The Queen's Fool

Summary: It is winter, 1553. Pursued by the Inquisition, Hannah Green, a fourteen-year-old Jewish girl, is forced to flee Spain with her father. But Hannah is no ordinary refugee. Her gift of "Sight," the ability to foresee the future, is priceless in the troubled times of the Tudor court. Hannah is adopted by the glamorous Robert Dudley, the charismatic son of King Edward's protector, who brings her to court as a "holy fool" for Queen Mary and, ultimately, Queen Elizabeth. Hired as a fool but working as a spy; promised in wedlock but in love with her master; endangered by the laws against heresy, treason, and witchcraft, Hannah must choose between the safe life of a commoner and the dangerous intrigues of the royal family that are inextricably bound up in her own yearnings and desires. 


About: 
Author: Philippa Gregory
Pages: 504
Published: 2004


Review:
Coming by the end of November!


Rating: 
/5 stars

Beware, Princess Elizabeth

Summary: Imprisonment. Betrayal. Lost love. Murder. What more must a princess endure? Elizabeth Tudor's teenage and young adult years during the turbulent reigns of Edward and then Mary Tudor are hardly those of a fairy-tale princess. Her mother has been beheaded by Elizabeth's own father, Henry VIII; her jealous half sister, Mary, has her locked away in the Tower of London; and her only love interest betrays her in his own quest for the throne. 

Told in the voice of the young Elizabeth and ending when she is crowned queen, this second novel in the exciting series explores the relationship between two sisters who became mortal enemies. Carolyn Meyer has written an intriguing historical tale that reveals the deep-seated rivalry between a determined girl who became one of England's most powerful monarchs and the sister who tried everything to stop her.

About:

Author: Carolyn Meyer

Pages: 214

Year Published: 2001

Review:

Another read about Elizabeth I's early days as a princess. This book was written by the same author who wrote a book I love, Doomed Queen Anne. I was actually quite disappointed by this book; maybe it's just that Elizabeth's early days didn't really interest me all that much.

She wrote this book in a very similar style as that of her book of Anne Boleyn, and yet this novel had a more or less textbook-like feel. It wasn't much of a story, to me, but the parts that did have that 'story' element to it were very enjoyable. 

Overall, this was historically accurate to my knowledge. The 'romance' in the summary is a bit over-hyped and there would be little dialogue at some point, but it was an enjoyable enough read that I think young adults would enjoy. It's a pretty fast one, too, an 'introduction' to Elizabeth Tudor, and what lead up to her ascent to the throne.

Rating:

3 stars/5 stars

The Royal Diaries: Elizabeth I, Red Rose of the House of Tudor

Summary: Daughter of a fallen queen, young Princess Elizabeth lives a complicated and dangerous life. She fears her father's famous temper but loves him dearly, noting that she would trade all her jewels just to be noticed by him. She also loves her brother Edward, heir to the English throne, but doesn't like her older sister Mary, who torments her and conspires against her. Kat, her governess, is so worried for Elizabeth's life that she spends hours checking their room for poison whenever they move to a new palace. Court intrigues swirl around her, the French are threatening an invasion, and Kat is clamoring for her to have another bath--that makes nearly six in three months! Through Elizabeth's diary, author Kathryn Lasky brings the Tudor world to life: glittering banquets of peacock, eel, and swan; palaces so stinky that "everyone goes about with their noses buried in pomander balls to hide the stench"; archery contests, where Elizabeth excels; and Latin and logic lessons... where she needs a little work. 


About:
Author: Kathryn Lasky
Pages: 240
Published: 1999


Review:


This is a fictional diary of Elizabeth I, before she was the great "Virgin Queen." In this story, she starts eleven-years-old, probably around the age appropriate for readers of this diary.


I enjoyed it, and found it to be quite, quite accurate. I actually have little problems about it, as, one has to bear in mind the audience/age group it is meant for. I also really enjoyed all the background information in the back of this book. There are biographies about her mother/stepmothers, her father Henry VIII, ancestors, and a bit about her reign. I found this very helpful/resourceful.


