Elizabeth I: Red Rose of the House of Tudor, England, 1544

I love reading about historical fiction like this. Real places and real people but an imagined life. No one knows for sure what she must have been going through unless they were to have found an actual diary. But I do believe that this is a great way to understand how certain royals become the way they are. High praise for this book and this series.
I would have liked to hear more about the confrontations between Elizabeth I and Mary, Queen of Scots. I believe Mary was only mentioned once or twice.

The setting of this book is 1544 when Elizabeth I, daughter of Henry VIII, is twelve years old. Through her young astute eyes we observe court life filled with intrigue, back stabbing, poisoning, pomp and decay.

At an early age Elizabeth knew that life could be ended suddenly at the whim of her corpulent, obese, powerful and illogical father. When she was a mere toddler, her mother Anne Boleyn lost her life as her head was violently severed. Unable to produce a male heir, instead, Anne birthed Elizabeth.

Thoroughly researched, Lasky tells the story of Elizabeth's quest to gain the love of her cruel and fickle father. In favor one minute, banished from court the next, Elizabeth never knew which way the wind would blow.

An intelligent child, show more she watched as the ladies with their white powered faces and gold dresses danced and spun as the dandies gave phony praise and homage to their King. All too soon, the gaiety could change and the music abruptly end.

When Henry became obsessed with Anne Boleyn, his wife, Catherine of Aragon, was a liability that had to be disposed of. Tearing England apart, Henry married Anne, leaving behind a heart broken wife and his daughter Mary.

Mary harbored a long and bitter enmity against Elizabeth. Navigation of Mary's hatred was never an easy thing. Edward, Elizabeth and Mary's half brother and heir to the throne was a sickly, frail child. Elizabeth lived in fear of Edward's illness which might necessitate Mary becoming Queen when their father died.

The book contains interesting tidbits of the filth and germ filled castles wherein bed bugs bit at night and lice infested the wigs worn by court ladies.

Moving from castle to castle when the stench became overpowering, the rats were manifold as thousands of them fed on discarded garbage left everywhere.

Amid the lavish splendor of tapestry and courtly balls, the plague and the pox were an ever increasing threat. Sewage ran freely in the streets and in the River Thames.

The court was an unsanitary, vile place filled with people who would betray. A court favorite could rise one day, only to be carted off to the tower the next.

The book is a mere snap shot in history of Elizabeth's life before she, at the age of 25, obtained the throne and ruled England for 45 glorious years. show less

Reviewed April 2000

What fun this book was to read. Lasky tells the story of Elizabeth's life during the last years of Henry VIII's life, through the eyes and ears of his daughter. Her talent for details of everyday life were wonderful..."taking a bath every 3 weeks, combing nits out of your hair." Gross! I could just sell the vomit and crap whose smells forced the court to move on. Everything written was factual as far as is known, I think the relationship with Robin Dudley was a bit over exaggerated, but the rest seemed well researched. Her adoration for her father was so childlike, even though she knew he had her mother killed. I liked that the author has Elizabeth visit her mother's grave and learn all the details of the beheading. show more A really good line was when Elizabeth says that if the sun doesn't go around the earth then England isn't the center of the universe, then her father might be upset. Wonderful! This book is written for a young female adult but I learned plenty. Can't wait to start the other two "diaries" I picked up as well. show less

This was a reread for me. I believe I originally read this book sometime during middle school and I remembered that I really liked it. I read a bunch of the Dear America and Royal Diaries books but I would always get them from my school library. Now I’m going to try to buy the ones I liked so I can relive my childhood.

Reading this now as an adult is such a different experience, but I still enjoyed it.

The author did an amazing job imagining what a young Elizabeth I would be like. There was a nice blend of innocence and tragedy to her character.

I also really liked the little tidbits about life at court, like how often they took baths (spoiler alert: it’s not very often).

Overall, this is a great middle grade book for kids who want show more to learn more about Elizabeth I. show less

Suitable for the target demographic (teen girls). Although, so far as I can tell, the historical events are accurate, and the author has not taken a noticeably anachronistic viewpoint, nonetheless this is a fictional work that attempts to tell Elizabeth's story in the first person, which necessarily involves supposition and interpolation of knowledge she might not have had at the time.
I am not a fan of "diary novels", as too much outside information is lost or improbably shoe-horned in, but this one is okay.

I really enjoyed this book! It was interesting to see Elizabeth's view on things, on her family, on her country, what was going on at the time. England was a crazy place. And I knew a bit about the Elizabethan era, but this just explained so much more, even if it was a work of fiction. Very well done. 4.5 out of 5 stars.

I love these Royal Diaries books. They transport the reader back in time and make learning about history fun. This one is a wonderfully written account of the life of Elizabeth I, and it is a fascinating read.