Customer Reviews

The Redheaded Princess: A Novel

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In Rinaldi's spectacular new book for young adults, she's moved beyond American history to British, and the tale of a young redheaded girl who yearned to be queen.

Despised by her father and sister, shoved aside by the nation's leaders, and motherless, young Elizabeth I grows up at her country estate where she learns from a young age the dangers of crossing paths with monarchs. She realizes that even though her sister and her brother stand between her and the Crown, she will one day be queen.

THE REDHEADED PRINCESS is her sharp, fast-paced, and beautifully wrought story of how that came to be.

Wonderfully detailed and breathtakingly accurate, this is perhaps the most engaging book that tells of Elizabeth's plights and triumphs.

Reviewed by: The Compulsive Reader

This story begins in England in the year 1542, when Elizabeth is nine years old. Although she is the daughter of King Henry VIII, she is not officially recognized as a princess because she, along with her other half-siblings Edward and Mary have fallen out of their father's favor. Instead, she lives as Lady Elizabeth, head of the household at Hatfield with her nanny. Throughout her childhood she rarely visits her father at the palace.

Many people say that she is very much like her father; this pleases her, but also makes her uneasy. After all, King Henry beheaded her mother! Watching her father's relationships with so many women, Elizabeth learns that marriage while on the throne only seems to complicate things and vows to remain single when she eventually becomes queen.

However, this is easier said than done. From the age of eleven she begins receiving requests from men for her hand in marriage...and we must remember that Elizabeth is third--not first--in line for the crown behind her siblings. Not only must she cope with that, she must also stay in her family's favor as time goes on. She gets along fine with Edward when he is king, but she and Mary but heads over religion when Mary is queen. Mary gets so angry that she sends Elizabeth to the Tower because she won't bend to her will. How is Elizabeth able to survive until 1558, the year she is finally able to accept the crown as her own?

This is a good, fast-paced story told from Elizabeth's point of view. Ann Rinaldi does admit at the end that this is indeed her own interpretation of Elizabeth's story and that there are probably more accurate accounts out there, but that her goal was to make a fun book about an interesting historical figure based on historical events.

Historical fiction, especially concerning European royalty, is a popular genre but generally too bloody, racy or complicated for young readers. Ann Rinaldi's latest novel seeks to remedy that by telling a simplified yet dynamic version of England's Elizabeth I's life before her ascension to the throne.

THE REDHEADED PRINCESS starts when Elizabeth is just nine years old. Her mother, Anne Boleyn, was executed upon her father Henry VIII's order. She lived in her own household far from her father and half-siblings. Younger brother Edward was in line to be king and did ascend while still a child, after Henry's death. Edward was sickly and all of Europe knew he would die young, leaving Mary to be queen. Mary, daughter of the Spanish Catherine of Aragon, was staunchly Catholic, even though her father had broken England's ties with the Roman Church. After Edward's death (and a brief rule by the teenage Jane Gray) and Mary's coronation, Mary and Elizabeth's respective factions battled for the crown. It was a time of confusing religious change and violence.

As long as Mary was queen, Elizabeth was unsafe; she was even imprisoned by her older sister. Yet those around her always told her she would be queen one day. And they were right.

Ann Rinaldi's story captures, in first-person narrative, Elizabeth's and England's uncertainty. In this version Elizabeth is less calculating than history tends to remember her. She is sometimes certain and sometimes unsure of herself, torn between love for her family and the desire to be on the throne. She is at once the beautiful, headstrong daughter of her mother and the powerful and confident daughter of her father. Still, in THE REDHEADED PRINCESS, she is ever aware of her royal blood, her position and power in society, and her future role as queen of her people.

Although known as the "Virgin Queen" Elizabeth was a flirtatious young woman, and Rinaldi touches on that here, even including the infamous scene of Elizabeth found passionately kissing her stepfather while sitting on his lap. This theme, along with some more complicated history and a series of tortures and executions (beheadings and burnings), makes this book more appropriate for readers older than the 8-12 age range recommended by the publisher.

Elizabeth I is a compelling and complex historical figure, and Rinaldi's version is nuanced and interesting. THE REDHEADED PRINCESS is dramatic and exciting with plenty of history, and it is a good introduction to the historical fiction genre for middle school and even young high school readers.

--- Reviewed by Sarah Rachel Egelman

Ann Rinaldi, a master of historical fiction, has set her sights beyond American history and has assembled a true masterpiece in her The Redheaded Princess, which is a colorful, distinct, and astonishingly realistic portrayal of Queen Elizabeth I's trials and tribulations on her journey to become one of the most memorable queens in history. Rinaldi's Elizabeth is intelligent and quick witted, but not without her faults, and each character's colorful rendering gives this version of what transpired nearly 500 years ago a depth that many lack.


