Elizabeth

click here for more details, find new or used items	David Starkey Our price £6.67 (£8.99) New from £3.19 Used from £0.01 Pages: 400 (Paperback) ISBN: 0099286572 Pub: Vintage Pub date: 2001-03-01 Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 16415

Editorial Review:

Starkey argues that in her first 25 years Elizabeth "had experienced every vicissitude of fortune and ever extreme of condition. She had been Princess and inheritrix of England, and bastard and disinherited; the nominated successor to the throne and an accused traitor on the verge of execution; showered with lands and houses and a prisoner in the Tower". He draws on his skills as a respected Tudor historian to produce a deft account of the religious, political and dynastic maelstrom of mid-16th century England that reads "like a historical thriller". The book carefully picks its way through the finer points of contemporary religious conflict and the peculiarities of Tudor court ceremony, whilst also exploring the formation of Elizabeth's character in relation to a murdered mother, a charismatic father, a tortured sister, and a predatory guardian. Highly readable and written with verve and pace, this is a fascinating account of the young Elizabeth. --Jerry Brotton

Reader Reviews:

David Starkey (0/0 people found this helpful)

Excellent book for all tudor fans. David Starkeys book are for those fans that can't get enough of the Tudors and in this case Elizabeth. Just when you think you know it all Mr Starkey comes up with a different perspective keeping you reading to the last page.

Elizabeth (0/0 people found this helpful)

I find Tudor history to be fascinating. I have always been a big fan of the Tudors. Elizabeth I is a particularly fascinating historical figure. This historical biography mainly concerns Elizabeth as a young woman. In fact it is around page 238 before Elizabeth becomes queen. Therefore we find out a huge amount about Elizabeth in the years of Edward VI's, and Mary's reigns. The political and religious upheaval of the time, was complex, and David Starkey shows just how attune to it all Elizabeth was, and how close she really came to suffering the same fate as Lady Jane Grey and others. Elizabeth emerges as very bright - even as a child she was really very gifted. Surrounded by loyal supporters Elizabeth wasn't always assured of the crown - and some of her supporters made her perilous position worse during the Bloody Marian years. Of course as we all know Elizabeth succeeded to the English throne, and became one of the most successful monarchs in British History. This was a truly fascinating work, a very readable book.

a brilliant if short history (0/0 people found this helpful)

Ok so I'll start off by saying I find David Starkey's tv shows fantastic. And his voice clearly comes across in this book. This is a fantastic and insightful review of Elizabeth's early life and the early part of her reign.

However.... at somepoints, his grounding in the reign of Henry VIII clearly comes across, though I will admit, Dr Starkey does put much of this information into context.

If I have a problem with this volume, and why I've only given it 4 stars, is, as is admittedly pointed out in the blurb, it doesn't deal with much detail with anything beyond 1570. Even the revolt of 1569 (which I knew nothing about prior to reading this book) is dealt with with extreme brevity.

So - more! more! please!

The Sometimes Princess (0/0 people found this helpful)

So much has been written about Queen Elizabeth I and her glorious reign, but it seems that her life prior to coronation is glossed over. This book concentrates on her birth, early childhood and adolescence. It helps to explain many of her later idiosyncracies. Her early years were uncertain and changeable. One moment Princess Elizabeth, the next just Lady Elizabeth. In adolescence, years spent in The Tower at her sisters disposition! Such a dramatic childhood and youth need a separate book dedicated solely to them. This is that book. It reads very smoothly and ends tantalisingly just as Elizabeth's reign begins. Highly recommended.

Strange (1/4 people found this helpful)

This is not the kind of history that I was expecting - highly populist, focussed more heavily on Elizabeth as a person than on the politics and her decisions as a Queen. Beware.

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