Queen Elizabeth I

Author: Susan Doran

Rating: 3 Stars

Review:

If you never read a single book about Elizabeth I, don't start with this one. It does a nice job of giving an introduction to Elizabeth's reign, but is by no means comprehensive all all-encompassing. Even Doran, who is quite biased in Elizabeth's favor, has written better (I recently read an ARC from NetGalley by Doran called Elizabeth I and Her Circle, much better though still quick to excuse Elizabeth's flaws instead of admitting they're there and leaving it at that.)

To me forever, Elizabeth will be a manipulative, spoiled, attention-demanding, tantrum-prone queen. Though Mary did herself no favors by constantly being involved or implicated in assassination plots, Elizabeth certainly laid blame everywhere but on herself when the execution order was acted on.

There won't be much new info here for those who are Tudorphiles, but I definitely don't recommend it as an intro to her reign. Perhaps it's best described as a handy volume as a quick refresher