Customer Reviews

Rival to the Queen

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I found this a most annoying book. It combines some fact with a lot of fabrication. While historical fiction necessarily employs imagination to develop dialogue, describe meetings etc. and while questions about Elizabeth's personal life and complex personality give ample opportunities for invention in describing her court and those surrounding her, this book sets forth implausible events as well as situations that are in direct contradiction to historical evidence. It also makes many unwarranted assertions about various people. In the process, it trivializes fascinating characters and tells a much less compelling story than what is on the record. If the reader is interested in Lettice Knollys and her family, he/she would be better off reading "The Lady Penelope" by Sally Varlow, which tells the real story, insofar as it can be ascertained, in a far more satisfactory manner. Above all, the reader of "Rival to the Queen" should not approach it as an accurate reflection of events or characters, but simply a novel.

With the amount of historical non-fiction Erickson has written, she should have enough research to tell the story of any Tudor courtier with correct facts and accurate period detail. This clumsiness written hash fails to use known facts and invents awkward conjecture to tell the story of one of the most interesting women Elizabeth's Court. A disappointment, especially since the the facts as they are known make for better storytelling details than the ones Erickson has spun. The heaving bosom prose of Holt's "My Enemy the Queen" still manges to tell the tale more truly than this mess.

These days as I read a book and I am not quite sure how I feel about it, I wonder what reviewers on amazon are thinking about the book. I would give this one a 3.5.

As with others here, I highly recommend one of my favorite books by Victoria Holt, My Enemy the Queen. Holt's take on Lettice and Dudley is different than Erickson's. As I read this book, I felt the author made the principals a little too "nice".

I also recommend a great book which captures the feeling of the times, this one about Lettice's daughter "Lady Rich;: A novel of Penelope Devereux at the Court of Queen Elizabeth [Hardcover]" by Elizabeth Boatwright Coker.

Its great historical fiction.

One thing that I felt was wrong is when Lettice's brother says to her "I won't let Father control my destiny" or something like that, referring to her being made to marry the eventual Earl of Essex. I just don't think that would have happened in those days when young women of family were made to marry whomever their parents (usually fathers) chose for them, like it or not.

Even though it wasn't quite the same as others of the subject matter, I still enjoyed it and would recommend it as a light, easy read.

the book started out interesting enough, which was why i decided to check it out from the local library. the part about religious persecution was well written, but it was the only part i consider worth my time reading. i was bored about 1/3 way through the book. the characters were just not likeable, or believeable. i kept hoping for something to tie in with the beginning (like how what she lived through as a child abroad affected her decisions etc) which never happened. so i pretty much flipped through the last 1/3 of the book to end my agony a bit earlier. i give it a 3 stars because it is exactly that-just average. there are definitely worse ones out there, but there are also such great ones that i feel compelled to go on amazon and did this review hoping to stop someone else from making the same mistake i did-getting suckered into reading this book.

As a fan of Carolly Erickson's other novels, I had to pick up her latest, Rival to the Queen. I was, however, concerned when I saw all of the negative reviews out there about it. I mean, I've never thought Erickson was an amazing author, but a decent one who could write entertaining books and had the potential to write great ones. Though I didn't run to the bookstore the day Rival hit shelves, it still made my "to read" pile, and when I saw it for a good price at my local used books store, I just had to pick it up.

Rival to the Queen follows the story of Letita Knollys, a cousin of Queen Elizabeth I and descendant of Mary Boleyn, and, most likely the illegitimate granddaughter of King Henry VIII. Though Lettie is somewhat of a rival to Elizabeth for the throne due to her royal blood, this novel focuses primarily on the rivalry between Lettie and Elizabeth for the heart of Robert "Robin" Dudley. Lettie, from a young age, observes the turbulent world she lives in, particularly due to the powerful religious movements throughout Europe. Though Lettie is a member of the lower gentry, she goes to court in the hopes of securing a wealthy husband. She finds Robbin Dudley, a favorite of Elizabeth and a highly eligible bachelor.

I really should have listened to the reviewers on this one. I hate to say this, but Rival to the Queen is the worst novel by Erickson I've ever read. Though I haven't read her entire library, I've read the majority of it, and I have to say that I've read better.

The characters are flat. The setting seem hazy. There's a serious lack of detail and the relationships between the characters seem forced and contrived.

What else is there to say? There are a few small reprieves in this book-the pacing is quick enough to keep readers interested and the novel is short enough to finish, but it's sad when you're dying to get to the end of less-than-300-page book.

Letitia Knollys is a fascinating Tudor personage. She does not get her due here. This book just feels like a cheap rip off of Victoria Holt's "My Enemy the Queen" which is a wonderful, complex and multi-layered telling of the same story. In Ms. Erickson's version, you missed the reasons/emotions behind the actions. The entire story played very flat compared to Ms. Holt's version. It even plays flat compared to history itself. I would advise trying to find a copy of the Victoria Holt novel and/or reading The Lady Penelope by Sally Varlow for more on this amazing Tudor woman.

