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astiflo's review against another edition
5.0
Review of an ARC Copy
I had already read The Tudor Chronicles by the same author and am a fan of the Tudor period so already had a good chronological knowledge of the period and the main actors. I found the approach Susan Doran chose for "Elizabeth I and her circle" extremely interesting, especially the structure of the book, which goes through Elizabeth's relatioships with the composants of the circle, being individuals or interest groups. This book is, imho, a must read for those who already know the basics on the Tudor and the chronological events in Elizabeth's life but are interested in understanding her profound motives.
I had already read The Tudor Chronicles by the same author and am a fan of the Tudor period so already had a good chronological knowledge of the period and the main actors. I found the approach Susan Doran chose for "Elizabeth I and her circle" extremely interesting, especially the structure of the book, which goes through Elizabeth's relatioships with the composants of the circle, being individuals or interest groups. This book is, imho, a must read for those who already know the basics on the Tudor and the chronological events in Elizabeth's life but are interested in understanding her profound motives.
sophronisba's review against another edition
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.25
I thought this was a pretty good precis of Elizabeth's various relationships -- I particularly enjoyed the Christopher Hatton and James I/VI chapters. Super-interesting approach to Elizabeth's life.
helenephoebe's review against another edition
4.0
Review - A very new and original way of looking at Elizabeth I - through the eyes of those around her. Including excellent sections on William Cecil, Mary Queen of Scots, Robert Dudley and the Earl of Essex in particular, this book also looks at Elizabeth's relationships with her parents and siblings as well as her wider family like the Greys and the Scottish side. Definitely well-worth a read. I do wish, however, that the book had focused wider as well, looking for example, at Cecil's building projects, and Dudley's relationship with his wife and siblings.
General Subject/s? - History / Biography / Elizabeth I
Recommend? – Yes
Rating - 17/20
General Subject/s? - History / Biography / Elizabeth I
Recommend? – Yes
Rating - 17/20
amber2020's review against another edition
2.0
Doran's factual knowledge and research is evident throughout the text however her choice of layout severely hinders the depth of her analysis. She goes to great lengths in her introduction to justify her decision not to write the book chronologically, instead splitting it into sections by the relationship to the queen which the subjects of the book held e.g. family, courtiers, privy council members. This had great potential; I've seen it work in the past and welcomed it with celebration in my undergraduate days of trawling through texts for evidence, but here it caused confusion and repetition.
The main shortfall of Doran's approach is that she never found a way of contextualising information in each section without retelling the story of what Elizabeth herself was doing at that moment. I'm far from an expert in Elizabethan history however I have a good grasp of it and in all honesty I only need to read about her reaction to Mary Queen of Scots death once in a text. I would expect going into the book that Doran would then spend the chapters on Privy Council members dealing with their involvement in this episode and other matters in-depthly rather than telling me again what Elizabeth's reaction was. In these moments I'm not supposed to be diverting attention back to Elizabeth but Doran's contextualisation attempts go beyond their remit and are distracting; editing would have severely aided this. Confusion arises also as it is hard to keep track of who she is analysing - this was exacerbated by the fact I was listening to an audiobook and could not flick back and check relationships and titles etcetera but it does also stem from her frequent breaks from the analysis of characters for contextual purposes.
Despite the fact it was split to allow clarity and increased depth of analysis I feel it lacked both in places. In speaking about the ladies Elizabeth surrounded herself with, Doran split them well, dealing with one and moving on however in other sections she jumped from one person to another and back again which made it difficult to know who she was referring to, particularly when they began to change titles in their later careers.
Ironically though she back referenced overly in many places she failed to in vital places. During the chapters on her 'ladies in waiting' I struggled to remember exactly which of them had the scandalous marriages which were referenced in her earlier chapters on their husbands, a fault of my own memory, yes, but also of the book as only a sentence would have been needed to reference it.
Overall I found myself not enjoying this text and it was a chore to finish it, which is a pity as I'm interested in the period and find Elizabeth I fascinating.
