The Life of Elizabeth I

The Life of Elizabeth I by Alison Weir
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

After having some doubts with Weir's authorship with Mary Boleyn: The Mistress of Kings, I was glad to be reassured with her biography of Elizabeth I of England.

I've always loved Elizabeth. Her story captivated me. The girl who had lost her mother at such a young age and lived in such a perilous age brought glory to her country once again. I had watched countless movies with her and the fascination grew from there.

I knew of the important facts of Elizabeth's reign, but with this book I got a better look at it. Weir made Elizabeth come alive again.

The book starts where The Children of Henry VIII left off with Elizabeth's ascension. There are twenty seven chapters and an epilogue and even that didn't seem like enough to me. Luckily Weir a listed a great bibliography, so I'll be checking out some of those.

This a great biography. Weir doesn't shy away from Elizabeth's faults, but also praises her achievements. I was truly sad when the end came.

There is an author's note in the back about Elizabeth in film. I was a little dismayed when she took the piss out of the Cate Blanchett films since I love her portrayal of her, but with reading this book I can see the flaws of the film. Still I am planning on watching a few of her approved Elizabeth roles.

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Elizabeth: Virgin Queen? by Phillipa Jones

Elizabeth: Virgin Queen? by Philippa Jones
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was officially my first bio on Elizabeth I, though I've read a lot about her father's reign and I own a biography on her mother, Anne Boleyn.

This particular one focused on whether or not Elizabeth had any children and the possibilities when they could have born as well as commenting on other things of Elizabeth's reign. I really enjoyed and I thought the author didn't have any bias on who might have possibly been Elizabeth's child. But like her previous book The Other Tudors: Henry VIII's Mistresses and Bastards I did notice a few mistakes. Just on birth date and years, but it was easily overlooked.

I give this book 4 stars. Very interesting, but it was a little light on other important aspects of Elizabeth's life, though I suppose if you're looking for a general biography of Elizabeth, you might look elsewhere.

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