Queen of This Realm

Rating:
Summary: The Queen of Historical Fiction takes on Elizabeth
Review: From the opening lines, "When I look over the first twenty-five years of my life and consider the number of times I was in danger of losing it," the reader is swept up into the majestic mind and spirit of the iconic Elizabeth I. Jean Plaidy began writing historical fiction in the fifties, and to the modern-day reader she may seem a tad dated and naive; yet her consummate command of history and ability to effortlessly transition from scene to scene are commanding and refreshing in an era of overheated fiction and an emphasis on the lurid.

A friend loaned me this book; I found it captivating and immensely easy to read, even as I learned about Elizabeth and her times. This is a vastly different Elizabeth from the devious narcissist of Philippa Gregory's works or the volatile spirited girl of C.W.Gortner's book, but she is worth exploring all the same.

Rating:
Summary: No one writes historical fiction like Jean Plaidy
Review: Queen of This Realm is one of Plaidy's best novels; a complete fictional look at the youth and reign of Queen Elizabeth I. Written as a memoir by Queen Elizabeth, you will learn about her first scandalous love affair with her step-mother, Katherine Parr's, husband and the following life-long, unconsummated love of her life, Robert Dudley. Love and betrayal were all a part of the Queen's life and it often reads like a soap opera!

Queen Elizabeth was bold, highly intelligent, supremely vain, and one of the greatest monarchs of England. You will be taken in and enthralled by the story of her close calls with execution at the hand of her sister, Queen Mary, and her fascination with and eventual execution of her cousin, Mary Stuart, Queen of Scotland, who plotted to claim the English throne as her own for most of her life (her story is told in Royal Road To Fotheringay to be reissued Fall 2004).

This is a stellar novel; you won't believe how fascinating history can be to read until you've read Plaidy! She has written over 50 books, most of which are out of print, but can be found in libraries and online. Once you start reading her, you can't stop!

Rating:
Summary: No one writes historical fiction like Jean Plaidy
Review: Queen of This Realm is one of Plaidy's best novels; a complete fictional look at the youth and reign of Queen Elizabeth I. Written as a memoir by Queen Elizabeth, you will learn about her first scandalous love affair with her step-mother, Katherine Parr's, husband and the following life-long, unconsummated love of her life, Robert Dudley. Love and betrayal were all a part of the Queen's life and it often reads like a soap opera!

Queen Elizabeth was bold, highly intelligent, supremely vain, and one of the greatest monarchs of England. You will be taken in and enthralled by the story of her close calls with execution at the hand of her sister, Queen Mary, and her fascination with and eventual execution of her cousin, Mary Stuart, Queen of Scotland, who plotted to claim the English throne as her own for most of her life (her story is told in Royal Road To Fotheringay to be reissued Fall 2004).

This is a stellar novel; you won't believe how fascinating history can be to read until you've read Plaidy! She has written over 50 books, most of which are out of print, but can be found in libraries and online. Once you start reading her, you can't stop!

Rating:
Summary: Realistic and intriguing
Review: The subject of this book is fascinating. Following the life of a fascinating queen of England, Queen of this Realm is part historical text and part fiction. Meticulously researched, this book follows the life and times of Queen Elizabeth I from childhood under the tyranny of her father, to the persecution of Protestants under her sister Mary, to the wars with Spain and the colonization of the new world under Elizabeth herself. Not only does this book explore the politics of the time, it gives us an intriguing look at the kind of woman Elizabeth really was- or who she might have been. We see her long-lasting, never-consummated love affair with Robert Dudley, and the various plots and assignations that were underfoot to assasinate her.

I found it interesting to note that this book deals hevily with sex, and the question of whether or not Elizabeth was a virgin throughout her whole life. This book justifies the idea that she did indeed "save" herself, eluding would-be husbands to focus on her one true love: the English people. However, although I found this book to be well-written and a fascinating look at life in England during the 16th century, I still found myself wishing that there was more fiction and less fact involved.

Rating:
Summary: fabulous!
Review: this is a fantastic novel. all the characters--from elizabeth to robert dudley to lettice knollys--seems so real. plaidy has a magic touch.

Rating:
Summary: Most complete & balanced novel of Eliz.I I've read.
Review: Written in the first person, the novel makes us feel as though we know what Elizabeth Tudor felt & thought. Her historical fame is not glorified; her substantial faults are not understated; but we see possible reasons for both. Above all, we are shown how her incredible scholarship and insecure youth combined, enabling her (and in a man's world) to bring England from bankruptcy & religious strife to its first age great enough to be named for one person: "Elizabethan."