" would not be returning to her. Robert was dead and the world froze. Her only real love was gone. Elizabeth Locked herself alone in her room and would admit no one.

My favorite aspect of this book is it is limited to the cream of crop moments that are monumental events in their relationship. Reliving the memories as Elizabeth saw them all the good, the bad, and all the unspoken. Each chapter was a new time period and a change of location, weaving in and out of different memories. The best moments, all of my favorite moments were there, the tower, the coronation, the beheading of Mary, and the victory over Spain. This novel was sent to me by the publisher for review.