The novel bears a complex balance between historical facts and a candid look into Elizabeth's day to day life. Despite the lapse of 20 years between the beginning and the end of the book, the story moves quickly and gracefully. Readers will enjoy immersing themselves in this well thought out, sophisticated, and highly authentic depiction of this strong willed and engaging princess whose undying determination and willpower, along with her willingness to accept assistance without being dominated, led her to achieve her destiny and birthright.

An easy read of a period of Elizabeth I's life not often studied. The book begins when Elizabeth is a child and ends when she is made Queen. In between, we learn of how she was a Princess one day and a "mere lady" the next, only to have her title and her place in the line of succession to England's throne returned to her, all at the whim of her father, Henry VIII. We hear of how she was treated when her brother Edward was King, and when her sister Mary was Queen, and how she observed the reigns of her father and siblings closely and took lessons from them that would help her when it was her turn to be Queen.

Although this book does little more than gloss over the turmoil of the time and the factions warring for the throne, this is a good book to read for anyone interested in a basic outline of what Elizabeth's life was like before she became Queen.

It took me about forty pages to warm to this historical novel about a teenage Elizabeth Tudor, mainly because author Ann Rinaldi did such a poor job of establishing the narrator's voice. Elizabeth is old beyond her years, and not just because children were forced to grow up faster. At eight years of age she is expressing love for an admired member of her father's court, and it is as if Rinaldi has lost track of her narrator's age. Dialogue between Elizabeth and her younger brother Edward sounds as if it is exchanged between grown-ups, rather than tweenies (which they are at the start of the story--forsooth!)The book vacilates between juvenile and young adult suitability. But once it becomes clear that this is a YA book, both in content and style (again, it took about 40 pages, so be patient,) this is an engrossing story of political machinations, love affairs, and family dysfunction. Despite the fact that we know Elizabeth will go on to become one of England's most influential monarchs, it is fascinating watching her walk the tightrope between familial sentiment and survival.

Elizabeth is portrayed as a wise and wily young woman, mindful of her place while out of favor, but never forgetful that she could very well be queen one day. She watches her rivals get their turn at the throne, and then fall through one means or another (some natural, others, as in the case of the unfortunate Lady Jane Grey, unnatural.) Supporting characters in the book, of which there are many, are well-rounded. Rinaldi manages to avoid caricature when portraying larger than life figures like Henry VIII. In the end, The Redheaded Princess is worth the effort and will reward readers with a fresh look at one of the most fascinating political dynasties in history.

This book was very good. I've always found the Tudor Family extremely interesting and I've always enjoyed reading about them. Elizabeth, one of my favorite Tudors, was the main charactor. Even though this book is classified as a "young adult historical fiction" book, anyone can read it and enjoy it.

The storyline goes from when Elizabeth is just a small child to when she becomes Queen of England when she was around 25 years old.

The plotline is easy to follow and the charactors are vivid. Ann Rinaldi skillfully flows all the main events in Elizabeth's life in a book just roughly 200 pages in length!

It's a fast moving, easy to read, and educational book!

My daughter just brought this back from her middle school library. The title caught my eye and I wondered what the spin was with the red-hair. I was happy to learn it was historical fiction and about Elizabeth I. I read the jacket info, about the author (it said she had written a book in the Dear America series, which I have found uninteresting). I read the prologue and first chapter and could read no further. It is written in first person, this is supposed to be Elizabeth, herself, talking to us but the monologue is so boring. The author gives us no rich details to capture her reader. EI, is talking like a 21st century airhead, not the fiery daughter of Henry VIII. Give us details young, Elizabeth. Describe what you are wearing, dont just complain that daddy hasnt given you a dress allowance and your nanny, Cat, made due with 'whatever'. Sorry I would not recommend this book, as it would put off a true history lover.

In 1533, serendipitously Ann Boleyn secretly marred King Henry VIII while they waited for his the Archbishop of Canterbury to affirm his divorce from Catherine of Aragon before announcing their wedding. Nine moths later she gave birth to Elizabeth Tudor, his second daughter. In 1536 Henry accused his second wife of adultery with her brother and others. She was incarcerated in the Tower of London before being convicted and beheaded. Although an infant when her mom died, Elizbath had learned early on the virtue of caution as she navigates her father's court. Over the years she failed at ever pleasing her sire, but when he died her older brother took the throne. Elizabeth found her life improved until a sick Edward died placing her step sister devout Catholic "Bloody Mary" on the throne. Even as she once again walks cautiously Bess expects to one day be the Queen of England and rule in a strong way that would make her late father finally proud of her accomplishments.

This fine biographical fiction tale targets the preadolescent female with her humanizing Queen Elizabeth I. The audience learns what motivated the princess to be the best that she can be once on the throne and how she survived her father executing her mother and her step-sister's religious fanaticism. Although obviously slanted in an Elizabethan Era direction, Ann Rinaldi provides a deep look at the soul of THE RED-HAIRED PRINCESS who one day became one of England's most influential rulers.

Harriet Klausner