I love historical fiction so I was surprised to find it difficult to read this book. The story line is boring. I would not recommend spending the time to read this.

Erickson casts Lettice Knollys, Elizabeth's Tudor's cousin through Mary Boleyn, as rival to the Virgin Queen, who refused to share her throne with any man. The great love of Elizabeth's long life is Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, a married man with political ambitions, but an unremitting love for his queen. Ironically, Lettice is of similar coloring, but more attractive than the queen, an irksome reminder of the passage of time, little more than a decade younger than Elizabeth. Knollys' passion for Robert Dudley shadows that of the queen. And Dudley, driven mad by Elizabeth's ambivalence, especially after the controversial death of his wife, Amy, can certainly be forgiven for seeking solace in the arms of other women.

While accommodating, Lettice is not the only woman Dudley turns to, but the most similar to Elizabeth in fulfilling his fantasy. Nor has Lettice made a secret of her passion for the handsome Robert, quick to offer succor to Dudley's bruised ego and yearning for a child. The most interesting aspect of this peripheral character in Tudor England is Knollys' marriage to Dudley and the fact that she is mother of the Earl of Essex, by her first husband, William Devereux. Essex assumes Dudley's place in a desperately lonely Elizabeth's heart, a rash young man driven by pride, not love, his ambition leading directly to the Tower of London and execution as a traitor.

Viewing Elizabeth through this protagonist's eyes, the fickle queen is unpredictable, uncommonly vain, near-demented towards the end of her long reign. Notoriously indecisive, Elizabeth receives few accolades from Erickson's character, more a series of judgments as her life parallels that of the queen. Although Lettice is banished from court, even while her son awaits death in the Tower, there is no lessening of hostility between the cousins. More troublesome is the lack of chronology until late in the novel. Begun in the rule of Bloody Mary, it is difficult to pinpoint the young Lettice's age relative to the queen, an important element in their rivalry. Certainly Knollys can claim marriage to Dudley and a blood tie to the Earl of Essex, but who can outshine the extraordinary Elizabeth, a woman of no great beauty, but acute political instincts and a refined sense of loyalty. That the queen must forego the comforts of marriage and family granted women like the beautiful Lettice Knollys catapults the Virgin Queen into the pages of history, truly unrivaled. Luan Gaines/2010.

Ms Erickson will, sadly, remain in the shadow of Great Queen Victoria (Holt). Like their characters, Lettice and Elizabeth were chalk and cheese, but the Queen always wins out. If you wish to read of the famous tug-of-war, love hate relationship between two of histories most interesting women, then I would recommend 'My Enenmy the Queen' - first published 1978.

I know I have often wondered about the relationship between Queen Elizabeth I and her rival cousin Lettice Knollys--after all, Lettice did the one thing Elizabeth had wanted to do most of her life, marry Robert Dudley.

This book gave quite a perspective I hadn't before seen--which is one reason I love historical fiction, there are so many different ways a person can view the events and tell a tale. I've heard of Elizabeth's tantrums and her jealousies towards others, even heard some horrid things she'd done to her ladies in waiting, but Ms. Erickson's novel brought it all to vivid light.

I felt a connection with Lettice, aka "Lettie", early on in the story, and I also found myself profoundly loathing her sister Cecilia. Goodness! It is the second book I read in August with a horrid sister! If I were Lettie, I think I would have tried to find a way to get back at Cecelia, or never spoken to her again. Her sister literally ruined her life at an early age.

Courtly life was alive and vivid with Elizabethan gowns, glamor, politics, etc... well explained and beautifully written. True to real-life historical figures, which I love to revisit again and again, were well captured on the page and in the plot of the story.

I did have some trouble with Lettie's ability to forgive and let gloss over Robert's infidelity. Although, that is a modern woman speaking. In that era, his infidelities would have been the norm, and it wouldn't have phased her, and in truth, Ms. Erickson captured it perfectly. I just had a hard time with the motivation for her forgiveness. I would have liked to see more how their romance developed that would make her defy the Queen in such a way. Why would she risk it all?

Despite Robert's infidelity, Lettie won. She triumphed over Douglas Howard, she triumphed over the Queen, something not very many women were able to do. And in fact, she must have held some considerable space in the Queen's mind because she held her close, and even found Lettice's son by her first husband one of her favorites--Robert Devereux.

I should also mention, this tale briefly touches on the mysterious death of Amy Robsart, Robert Dudley's first wife, a story that has often fascinated me. It was an interesting twist.

It is a tragic tale with courtly drama, love and treachery. I did enjoy reading it, and I would recommend it to other fans of Tudor fiction.