My minor issues with this book come with some short, unnecessary entries, like "Rained again... something, something..." They seemed quite pointless to me. Also, Elizabeth's voice seemed a bit childish. I suppose she was eleven-thirteen throughout the years this story took place, but her childishness was more modern, a bit too modern for 1544-1547, in my opinion. Still a good, informational, and entertaining read, though, and I would recommend it to any curious young adult.


Rating: 3.5/5 stars

The Virgin's Lover

Summary:

As a new queen, Elizabeth faces two great dangers: the French invasion of Scotland, which threatens to put Mary Queen of Scots on her throne, and her passion for the convicted traitor Robert Dudley.

But Dudley is already married, and his devoted wife Amy will never give him up, least of all to an upstart Protestant Princess. She refuses to set her beloved husband free to marry the queen; but she cannot prevent him from becoming the favorite and the focus of the feverishly plotting, pleasure seeking court.

Others too oppose the marriage, but for very different reasons. William Cecil, the queen's wisest counselor, knows she must marry for policy; her uncle hates Dudley and swears he will murder him first. Behind the triangle of lovers, the factions take up their places: the Protestants, the priests, the assassins, the diplomats and the moneymakers. The very coin of England is shaved and clipped to nothing as Elizabeth uncertainly leads her bankrupt country into a war that no-one thinks can be won.

Then someone acts in secret, and for Elizabeth, Dudley and the emerging kingdom, nothing will be as planned.

Blending historical fact with contemporary rumor, Philippa Gregory has created a dark and tense novel of Tudor times, which casts Elizabeth I in a light no one has suggested before. Passionate, fearful, emotionally needy, this is a queen who will stop at nothing.

About:

Author: Philippa Gregory

Year Published: 2004

Pages: 441

Review:

My first novel about Queen Elizabeth I. I've read at least five novels of her mother, Anne Boleyn, and one biography about her, but I've never tried at a historical fiction novel of her. For the most part, I did enjoy this book; I liked the writing style and my attentions were caught early on. Beginning this story, I had high expectations for it, and they were mildly let down.

Firstly, what I disliked about this story. I still feel the author's grudge over Anne Boleyn; I feel it carried on to her daughter, Elizabeth I. Queen Elizabeth I is known for her strength from childhood to queenhood. I don't feel that this novel captured that; it portrays Elizabeth as a dependent, needy, and emotional brat. Also, there is no protagonist in this novel; no antagonist (other than the French, perhaps?). I feel almost as though the author wants you to hate all the characters. Elizabeth, the marriage-destroyer and brat, Robert Dudley, the over-ambitious cuckold, Amy Robsart, the annoying, emotional, and clingy 'inconvinient' wife - while I adore the historical figure of Elizabeth I, I disliked her in this novel, nor did I like Robert Dudley or his wife.

Beyond character portrayals and what not, this book had no plot whatsoever. It was simply a friendship-turned-romance between Elizabeth and Robert, which excited me at first, with some historical events in the background, and it just continued like that. More progress on the war with the French, more progress in Elizabeth's and Robert's relationship: nothing solid really happening. I did enjoy the flirtation between the queen and her master of horse, but after a while, the same sequence of events got pretty boring. Nothing really changes until the end, which I don't want to spoil for you.

What did I like about this novel? I enjoyed the writing and the strong romantic dynamic. I like how the English battles with the French were described in a non-textbook sort of way, and how, since this novel wasn't in first person, you could get inside all the characters' heads! What also interested me was the idea that the Virgin Queen Elizabeth had sexual relations with Robert Dudley. Now I've never even considered Elizabeth having sexual intercourse with anyone, so this was a very interesting theory to me.

Overall, this was an entertaining read with a surprising ending (though not a very strong one - I was left wanting a lot more) and romantic elements. My only problem was that it seemed to just drag on. It didn't follow a plot. But, I would recommend it to anyone curious as to the early years of Queen Elizabeth I's reign.

Rating:

2.5 stars/5 stars