Genre: Historical Fiction
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Elizabeth is a bright child and right away notices the difference in the way she is addressed. Her intelligence grows as she does and the reader sees the young Elizabeth grow in wit and daring. She is a person of strong opinions, and keen intelligence and does well in her studies. I can easily see this Elizabeth growing into the Elizabeth I've read about in history books.
The family dynamics in this novel proved interesting as Elizabeth has many step mothers. She certainly enjoys her time with Jane Seymour; being young, she enjoys the life at court and the procession at Christmas time and her father, Henry VIII seems to dote on her. Later in the novel, he is quite upset at her for questioning some matters of religion, and sends her away but is later accepted again at court. When Henry VIII dies, Elizabeth is saddened because her father has always been larger than life.
And Elizabeth is of an age when life for her becomes more precarious as a young king's sister. I thought the way the author handled Elizabeth's life with Katherine Parr and her husband, Thomas Seymour, very interesting indeed. In history, there is much reference made to her so called step-father teasing her in ways that were certainly inappropriate at the time, and today would be considered child molestation. And what comes of part of history in the novel certainly shed some new light on the character who had always protested she would never marry (as the woman herself did) and one who later would be called the Virgin Queen. Yet these were pages that taught our character valuable lessons as her life is now one where she must walk on political eggshells, especially after Edward's death.
It saddened me to see that Mary, a character who had loved Elizabeth, turn so bitterly against her. Mary's reign are not good years for Elizabeth as she becomes the focus of Protestant plots against the Catholic Mary. Elizabeth uses all of her wit and intelligence to survive, remaining loyal to her sister throughout. I admired her strength, tenacity and quick thinking. She also has vulnerabilities; a deep dread of being beheaded like her mother, an anxiety of being sent to the Tower so great that it softens her a little, makes her human, shows the deep emotion and passion of this woman.
I have to say, as someone who studied Elizabeth I a little, this novel did a wonderful job in bringing her to life, and revealing to us something of what this woman's mind must have been like. Five stars are hardly enough in my books.
Happy Reading ,
Jewels
1 comments:
Again I liked your review about Alison Weir. Must read her more! The Lady Elizabeth sounds a little different from what I read long ago as a teenager.
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