The main shortfall of Doran's approach is that she never found a way of contextualising information in each section without retelling the story of what Elizabeth herself was doing at that moment. I'm far from an expert in Elizabethan history however I have a good grasp of it and in all honesty I only need to read about her reaction to Mary Queen of Scots death once in a text. I would expect going into the book that Doran would then spend the chapters on Privy Council members dealing with their involvement in this episode and other matters in-depthly rather than telling me again what Elizabeth's reaction was. In these moments I'm not supposed to be diverting attention back to Elizabeth but Doran's contextualisation attempts go beyond their remit and are distracting; editing would have severely aided this. Confusion arises also as it is hard to keep track of who she is analysing - this was exacerbated by the fact I was listening to an audiobook and could not flick back and check relationships and titles etcetera but it does also stem from her frequent breaks from the analysis of characters for contextual purposes.
Despite the fact it was split to allow clarity and increased depth of analysis I feel it lacked both in places. In speaking about the ladies Elizabeth surrounded herself with, Doran split them well, dealing with one and moving on however in other sections she jumped from one person to another and back again which made it difficult to know who she was referring to, particularly when they began to change titles in their later careers.
Ironically though she back referenced overly in many places she failed to in vital places. During the chapters on her 'ladies in waiting' I struggled to remember exactly which of them had the scandalous marriages which were referenced in her earlier chapters on their husbands, a fault of my own memory, yes, but also of the book as only a sentence would have been needed to reference it.
Overall I found myself not enjoying this text and it was a chore to finish it, which is a pity as I'm interested in the period and find Elizabeth I fascinating.
kikiandarrowsfishshelf's review against another edition
4.0
Disclaimer: ARC via Netgalley
Dorman’s book looks at Elizabeth though the great Queen’s relationships with various people of her court and family. Dorman’s approach is to divide the book up into Family, Courtiers, Women (servants) and councilors. The first and last sections of the book are the best.
The most disappointing section is the one about Elizabeth’s women. It is the shortest section, grouping all the women into one chapter as opposed to an individual chapter per important person as in the other sections. In part, this is could be due to a lack of first hand sources as well as the fact that the women weren’t on the grand stage, yet it still feels disappointing. It does, however, do an excellent job of illustrating that Elizabeth’s concerns about her women’s romantic activities was not due to jealously or a determination that everyone always be a virgin.
The first chapter stands out because of the detail Dorman gives in looking at Elizabeth’s relationship or lack thereof with her father. While the other chapters, centering on siblings and various cousins cover much detail that is well known to the Tudor student, the chapter on Henry VIII looks closely at the gifts that Elizabeth gave her father and comes to some thought provoking conclusions.
The courtier section simply retreads the stories that most people know so well and the chapters in the councilor section about the Cecils do the same. The chapter about Walsingham is nicely done and goes a long way to adding toward the understanding of the Moor.
shivvyslibrary's review against another edition
4.0
This is a non-fiction book that explores the relationships of Elizabeth I and the people around her, such as her family and kin, her courtiers and her councillors. I liked how each person connected and associated with Elizabeth was given their own chapters, so you were able to read and find out more about the person themselves and what sort of relationship they had with Elizabeth, but also what events they witnessed and helped to be reminded throughout history. Very informative and would recommend to anyone who enjoys history, especially Tudor and Elizabethan history and those who wish to explore more figures associated with Elizabeth I, the Virgin Queen.
swifteagle's review against another edition
4.0
I received a free copy in a Goodreads 'First Reads' giveaway.
I'm fascinated by Tudor history and have read plenty of books about Elizabeth, but I think that using a thematic rather than a chronological approach worked really well to mark this out as different. It does make it slightly more difficult in places to keep track of relationships between the courtiers themselves but Doran has tried to cross-reference in most cases to keep these in context.
A very well written and researched book, I would definitely recommend it for anyone wanting to look at Elizabeth's rule in a slightly different way.
I'm fascinated by Tudor history and have read plenty of books about Elizabeth, but I think that using a thematic rather than a chronological approach worked really well to mark this out as different. It does make it slightly more difficult in places to keep track of relationships between the courtiers themselves but Doran has tried to cross-reference in most cases to keep these in context.
A very well written and researched book, I would definitely recommend it for anyone wanting to look at Elizabeth's rule in a slightly different way.
karingforbooks's review
4.0
It is definitely dense, just packed with information, that requires much longer to read and absorb. That said, I liked that she included multiple views of Elizabeth and the listed personages in the book, rather than only including those sources that tend to the author’s beliefs. I liked that she clearly stated what the general consensus tended toward, what the dissent was, and what she thought. She used quotes liberally and once you adjust to the inconsistent spelling of 16th c England, they’re great. She organized it well and kept each person largely within their own chapter but discussed the same topics for continuity. It’s a good book.
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