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thepaige_turner's review
3.0
Extremely interesting but not the best first book to read about Elizabeth. I find that John Guy focussed more on the men in her life than her. I left this knowing a lot about how mad she would get at incompetent men who could barely follow basic instructions but who was she? Still not really sure.
jimmacsyr's review
4.0
Very densely packed with names and events. Elizabeth's personal traits and style come through the story nicely. Interesting to read how some of Shakespeare's plays were written during and inspired by some of the events and tumult. I enjoyed the book very much as well as the reader.
magnetarmadda's review
4.0
This is definitely one of the better connected, most deeply researched Tudor-era historical works I've read. While the subject-focused chapters forced the book to bounce around chronologically, Guy frequently referenced earlier chapter material to keep the reader up-to-date with the picture of the Queen and her government around that topic.
Most books like this are advertised to readers as giving new insights into the subject, but 400+ years after her death, that is extremely difficult to do. However, from the original documents he found and quotes, we see deeper into her diplomacy and governmental thinking on her own terms, or on the terms she shared with her clerks and secretaries, and this creates a fuller image of what she may have believed and wanted for England during the second half of her reign.
Guy is also not afraid to show her for what she really was in the face of her own mistakes: a coward and sometimes a tyrant in matters of her own image, forcing her court and subjects to bend to her will and to accept her version of events as truth. This is an important thing to keep in mind about her, and it is so easily to lose sight of the negatives about her reign because of the good done for England by her.
Overall, I appreciated and enjoyed this insight into the world and papers of a woman who I have admired since childhood for standing up for herself, despite what others said about her at the time, and it is always good to be reminded that your heroes were only human, with faults and all.
Most books like this are advertised to readers as giving new insights into the subject, but 400+ years after her death, that is extremely difficult to do. However, from the original documents he found and quotes, we see deeper into her diplomacy and governmental thinking on her own terms, or on the terms she shared with her clerks and secretaries, and this creates a fuller image of what she may have believed and wanted for England during the second half of her reign.
Guy is also not afraid to show her for what she really was in the face of her own mistakes: a coward and sometimes a tyrant in matters of her own image, forcing her court and subjects to bend to her will and to accept her version of events as truth. This is an important thing to keep in mind about her, and it is so easily to lose sight of the negatives about her reign because of the good done for England by her.
Overall, I appreciated and enjoyed this insight into the world and papers of a woman who I have admired since childhood for standing up for herself, despite what others said about her at the time, and it is always good to be reminded that your heroes were only human, with faults and all.
priamoon's review against another edition
2.0
In terms of posterity, this book is useful and will stay in the spheres of historiography, but it has its flaws in the sense that in order to really appreciate the reading, a previous knowledge of the life of Elizabeth is required, mostly Starkey’s biography, especially since Guy often talks about Starkey’s ideas and thoughts relating Elizabeth, often to portray it as a wrong version of Elizabeth. In that sense, I think that while this book is great for historiography, unlike Lucy Wooding’s Henry and Anna Whitelock’s Mary Tudor, England’s First Queen, I wouldn't recommend it to a friend, because those two that are more available to an audience that would wish to know more about a historical figure without a previous knowledge. However, while his work is done in a precise manner, which is good, he tends to jump around, and this in itself is something that made this reading quite hard. As he says, “Such simplistic, diametrically opposed views of the same woman turn her into a caricature. The reality is more complex.”: Refusing to fit the preconceived ideas of her reign and actually paying extra attention to the raw material is definitely something he can take credit for, but he might also fall into the sexism that was present around her and in the end not giving her enough credit, and making her more of a pawn to her Councillors and her lovers.
joshua_c's review against another edition
4.0
Clearly thoroughly well-researched and making a point to correct many of the common misconceptions around the life and reign of Elizabeth, Guy has produced an excellent narrative and analysis of Elizabeth's time as queen as well as the fractious and intrigue-ridden nature of her court. Highlighting both her flaws and her genius with equal respect, The Forgotten Years is a deeply interesting account that I have found very useful for my understanding of the period.
sophronisba's review
informative
medium-paced
4.25
This is well-researched and well-written, but the ground is (contra the title of the book) somewhat well-trod and Guy struggles to hide his fondness for Mary Queen of Scots.
fictionfan's review
5.0
The woman behind the myth...
In his preface, John Guy suggests that biographers of Elizabeth I of England tend to have paid less attention to the later years of her life, often relying on the accepted story created by earlier writers. Guy has gone back to the original source documents, stripping back the accumulated layers of mythology surrounding her to reveal the complex and very human character beneath.
