Susan Doran

I received this through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I have always had a fascination with the Tudors so I was very eager to read this new account of Elizabeth I’s life. So many times these books can be dull and lackluster but Susan Doran’s writing brought history to life in this new book. There were so many new things I learned. One of the things that interested me the most in her account was Elizabeth’s relationship with Henry VIII. In most accounts, Elizabeth is always show more shown to greatly admire and love her father in a way that makes it seem as if they were very close, even after sentencing her mother to die. Contrary to those beliefs, Doran points out why this was not necessarily the case. Royal children generally do not spend much time with their parents, often seeing them only a few times per year. And even when they do meet, it is not the type of quality time that modern parents share with their children. I thought that this book was incredibly fascinating and would recommend it 100% to any lover of history or of Elizabeth and the Tudor family.

https://thewornbookmark.wordpress.com/2015/02/10/book-review-elizabeth-i-her-cir... show less

I have been reading about Elizabeth I for 40 years. When I choose something new to read about this remarkable woman and her era, I hope to learn even more. Unfortunately this doesn't always occur, but this book has given me some deeper insight into Elizabeth's relationship with some of her most important councilors. For that, I am thrilled and I give it five stars.

I didn't learn much new from this book, but it was a good review of who was who and what went on at court. I especially liked the structure of the book. It is divided into three parts: Kin, Courtiers, and Councillors, and each section is divided into chapters focused on small groups or specific persons. "Kin" has chapter on Parents & Siblings, The Suffolk Cousins, Mary Queen of Scots, and James VI of Scotland (her eventual heir to the English throne). Three favorites are the chapter subjects show more of "Courtiers": Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester; Sir Christopher Hatton; and Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex. The section has an additional chapter on the noblewomen who served as ladies in waiting to the queen. Part Three, "Councillors," includes chapters on William Cecil, Lord Burghley; Sir Francis Walsingham; and Burghley's son, Robert Cecil. In the course of the book, relationships between the various subjects and Elizabeth are analyzed and important events (the succession, Elizabeth's "marriage game," the Spanish Armada, the Dutch wars, religious dissent, etc.) are discussed in detail. In short, it's a nice primer or reference book on Elizabeth's reign. show less

For what this book is, it's really unrateable, (is that a word?) but it's a beautiful book, one anyone who's a Tudor history person would be pleased to have as part of his or her library. This is a catalog of an exhibition at the British Library to commemorate 500 years since Henry VIII took the throne.

The book is structured in ten parts -- Nine about distinct periods during about the life of the king, and then there is a section about Henry the bibliophile.

1. Young Henry 1491-1509 : about show more his birth, his lineages and his childhood

2. Venus and Mars 1509-1513 : Henry VII dies and Henry VIII marries Katherine of Aragon

3. Triumph of Peace 1514-1527: Henry VIII brings peace with France; Wolsey is powerful; Charles of Burgundy becomes Emperor Charles V;

4. The Turning Point 1527-29 - In these years Henry begins the long process of his annulment to his marriage with Katherine, begins to question the pope's authority and secures a promise from Anne Boleyn for marriage -- three events, which the author notes, whose repercussions would be felt until the end of the century.

5. The Royal Supremacy (1529-35): Henry makes it mandatory that he be recognized as head of the Church of England; annulment, Anne Boleyn's first pregnancy and birth of Elizabeth

6. The Crisis of 1536: Dissolution of monasteries begins; Henry is attracted to Jane Seymour, Anne Boleyn is arrested & beheaded; the Pilgrimage of Grace begins

7. The Making of a New Church (1536-40): Marriage to Jane Seymour; birth of male heir & death of Jane Seymour;

8. The Last Years (1539-47):
Integration of Wales and England; marriage to the last 3 wives; execution of Cromwell

9. Death, Will and Succession (1546-47): Death of Henry VIII; Edward Seymour becomes Lord Protector of King Edward

In each section, there is an article about what's going on in each period, as well as paintings, pictures of original documents and artifacts of the period.

This book is very well done, and if you're interested in Henry VIII, you'll probably enjoy it a great deal. show less