The Lady Elizabeth
A Novel
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4.7 • 6 Ratings
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- $10.99
Publisher Description
NATIONAL BESTSELLER • “A gripping fictional portrait” (Salon) of young Elizabeth Tudor, who would become England’s most intriguing and powerful queen, from the renowned author hailed as “the finest historian of English monarchical succession writing” (The Boston Globe)
“Engrossing . . . [Alison] Weir marries conjecture with what is known about the life of Elizabeth I from childhood to coronation, and it makes for ripping good reading.”—Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Even as a very young child, Elizabeth Tudor is keenly aware that people in the court of her father, King Henry VIII, have stopped referring to her as “Lady Princess” and now call her “the Lady Elizabeth.” She soon learns why, as her sister, Mary, tells her of the tragic fate that has befallen Elizabeth’s mother, the enigmatic and seductive Anne Boleyn, and that both girls have been declared illegitimate. The death of their father ten years later puts the orphaned Elizabeth in even greater peril: Like her mother two decades earlier, she is imprisoned in the Tower of London—and she fears she will meet her mother’s grisly end.
Power-driven politics, private scandal and public gossip, a disputed succession, and the grievous example of her sister, “Bloody” Queen Mary, cement Elizabeth’s resolve in matters of statecraft and love, and set the stage for her transformation into the iconic Virgin Queen—a woman far ahead of her time, an independent spirit who must use cunning and wits for her very survival.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Weir (Innocent Traitor) lends her considerable historical knowledge to the early years of England's famous queen in this absorbing second novel. The tale chronicles the life of Elizabeth I from her early childhood to her coronation, through the final years of her father, Henry VIII, and the brief reigns of her siblings, Edward VI and Queen Mary. Renowned for her "mercurial temperament" and "formidable intelligence," in Weir's account Elizabeth spends her childhood shuttling between royal estates and preparing for life as a "great lady" after she is stripped of her position as successor to the British throne following the execution of her mother, Anne Boleyn. As Elizabeth grows, her progressive views on women's roles, religion, and politics take shape-including her legendary vow never to marry, forged through observation of others' relationships as well as a painful first-hand brush with romance at age fourteen. Weir's Elizabeth is nuanced and enchanting, and the author lends a refreshing perspective to well-known characters and events in British history, such as the fates of her father's six wives and the brief reign of Lady Jane Grey, the subject of her first historical novel. History buffs will enjoy this entertaining look into the rarely explored early life of one of England's most fascinating characters.