During the first part of Elizabeth's reign, she was under continual pressure to marry, partly to provide an heir but also because of the prevailing feeling that women were not suited to be monarchs. Having seen the unhappy and unsuccessful marriage of her sister Mary to Philip of Spain, not to mention the hardly idyllic marriage of her tyrannical father to her soon-to-be-headless mother, Elizabeth was always reluctant to reach a decision that would make her subordinate to a husband. However, marriage negotiations rumbled on throughout her child-bearing years.
But by the age of 50 when it was finally clear that the Queen would have no direct heir, Guy suggests she was for the first time really accepted, however reluctantly, as a monarch in her own right – a Prince or King as she often referred to herself – and felt herself freer to stamp her royal authority on those around her. These later years – the period covered in this book – were dominated by the interminable wars in Europe, concern over the succession, power struggles and conspiracies at home, and, of course, Essex, her arrogant young favourite.
As well as being a serious historian, Guy has a gift for storytelling which always makes his books a pleasure to read. It seems to me he has mastered the art of presenting history in a way that makes it fully accessible to the casual, non-academic reader without ever 'dumbing down'. He does masses of research, from original sources where possible, then, having decided what 'story' he is going to tell, he distils all that information down to those people and events that will illustrate his arguments. It's a simplification in presentation, but not in scholarship. As with all the best historical writers, he knows what information should appear in the main body of the text and what can be left to the notes at the back for people who wish to look into the subject more deeply. As a result, the cast of 'characters', which can often become overwhelming in history books, is kept to a small, manageable level, and the reader gets to know not just the principal subject but the people who most closely influence events.
So in this book, as well as a revealing and convincing picture of the ageing Elizabeth, we also get a thorough understanding of those who were most relevant to her at this later period: an equally ageing Burghley, and the younger men, struggling amongst themselves to win her favour and the political power that came with it – Burghley's son Cecil, Sir Walter Ralegh, and Essex, who almost shares star billing with the Queen herself.
The first few chapters romp through the early years of Elizabeth's accession and reign, really just to give the reader a bit of background, then each subsequent chapter focuses on a particular person or event. As is my usual way, I found the sections relating to the wars least interesting, though Guy does a good job of explaining all the shifting allegiances and showing how the various campaigns led to the rise or fall of those leading them. He also shows the contrast between Elizabeth's concern for her aristocratic commanders and her casual disregard for the welfare of the ordinary soldiers, sometimes leaving them unpaid and with no way to get home from their campaigns. But throughout the period, as usual in these endless wars, those at the top were constantly changing sides or even religions, and no-one really ever seems to win or lose, and I just don't care!
Much more interesting to me are the power struggles at home and Guy gives a very clear picture of the personalities involved here. In the latter years of Elizabeth's reign, Burghley was ageing, while Walsingham's death left a vacancy Elizabeth found difficult to fill. But worse, she had also lost Leicester, the love of her life. She may have had disagreements with all three of these men at various times, but she also depended on them and trusted them to a degree that she would find difficult with the young men coming up. Guy makes clear that, while Essex was a favourite, he was no replacement for Leicester and Elizabeth was fairly clear-sighted about his weaknesses and unreliability. Burghley was keen that his son, Cecil, should succeed him as the main power in the government, while Ralegh and Essex looked to war and naval exploits to gain favour.
Once it was clear that Elizabeth would never have a child, her advisers wanted to settle the question of the succession. However, Elizabeth would never allow this to be discussed, partly through a dislike of thinking about her death and partly because she feared that a settled succession may lead to conspiracies to force her to abdicate or, worse, to murder her, thus making way for the new king. The obvious successor in terms of bloodlines was James VI of Scotland and he had the further advantage of having been brought up in the Protestant religion. Elizabeth's refusal to name a successor meant that, as she approached the end of her life, even her nearest courtiers were carrying on secret correspondences with James – Essex primarily for his own advantage and possibly to the point of treason, but also Cecil who, while looking out for his own interests too, seemed genuinely to want to avoid major disruption on Elizabeth's death.
Guy's portrait of Elizabeth feels credible and human. She seems to have been vain and capricious, temperamental, cruel when angered and vindictive when she felt betrayed. But as we see her age, with all her early advisors dying one by one, including Leicester, her one true love, and eventually also Kate Carey, her greatest friend, in the end she seems a rather lonely and pitiful figure. Another first-class biography from Guy – highly recommended.
NB This book was provided for review by the publisher, Viking Books.
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
In his preface, John Guy suggests that biographers of Elizabeth I of England tend to have paid less attention to the later years of her life, often relying on the accepted story created by earlier writers. Guy has gone back to the original source documents, stripping back the accumulated layers of mythology surrounding her to reveal the complex and very human character beneath.
