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nickelini's review against another edition
challenging
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
sharonrose47's review against another edition
challenging
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Historical novel about the life of Elizabeth I beginning at the time of the Armada up through the plots of Essex; gave a very full portrait of a complicated character and the people around her.
emmylee04's review against another edition
3.0
I do love Margaret George but wasn't as swept away by Elizabeth as I was by, for example, Cleopatra. Overall an excellent read, and I did love the countervailing viewpoints of the two women. I recommend this one for Tudor fans or George fans, but I wouldn't have this be your first George historical novel.
louisefbooks96's review against another edition
5.0
One of the longest books i have read in a long time a utterly interesting story about Elizabeth with more fact than fiction! Takes a while to get into but once you've started you become hooked a must read if a tudor lover! Was fantastic for me as i don't know much about Elizabeth's reign itself
catherineo's review against another edition
4.0
Long, steady, read in 9 days over two flights and all the in between.
tamaraepps's review against another edition
4.0
This review has been cross-posted at Captivated by Books
It is only recently that I have started becoming interested in reading historical fiction. I have always liked history; not the remembering of names and dates, but discovering how people lived, and historical fiction is a doorway for my mind. Unfortunately this novel, in some ways, felt like reading a textbook with plenty of names that seemed almost familiar and dates of battles, although most of this information was portrayed through dialogue which made it easier to follow. Nethertheless, in my opinion, the detail to facts was almost clinical throughout most of the book, which made the book a lot less pleasurable to read.
The book is told in split first person. Personally I found the ‘Lettice’ character much easier to understand and follow, and therefore more relatable to. Elizabeth, on the other hand, was too much like reading facts with no life behind them. I realise this is probably due in large part to the fact that no one really knows how Elizabeth felt about anything, but it did make reading from her point of view almost nothing more than a series of events, and I found it impossible to empathise with her. However, the book starts with a few scenes to set the time, and I didn’t realise that Elizabeth wasn’t the only perspective the book would be told from until quite late in as the novel isn’t evenly spread between the two.
The research that has gone into the book, however, has to be mentioned. At 662 pages it is far from a short read, and every page is filled with the details of the women’s lives, as well as the many key men in their lives, which I can only imagine must have taken years to research.
Personally this wasn’t my favourite historical read ever, but I did feel I was learning (seriously, my history knowledge is truly appalling), and feel this book has a unique perspective in not only using first person, but telling it from two points of view. Of course, due to the nature of the book, there isn’t really a plot to follow and I think that may have made reading a little arduous for me at times; however I wanted to read more for the majority of it. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys historical fiction and isn’t afraid to dedicate a decent block of time to reading it (it took me 2 weeks to read).
Overall Rating: 3.5/5
It is only recently that I have started becoming interested in reading historical fiction. I have always liked history; not the remembering of names and dates, but discovering how people lived, and historical fiction is a doorway for my mind. Unfortunately this novel, in some ways, felt like reading a textbook with plenty of names that seemed almost familiar and dates of battles, although most of this information was portrayed through dialogue which made it easier to follow. Nethertheless, in my opinion, the detail to facts was almost clinical throughout most of the book, which made the book a lot less pleasurable to read.
The book is told in split first person. Personally I found the ‘Lettice’ character much easier to understand and follow, and therefore more relatable to. Elizabeth, on the other hand, was too much like reading facts with no life behind them. I realise this is probably due in large part to the fact that no one really knows how Elizabeth felt about anything, but it did make reading from her point of view almost nothing more than a series of events, and I found it impossible to empathise with her. However, the book starts with a few scenes to set the time, and I didn’t realise that Elizabeth wasn’t the only perspective the book would be told from until quite late in as the novel isn’t evenly spread between the two.
The research that has gone into the book, however, has to be mentioned. At 662 pages it is far from a short read, and every page is filled with the details of the women’s lives, as well as the many key men in their lives, which I can only imagine must have taken years to research.
Personally this wasn’t my favourite historical read ever, but I did feel I was learning (seriously, my history knowledge is truly appalling), and feel this book has a unique perspective in not only using first person, but telling it from two points of view. Of course, due to the nature of the book, there isn’t really a plot to follow and I think that may have made reading a little arduous for me at times; however I wanted to read more for the majority of it. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys historical fiction and isn’t afraid to dedicate a decent block of time to reading it (it took me 2 weeks to read).
Overall Rating: 3.5/5
cheri_maci's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoyed this book because I enjoy historical fiction and love reading about this time in history. I would not though recommend this book to anyone who does not like this genre because on its own there is not much for the modern age reader. The book starts with the battles with the Spanish and only starts to get interesting when Lettice is introduced. The one thing I found odd though is that the story progresses though the years and suddenly in the middle of the book we come across a custom which is performed every year but this is the first time that it is introduced in the story. The custom is then described in detail, slightly derailing the story itself.
linwearcamenel's review against another edition
4.0
More of a 3.5. I was a little confused, because we were coming in halfway through her life, so if there had been two books, encompassing her entire reign, it probably would have felt less unfinished. It also would have been extremely long, though. The story I did read was enjoyable though. I liked how Henry VIII had achieved such an aura by her time...by the standards of the day, he was considered an excellent ruler, no matter how we remember him.
I think I liked [b:The Autobiography of Henry VIII: With Notes by His Fool, Will Somers|10108|The Autobiography of Henry VIII With Notes by His Fool, Will Somers|Margaret George|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1166115529s/10108.jpg|2505877] better. And [b:The Memoirs of Cleopatra|10115|The Memoirs of Cleopatra|Margaret George|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1166115556s/10115.jpg|12852]. It could just be that Elizabeth I has never been my favorite subject.
I think I liked [b:The Autobiography of Henry VIII: With Notes by His Fool, Will Somers|10108|The Autobiography of Henry VIII With Notes by His Fool, Will Somers|Margaret George|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1166115529s/10108.jpg|2505877] better. And [b:The Memoirs of Cleopatra|10115|The Memoirs of Cleopatra|Margaret George|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1166115556s/10115.jpg|12852]. It could just be that Elizabeth I has never been my favorite subject.
krista7's review against another edition
3.0
Margaret George's first novels--on Henry VIII and Cleopatra--were fascinating because they gave us insight into the character of a famous figure. After reading "Elizabeth I," however, I lacked a strong sense of Gloriana's identity. Instead, the book seems to mire down in the day-by-day details of Elizabeth's later reign, and the title itself is a misnomer: the book is equally fascinated with the queen, her cousin (Lettice Knollys) and her cousin's ambitious son (Lord Essex). Somewhat pedantic, overly eager to be seen as "historical," the book does not live up to Margaret George's earlier works.