Sweet Robin: A Biography of Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester 1533-1588

Rating:
Summary: Well written!
Review: Mr. Wilson's Sweet Robin is a well-written book that is supported by many facts, but not stuffy and hard-to-read, unlike many other books written about England's history. Most people think of Robert Dudley as a blue-blooded scapegoat that history would be better off without. Most scholars nuture this image, painting him as a black-hearted villan. But Mr. Wilson offers us a refreshing change in perception: that of a nobleman trying to survive the tumultuous times of the era in which he lived. That in fact, far from being an evil knave, he, like his forefarthers before him, was guilty only of an extreme loyalty to the particular monarch which he devoted his whole life to. Sweet Robin opens in the time of Robert Dudley's grandfather and continues through his life, chronicaling all the events that shaped him and the people around him. It finally ends a little while after his death, to show how little real influence he had on the changing times, other than through his special bond with Queen Elizabeth. While Robert Dudley is not the most important man this world has ever seen, he is certainly one of the more colorful personages of his time. I commend Mr. Wildon for writing an excellent book!