TY  - BOOK
AU  - Weir,Alison
TI  - The life of Elizabeth I
SN  - 9780345425508 (pbk.)
AV  - DA355 .W36 2008
PY  - 2008///
CY  - New York
PB  - Ballantine Books
KW  - Elizabeth
KW  - Englische Sachliteratur
KW  - Gaskell, Elizabeth
KW  - Queen
KW  - Queens
KW  - Great Britain
KW  - Biography
KW  - History
KW  - Elizabeth, 1558-1603
N1  - Includes bibliographical references (p. [491]-508) and index
N2  - The long life and powerful personality of England's beloved Virgin Queen have eternal appeal, and popular historian Alison Weir depicts both with panache. She's especially good at evoking the physical texture of Tudor England: the elaborate royal gowns (actually an intricate assembly of separate fabric panels buttoned together over linen shifts), the luxurious but unhygienic palaces (Elizabeth got the only "close stool"; most members of her retinue relieved themselves in the courtyards), the huge meals heavily seasoned to disguise the taste of spoiled meat. Against this earthy backdrop, Elizabeth's intelligence and formidable political skills stand in vivid relief. She may have been autocratic, devious, even deceptive, but these traits were required to perform a 45-year tightrope walk between the two great powers of Europe, France and Spain. Both countries were eager to bring small, weak England under their sway and to safely marry off its inconveniently independent queen. Weir emphasizes Elizabeth's precarious position as a ruling woman in a man's world, suggesting plausibly that the single life was personally appealing as well as politically expedient for someone who had seen many ambitious ladies--including her own mother--ruined and even executed for just the appearance of sexual indiscretions. The author's evaluations of such key figures in Elizabeth's reign as the Earl of Leicester (arguably the only man she ever loved) and William Cecil (her most trusted adviser) are equally cogent and respectful of psychological complexity. Weir does a fine job of retelling this always-popular story for a new generation
ER  -