Sweet Robin: A Biography of Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester 1533-1588 [Paperback]

Derek Wilson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1981

Few Chroniclers have had a good word to say for Robert Dudley. Both his father and grandfather were executed for treason, he himself was imprisoned in the Tower of London as a young man, and his first wife died in suspicious circumstances. Yet he was the only man that "good Queen Bess" ever loved.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This rich biography gives the reader a fine sense of Leicester's vigorous presence." - New York Times Book Review

About the Author

Derek Wilson, a historian and expert on Renaissance culture, is also the author of the Tim Lacey series of art world mysteries.

Product Details

• Paperback: 356 pages
• Publisher: Allison & Busby LTD (December 1981)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 074900360X
• ISBN-13: 978-0749003609
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.8 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,261,241 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Well written!, June 18, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Sweet Robin: Biography of Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, 1533-88 (Hardcover)

Mr. Wilson's Sweet Robin is a well-written book that is supported by many facts, but not stuffy and hard-to-read, unlike many other books written about England's history. Most people think of Robert Dudley as a blue-blooded scapegoat that history would be better off without. Most scholars nuture this image, painting him as a black-hearted villan. But Mr. Wilson offers us a refreshing change in perception: that of a nobleman trying to survive the tumultuous times of the era in which he lived. That in fact, far from being an evil knave, he, like his forefarthers before him, was guilty only of an extreme loyalty to the particular monarch which he devoted his whole life to. Sweet Robin opens in the time of Robert Dudley's grandfather and continues through his life, chronicaling all the events that shaped him and the people around him. It finally ends a little while after his death, to show how little real influence he had on the changing times, other than through his special bond with Queen Elizabeth. While Robert Dudley is not the most important man this world has ever seen, he is certainly one of the more colorful personages of his time. I commend Mr. Wildon for writing an excellent book!

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Elizabeth's Choice, June 5, 2008

By 

Loves the View "Louise" (Hawaii) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Sweet Robin: A Biography of Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester 1533-1588 (Paperback)

Wilson shares his appreciation for the Earl of Leicester. His role as a leading spirit of the Reformation and as an early patron of what becomes known as Elizabethan Drama has been overshadowed by his unique relationship with the Queen. The book explains his roots, his passions, his successes and limitations and the personal and financial cost of his association with the queen. The reader gets insight into his character and his relationship with Elizabeth.

This compares well with the new publication Elizabeth & Leicester: Power, Passion, Politics. Of the two, this one, humanizes Dudley such that the reader understands more of what Elizabeth saw in him. Wilson deals more powerfully with the attachment of these two star crossed would be lovers and you feel the loss and disappointment the two shared. Gristwood sticks with the record.

I would give this 5 stars but the beginning is so slow and genealogy laiden that I almost put it down and throughout there are long quotes from original sources. I presume the long quotes are there to give the reader a feel for the sentiments as they are directly expressed, but many are so formal and tortured that they only demonstrate why general readers need historians like Wilson and Gristwood to interpret them for us.