Legacy [Paperback]

Susan Kay (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1987

A Spellbinding Tale of England's Most Passionate Queen-and the Three Men Whose Destinies Belonged to Her Alone.

"Fast-paced...one of the most fascinating monarchs in history."
-New York Times Book Review

"A stupendous achievement...a book that captures
Queen Elizabeth I completely."
-Mainstream Historical

Beloved for its stunning storytelling, Legacy offers an exquisite portrait of the queen who defined an era. Tracing the unlikely path from her tragic childhood to her ruthless confrontations with Mary, Queen of Scots, and capturing in all its glory her brilliant reign as Europe's most celebrated queen, Legacy peels back the layers from a mysterious monarch and satisfies the questions of history.

Winner of the Georgette Heyer Historical Novel Prize and the Betty Trask Award, Legacy gives us Elizabeth the woman: proud, passionate, and captivating in her intensity. She inspired men to love her with bewitching devotion, no matter what the cost, but the depth of her love for England required a sacrifice that would haunt her to the grave.

"Full of dramatic twists and turns, not to mention a scintillating central character and colorful supporting cast. Readers will lose themselves for hours in this richly entertaining novel."
-Booklist

Includes Bonus Reading Group Guide

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Kay's prodigious research buttresses this robust historical romance, winner of Britain's Georgette Heyer Historical Novel Prize and the Betty Trask Prize for a first novel. England's greatest Queen is presented from an intriguing psychological viewpointElizabeth I's need for men and the bondage endured by those she chose. Freely mixing the verifiable with the imagined, Kay traces Elizabeth's rise from lonely childhood to lonely eminence. In the person of Robert Dudley, later Leicester, she creates a romantic fulcrum for Elizabeth's womanliness, delineating the childhood affection for Dudley that flowered in clandestine liaison and may be the closest Elizabeth came to a loving relationship. All of the Court's intriguing personnelfrom the ubiquitous, conniving Cecils to the presumptive upstart, Essexare drawn with care; the turbulence of the period, filled with violent deaths, challenges from abroad, pragmatic liaisons, is conveyed with verisimilitude; the rich tapesty of the Tudor ascendancy is woven with colorful threads. It is, however, the depiction of a woman of whom "half the wives of England were jealous" that lingers. Literary Guild main selection.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Through shrewdness, intelligence, cunning, and not a little luck, Elizabeth I ruled England for more than 40 turbulent years. Author Kay has chosen this extraordinary life as the focus of her first novel. Although she has obviously done sufficient research to portray the basics of Elizabeth's story with accuracy, Kay's interpretation of events reads like a soap opera. Love, lust, and sexual passion dominate, sometimes at the expense of historical truth. Readers who value a serious view of history will pass this by, but romance fiction fans will enjoy it. Expect demand, since this is a selection of two book clubs. Literary Guild main selection; Doubleday Book Club alternate. Patricia Altner, Dept. of Defense Lib., Bolling Air Force Base, Washington,
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 647 pages
• Publisher: Avon Books (Mm) (April 1987)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 038070322X
• ISBN-13: 978-0380703227
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (46 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #439,851 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I'd give it 10 stars if I could!!, October 23, 2006

By 

Misfit (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

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This review is from: Legacy (Paperback)

AWESOME! An absolutely brilliant portrayal of Elizabeth I. The only thing I've ever seen come close to capturing Elizabeth so clearly and brilliantly is the old Masterpiece Theatre series on PBS done back in 70's or 80's with Glenda Jackson. All the charaterizations in the book are incredibly well drawn and detailed, particulary Elizabeth, Dudley and Cecil.

The author also has a wonderful way of describing the times, the scenes, the clothes, etc. The author's opinions on Elizabeth's virginity (or lack thereof) and as to who killed Amy Dudley are very intriguing. Anyone interested in reading about this very complex and powerful Queen should put this on their reading list. With the resurgence in popularity of historical fiction and all things English, I can't imagine how this incredible book can be out of print. As another reviewer wrote, go and and it now.

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Comparable to Margret George's work on Henry VIII, the best novel on Elizabeth I I have ever read, July 18, 2006

By 

Lilly Flora "by Lilo Drandoff" (Portland, OR) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Legacy (Paperback)

This is without a doubt the premier novel about Queen Elizabeth the first I have ever read and it is a shame that it is out of print. No author I believe, has come close to Ms. Kay at presenting Elizabeth and those who were around her as true people with all of the jealousy's, faults and joys that really were in their lives. And she does in a style of writing I love the most. Epic, large scale and all encompassing (and quite a bit with Dudley and romance included, which always makes me happy.)

Elizabeth is hard to write fiction about I think, but that doesn't stop people from trying. As a subject for a bio epic she's perfect-the woman was both the luckiest and unluckiest woman in the world in her lifetime and brought all other powers in Europe to their knees. Not to mention the many rumors in her life. What happened with Admiral Seymour? Did Robert Dudley murder his wife Amy so he could marry Elizabeth? Did she and Dudley ever consummate their love? And what was the deal with Essex?

Read it and find out. Five stars to a great novel. The best, most realistic (as apposed to romanticized) version of her life I have ever read. In fact, one of the better books I have ever read.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Favorite Elizabeth I fiction, April 13, 2006

By 

wkbee (NY, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Legacy (Paperback)

Absolutely my favorite fictional recounting of Elizabeth's story. I especially appreciated the way the author didn't limit herself to Elizabeth's perspective, but also offered the perspectives of others in her life, including, to name just a few, her mother, Cecil, Dudley and Mary Queen of Scots. This created a much more well-developed character than I've seen elsewhere; a character whose actions good and bad are strongly influenced and explained by the vicissitudes of her childhood and young adulthood. So many historical novels romanticize their protagonists, creating a one-dimensional hero out of a real person. I've always thought that that creats a cognitive dissonance for the reader because there is no way to similarly gild the historical characters' less attractive deeds. This Elizabeth is a complex and realistic character who, while not sanitized, is still highly sympathetic.