During the first part of Elizabeth's reign, she was under continual pressure to marry, partly to provide an heir but also because of the prevailing feeling that women were not suited to be monarchs. Having seen the unhappy and unsuccessful marriage of her sister Mary to Philip of Spain, not to mention the hardly idyllic marriage of her tyrannical father to her soon-to-be-headless mother, Elizabeth was always reluctant to reach a decision that would make her subordinate to a husband. However, marriage negotiations rumbled on throughout her child-bearing years.
But by the age of 50 when it was finally clear that the Queen would have no direct heir, Guy suggests she was for the first time really accepted, however reluctantly, as a monarch in her own right – a Prince or King as she often referred to herself – and felt herself freer to stamp her royal authority on those around her. These later years – the period covered in this book – were dominated by the interminable wars in Europe, concern over the succession, power struggles and conspiracies at home, and, of course, Essex, her arrogant young favourite.
As well as being a serious historian, Guy has a gift for storytelling which always makes his books a pleasure to read. It seems to me he has mastered the art of presenting history in a way that makes it fully accessible to the casual, non-academic reader without ever 'dumbing down'. He does masses of research, from original sources where possible, then, having decided what 'story' he is going to tell, he distils all that information down to those people and events that will illustrate his arguments. It's a simplification in presentation, but not in scholarship. As with all the best historical writers, he knows what information should appear in the main body of the text and what can be left to the notes at the back for people who wish to look into the subject more deeply. As a result, the cast of 'characters', which can often become overwhelming in history books, is kept to a small, manageable level, and the reader gets to know not just the principal subject but the people who most closely influence events.
So in this book, as well as a revealing and convincing picture of the ageing Elizabeth, we also get a thorough understanding of those who were most relevant to her at this later period: an equally ageing Burghley, and the younger men, struggling amongst themselves to win her favour and the political power that came with it – Burghley's son Cecil, Sir Walter Ralegh, and Essex, who almost shares star billing with the Queen herself.
The first few chapters romp through the early years of Elizabeth's accession and reign, really just to give the reader a bit of background, then each subsequent chapter focuses on a particular person or event. As is my usual way, I found the sections relating to the wars least interesting, though Guy does a good job of explaining all the shifting allegiances and showing how the various campaigns led to the rise or fall of those leading them. He also shows the contrast between Elizabeth's concern for her aristocratic commanders and her casual disregard for the welfare of the ordinary soldiers, sometimes leaving them unpaid and with no way to get home from their campaigns. But throughout the period, as usual in these endless wars, those at the top were constantly changing sides or even religions, and no-one really ever seems to win or lose, and I just don't care!
Much more interesting to me are the power struggles at home and Guy gives a very clear picture of the personalities involved here. In the latter years of Elizabeth's reign, Burghley was ageing, while Walsingham's death left a vacancy Elizabeth found difficult to fill. But worse, she had also lost Leicester, the love of her life. She may have had disagreements with all three of these men at various times, but she also depended on them and trusted them to a degree that she would find difficult with the young men coming up. Guy makes clear that, while Essex was a favourite, he was no replacement for Leicester and Elizabeth was fairly clear-sighted about his weaknesses and unreliability. Burghley was keen that his son, Cecil, should succeed him as the main power in the government, while Ralegh and Essex looked to war and naval exploits to gain favour.
Once it was clear that Elizabeth would never have a child, her advisers wanted to settle the question of the succession. However, Elizabeth would never allow this to be discussed, partly through a dislike of thinking about her death and partly because she feared that a settled succession may lead to conspiracies to force her to abdicate or, worse, to murder her, thus making way for the new king. The obvious successor in terms of bloodlines was James VI of Scotland and he had the further advantage of having been brought up in the Protestant religion. Elizabeth's refusal to name a successor meant that, as she approached the end of her life, even her nearest courtiers were carrying on secret correspondences with James – Essex primarily for his own advantage and possibly to the point of treason, but also Cecil who, while looking out for his own interests too, seemed genuinely to want to avoid major disruption on Elizabeth's death.
Guy's portrait of Elizabeth feels credible and human. She seems to have been vain and capricious, temperamental, cruel when angered and vindictive when she felt betrayed. But as we see her age, with all her early advisors dying one by one, including Leicester, her one true love, and eventually also Kate Carey, her greatest friend, in the end she seems a rather lonely and pitiful figure. Another first-class biography from Guy – highly recommended.
NB This book was provided for review by the publisher, Viking Books.
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
caidyn's review against another edition
informative
medium-paced
4.0
An interesting read on Elizabeth's later years. A lot of time is spent on her early years of life and her reign, so this was refreshing in many ways.