The Life of Elizabeth I

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Summary: The Life of Elizabeth I
Review: A wonderfully written book about The Virgin Queen. Superb detail and not very well known facts are brought up quite a bit. The only thing that stopped me from giving it 5 stars was that I would like to have read more about her younger years and her interactions with her father.

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Summary: Wonderful book, but neglects Irish policy, slave trade
Review: This is a delightful book for history-buffs and buff-wannabes to just take to a park bench and read all day long. It's a synthesis of quality scholarship with a genuine interest in the subject matter, and Ms. Weir draws the reader into a fascinating world that she artfully lays out. There's probably no better book to buy if you want to obtain a picture of the nuanced trappings of Elizabeth's relations with her court advisors, from the even-tempered Cecil to the impetuous Essex; one can almost visualize a closed-door meeting caught on tape. But I have one enormous problem with it, and it's not with Ms. Weir's otherwise excellent book in particular, but with Elizabethan biography in general: Where is the examination of Elizabethan Irish policy, and the English slave trade that began in Elizabeth's reign? I'm not a fan of revisionist history, but there's nothing revisionist about these aspects of the reign; they're well-documented, integral characteristics of it and can be found in most books covering Tudor-era policy, the British empire, and various political studies of the period. Yet among biographical treatments these facets seem to be greeted by a conspiracy of silence, which is unfortunate, since their world impact is large and it would be informative to grasp the thoughts of a monarch pondering matters of such great importance. The Elizabethan Irish policy was a disaster, spawning the devastation of the Irish countryside, the contemptuous and malicious treatment of English settlers toward the Gaels and Irish Catholicism, and a string of military defeats at the hands of Irish rebels that occurred in the context of a draining war with Spain in the 1590s (the Armada was the opening battle of a prolonged and indecisive war betweem the two countries until 1604). The Irish Nine Years' War wreaked havoc on the English treasury and did a lot to empower Parliament at the expense of the monarch, thus permanently altering the status of crown-parliament relations, but its most significant effects were on Ireland. The English had been there since the 1100s, but it was the bitter Irish wars of the 1590s that inaugurated the centuries-long, melancholy history of Anglo-Irish conflict so tragically familiar to us today. It would be unfair to take this history out of context, but it's equally unfair to neglect this entirely. The gold of the Golden Age turned to rust in Ireland, and this aspect of Elizabethan history is mentioned but pretty much glossed over by Ms. Weir and nearly every other biographer. When Ireland is mentioned at all, it's usually as an aside to explain Essex's bungling foray into the country, which led to his palace revolt; nary a discussion of Hugh O'Neill, the Irish Braveheart and rebel leader, one of the craftiest and most fascinating individuals of the era. This isn't right; the Irish policy deserves a fuller treatment in any biography. An even more galling omission from pretty much every biography I've read, however, is that momentous meeting between Elizabeth and John Hawkins in 1562 that brought the English into the slave trade. Next to Francis Drake, Hawkins was probably the best sailor of the Elizabethan era, and a prime instigator of the naval modernizations from 1577 that were so crucial later in confronting the Armada. But Hawkins was also England's first slave trader, dealing on the Guinea coast in 1562. When he returned to England Elizabeth was initially appalled and critical, but overcame any scruples when Hawkins revealed the expedition's profits. Thereafter she not only condoned his activities but actively supported them by founding companies with her advisors to partake in the African slave trade. This was an unfortunate, yet undeniably significant event! In examining the tortuous history of slavery in the U.S., we rarely pay much heed to the genesis of the English slave trade in the first place, and this is how, where, and when it got started. And, there can be few more fascinating character studies than this; what was it that persuaded Elizabeth to overcome her moral qualms and partake in something seen even by contemporaries as being reprehensible? We've learned much about Thomas Jefferson's character by such analyses of his paradoxical nature, opposing slavery but owning and never freeing his own. We would be enlightened by doing the same thing in the case of another remarkable national figure, particularly since the subsequent English participation in the slave trade would have such repercussions for the future and bring misery to so many from a continent. These criticisms aside (and, again, they apply to practically every other biography on the market), Ms. Weir's book is, again, highly recommended reading about one of England's best and most intriguing monarchs, and can provide enlightenment that can scarcely be found in other biographies.

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Summary: England's Most Endearing Monarch
Review: Another great book by Alison Weir, but the first half of the book should be renamed "A Husband for Elizabeth." As in Elizabeth I's life, the first part of the book deals with whether or not she will marry and the prospects of who would be her husband. Alison Weir does give the reader a lot of information, but the book is pretty easy to follow. It was not only facinating to read about how and why she ruled the way she did, but also the clothes that made that era truly "Elizabethan." Having already read Mary, Queen of Scots, I appreciated reading Elizabeth's point of view regarding the whole "Mary Situation." A nicely written book to take the reader through the life of Elizabeth I. As with Alison Weir's other books, this one contains wonderful portraits of all of the players involved in her life as well as a geneology table to keep them sorted out.

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Summary: Too much love, not enough genius.
Review: I found the bio to focus too much on Elizabeth's love life (and lack thereof) and not enough on her particular political genius (which I was more interested in finding out more about). I did not finish the book.

