Status
Available
Publication
Penguin Books (2008), Edition: Reprint, 416 pages
Description
Her relationship with Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, was one of the most important in the life of Elizabeth I. This book presents an intimate portrait of an affair between two people at a crucial moment in history, of a relationship where, very unusually, a woman held all the power, and of a love that transcended the centuries.
Media reviews
Heaving with detail and anecdote, Elizabeth and Leicester plunges us into the turbulent Tudor world and makes absorbing reading. Gristwood juggles the numerous theories regarding her two principals with intelligence and sensitivity.
User reviews
LibraryThing member mgaulding
If you're unfamiliar with the life of Queen Elizabeth I and the people who surrounded her you might find this book a little overwhelming. But if you've read a fair share of biographies about the queen you'll find this one to be illuminating, certainly an accomplishment given all that has been
Show More
published. This author may do to Leicester, what Antonia Fraser did for the revision of Marie Antoinette in history. By the books end, and after a very thorough analysis of the relationship and a respectful debate about the various perceptions of Leicester, you really have to revise your opinion of the man, and of the virgin queen. I had recently seen the brilliant new film with the goddess Cate Blanchett, and found the book an excellent companion piece to the film, or vice versa. Show Less
LibraryThing member soliloquies
An enjoyable look at the relationship between Elizabeth I and Robert Dudley. Whilst still readable it took a more scholarly approach than other books utilising the available records (surprisingly few) to tell the story.
LibraryThing member bhowell
I enjoyed Ms Gristwood's previous book, "Arbella: England's Lost Queen' so much that I was delighted to find this book. Will report later.
LibraryThing member Sarahursula
Queen Elizabeth I’s affection for Robert Dudley is the subject of Sarah Gristwood’s wonderful joint biography. She sifts sources and accounts and it really does feel as though she gets as close as possible to understanding this passionate, intriguing relationship. She looks steadily at
Her perplexed contemporaries hoped that Elizabeth’s great games of courtship would end happily. Elizabeth by contrast preferred her independence than marrying and surrendering her sovereignty and besides she had a great friendship of devotion, flirtation, adoration and gifts with the delectable Dudley. Yet, as Gristwood demonstrates, for Dudley there was a great cost – loathed by fellow courtiers as ‘the gypsy’, his own frustrated ambition and muddled relationships with other women. They continued loving, fighting and reconciling until his death in 1588 and then it continued almost beyond the grave. There was a terrible almost deadly coda with Elizabeth’s affection and indulgence of Dudley’s step-son, Essex. ‘What ifs’ are of doubtful use but the Scottish ambassador Melville said: ‘she would have chosen Lord Robert, her brother and best friend, but ... [was] determined to end her life in virginity’. Her decision was unique, inspired and successful and in stark contrast to the desperate failures of Mary Tudor and Mary Stuart.
Show More
Elizabeth’s failings – her vanity, playacting and procrastination - while examining dispassionately the demanding expectations on Elizabeth as monarch. The House of Commons petitioned it would be ‘contrary to public respects’ if she remained ‘unmarried and, as it were, a vestal virgin’. In answer she explained: ‘I haply chose this kind of life in which I yet live, which I assure you for mine own part hath hitherto best contented myself and I trust hath been most acceptable to God.’ Her perplexed contemporaries hoped that Elizabeth’s great games of courtship would end happily. Elizabeth by contrast preferred her independence than marrying and surrendering her sovereignty and besides she had a great friendship of devotion, flirtation, adoration and gifts with the delectable Dudley. Yet, as Gristwood demonstrates, for Dudley there was a great cost – loathed by fellow courtiers as ‘the gypsy’, his own frustrated ambition and muddled relationships with other women. They continued loving, fighting and reconciling until his death in 1588 and then it continued almost beyond the grave. There was a terrible almost deadly coda with Elizabeth’s affection and indulgence of Dudley’s step-son, Essex. ‘What ifs’ are of doubtful use but the Scottish ambassador Melville said: ‘she would have chosen Lord Robert, her brother and best friend, but ... [was] determined to end her life in virginity’. Her decision was unique, inspired and successful and in stark contrast to the desperate failures of Mary Tudor and Mary Stuart.
Show Less
LibraryThing member satyridae
Scholarly, interesting but ultimately exhausting. More detail than even this Tudor fan could take.
LibraryThing member wagner.sarah35
A good look at the Elizabeth and Robert Dudley relationship. Gristwood does a good job of tracing the relationship through its various phases, even though the evidence is thin for their early years. Nevertheless, Gristwood takes the reader through the ups and downs, scandals and pitfalls, of
Show More
Elizabeth and Dudley's relationship, giving a real sense of each of their personalities and shortcomings. A good read for those interested in Elizabethan history. Show Less
LibraryThing member mahallett
a little boring sometimes
LibraryThing member mktoronto
I'm fascinated by Elizabeth's relationship with Robert Dudley and this is the best book I have found that talks about it. Solid scholarship and using a knowledge of the human condition to inform her suppositions, this is the book to read if the relationship fascinates you as well.
Subjects
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2007
Physical description
416 p.; 5.54 inches
ISBN
0143114492 / 9780143114499
Local notes
biography