A review by naomi41
Elizabeth I: Red Rose of the House of Tudor, England, 1544 by Kathryn Lasky

4.0

This is a really good book- it is the fictionalized diary of Elizabeth I while she was in her early teen years. I thought it was a quick read because I had no other book to read. This book is just about what Elizabeth would have been doing as a Princess in the Royal Court of her father King Henry VIII and his 6th wife Queen Catherine Parr. She lived with her dear brother Prince Edward (at the end of the book, he becomes King Edward IV when their father passes), and her loathesome sister Princess Mary (aka Queen Mary I or Bloody Mary). She pours her heart out about being an "invisible" daughter and her troubles of entering and exiting exile every other year. Even though the story is mainly fictional, you still learned historical events such as the accomplishments of her father King Henry VIII, his six wives starting with Catherine of Aragon until his death with wife Catherine Parr. You learn about Renaissance England a little bit and how it was a Protestant community that Mary I later tried to turn Catholic (in honour of her Spanish Blood). Elizabeth I was probably one of the greatest monarchs of English history "The Elizabethan Age" named after her 45 year ruling as a single Queen. Her many accomplishments showed a strong willed woman, and we got to see her in a different light and how she may have been as a child.