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Summary: An Intimate Portrait of Woman who Defined her Age
Review: Alison Weir has turned her scholarly attention on a woman she has touched upon in two previous books, The Children of Henry VIII and the Six Wives of Henry VIII. This time around Ms. Weir's entire skill and art are put to the service of a very remarkable woman who rightfully defined the age in which she lived. The author's love for her subject shines through on every page and the only quibble (and it is very small as quibbles go) is that, on occasion, Ms. Weir is more apologetic than she needs to be. All that aside, this is a marvelous book that brings the actual person alive for the reader and goes beyond the mythology to create a biography that fits wonderfully in amongst Ms. Weir's set of Tudor history books. Another fine achievement from the pen of this wonderfully readable and entertaining historian.

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Summary: An Excellent Read!
Review: Having read Alison Weir's The Children of Henry VIII, I was captivated by her style and decided to read this. I was not disappointed in the least. This excellent book will appeal to anyone interested in the period and will delight those interested in Elizabeth I. The book reads like a dramatic novel, it kept me interested throughout. Her style for relating what could be, to some, somewhat dry as a dynamic, yet in-depth, study of arguably one of the greatest monarch in English history is engrossing. This is definately not one of those books that you fight to get through!! I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in Elizabeth I or in the period of Eurpean history.

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Summary: Mostly Covers Well-Trammelled Ground but Still Valuable
Review: In "Practicing History" Barbara Tuchman wonders aloud why anyone would want to write yet another biography of an English monarch, and anyone reading yet another life on such a famous person as Elizabeth I must ask himself what a new book offers that hasn't been done many times before. Alison Weir's approach to her subject is a very conventional one, and she offers no new interpretation of the queen and the accomplishments of her reign. Her Elizabeth is not the finger-breaking shrew of Carolly Erickson, or Jasper Ridley's hesitant ruler who got along mainly by charisma and luck. Weir doesn't have the elegant and economical style of Elizabeth Jenkins, whose "Elizabeth the Great" is probably the best written biography of the Virgin Queen. There are, however, several reasons to read this book. Most importantly for those unfamiliar with Elizabethan age, Weir explains a great deal about daily life in Elizabeth's time, particularly for courtiers, and she does it without interrupting the flow of her story. She also takes pains to let the reader know what has survived the homes and castles that she has mentioned, so that the modern reader can make a pilgrimage if possible(or to know how much has perished.)Most importantly, she cleans off the accumulation of legends that had somehow become facts over the ages. Elizabeth's famous lament upon hearing of James's I birth that she was "but a barren stock"--a quote used by Antonia Fraser, Elizabeth Jenkins, and many others was in fact from a second-hand account, as indeed are many of the famous stories of the queen's life. Weir's disclosure of all these second-hand sources is the main reason to read this book.

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Summary: Wonderful- complex and well presented
Review: To be the a woman ruler, with a father who mercurial, intricate and complex, to survive a sister hellbent on relgious change and a cousin who speaks French and whose relatives feel she should be queen of England is a great story. Alison Weir presents a solid story, well researched and easy to read. She is not completely scholarly so she is easy to read and keeps the reader involved.

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Summary: Entertaining, if not always strictly historical...
Review: This book was a fun read and I found it hard to put it down. As historical entertainment, (bordering at times on fiction), I wholeheartedly give the book 5 stars. But...some of the conclusions in Ms.Weir's book are sheer speculation, sometimes bordering on irresponsible. (Her appalling theory that Cecil may have had a hand in the murder-probably suicide-of Amy Dudley so shocked me I almost dropped the book from my hands). Also disturbing is the almost cavalier approach the author takes regarding the horrible suffering of conscientious Roman Catholics, dissenting Protestants and Scottish and Irish nationalists. Often Weir assures us that Elizabeth was actually a moderate in such matters, ?!, and that only a few hundred Catholics and a smattering of Anabaptists lost their heads...are we really supposed to think to ourselves, "Oh, is that all..." Mary Stuart's machinations and matrimonial shenanigans were no worse than Elizabeth's, but this book portrays Mary Stuart as an incompetent fool. Mary Stuart was many things...incompetent was not among them...and the yearning for independence and freedom among the Irish and Scottish are treated off-handedly, the insurrections in Ireland being written off as an irritation to Elizabeth's reign. I sometimes expected to turn the page and see Weir write something like: "Why couldn't all these annoying people just keep quiet and be good, loyal Anglicans?" Yet, it's hard to fault Weir's book for all these glosses when so many books on the Elizabethan era take the some approach. This book will leave you in stark admiration for a complex sovereign who ruled her nation as she thought best. Just remember, that the Elizabethan era may have been glorious for some, but for dissenting Protestants like the Puritans, Roman Catholics and Celts, her reign must have been anything but glorious, something this text, like so many others, just drops in the dirt...

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Summary: A personal view of the Queen
Review: I enjoyed this book. It focuses on the personal life of Elizabeth 1 - her temperament, likes and dislikes, and personality. I do wish that the historical times in which Elizabeth lived, the events that shaped her reign and were shaped by her reign, and the deeds of many historically famous individuals of her time were gone into more in detail, (though it does cover Mary Queen of Scots well). For a view of Elizabeth I as a person, this is a good study.