Elizabeth and Mary

Cousins, Rivals, Queens

By: Jane Dunn

Narrated by: Donada Peters

Length: 19 hrs and 47 mins

Publisher's summary

The first dual biography of two of the world’s most remarkable women - Elizabeth I of England and Mary Queen of Scots - by one of Britain’s “best biographers” (The Sunday Times)

In a rich and riveting narrative, Jane Dunn reveals the extraordinary rivalry between the regal cousins. It is the story of two queens ruling on one island, each with a claim to the throne of England, each embodying dramatically opposing qualities of character, ideals of womanliness (and views of sexuality) and divinely ordained kingship.

As regnant queens in an overwhelmingly masculine world, they were deplored for their femaleness, compared unfavorably with each other and courted by the same men. By placing their dynamic and ever-changing relationship at the center of the book, Dunn illuminates their differences.

Elizabeth, inheriting a weak, divided country coveted by all the Catholic monarchs of Europe, is revolutionary in her insistence on ruling alone and inspired in her use of celibacy as a political tool - yet also possessed of a deeply feeling nature. Mary is not the romantic victim of history but a courageous adventurer with a reckless heart and a magnetic influence over men and women alike. Vengeful against her enemies and the more ruthless of the two queens, she is untroubled by plotting Elizabeth’s murder.

Elizabeth, however, is driven to anguish at finally having to sanction Mary’s death for treason. Working almost exclusively from contemporary letters and writings, Dunn explores their symbiotic, though never face-to-face, relationship and the power struggle that raged between them.

A story of sex, power and politics, of a rivalry unparalleled in the pages of English history, of two charismatic women - told in a masterful double biography.

©2004 Jane Dunn (P)2004 Random House, Inc., Random House Audio, a division of Random House, Inc.

Critic reviews

"A perceptive, suspenseful account of complex English history .... By the end of this satisfying book, one feels sympathy for both women, brave queens in an age when ‘no one considered that a woman could effectively rule alone.'" (The New York Times Book Review)

“Elegant.... Dunn demythologizes Elizabeth and Mary. In humanizing their dynamic and shifting relationship, Dunn describes it as fueled by both rivalry and their natural solidarity as women in an overwhlemingly masculine world.” (Boston Herald)

“A wholly engrossing and sumptuous retelling of a tale that entered legend even before its protagonists were dead.” (Newsday)

Excellent

Well written, insightful analysis of two of history's key figures. Well worth your time if you have any interest in the history of Great Britain.

Excellent!

If you enjoy historical novels and/or historical fiction, you'll enjoy this retelling of the Elizabeth and Mary's story. This is not fiction, but sometimes truth is more interesting than fiction could possible be, and this is one of those cases. The story is engrossing, the reading is excellent, and you'll get a good idea of how these monarch's thought and acted, and how Europe lived in those times. Highly recommended!

Great job on a great subject.

Great book, compelling and well researched. i did not find inaccuracies or deviations from most other writings on the subject.

I believe this book is the base for the movie "Mary Queen of Scots" in which i found one major inaccuracy, Mary and Elizebeth never met in person.

Good book, good read, worth the time.

Fun to listen to

The best thing about this book is the intense level of detail -- read, gossip -- that the author imparts about an unbelievably fascinating time with people whose every decision could have life or death consequences. It's a good book, not great, but very very enjoyable -- proving once again what a great story this is! She has a novel(?) and interesting theory that Mary was manic depressive, and an interesting but not necessarily novel theory that Elizabeth was shy of marriage because she had no models of a good marriage in her childhood or adolescence (what an understatement!).

Definitely a good listen.

Echoes in modern times

I would never sit down to read a book like this one, but as an audible production it became acccessible to me. I found it fascinating, with plenty of insight into the personalities of political beings, and the life politics may force one to lead. I found myself constantly comparing this portrayal of historical figures with what I know from the press of modern political figures. The similarities of situations and probable underlying motives of the actors was fascinating to me.
Not being a history scholar, I do not know how good the research is, but I believe it to have been pretty solid. The speculation is focused on the motives and personalities of the leads rather than on the events. The reader needs to accept a certain amount of psychoanalysis, but I thought the author stayed within the limits of her expertise (i.e. not much) and did not get carried away with it. Yes, certain passages of the text are repeated more than once (shame on the editor), so that I think the book could have been 1/3 shorter and still convey the same depth of insight and quantity of fact. Never-the-less, I highly recommend it for the facts and insights.

great book

I loved this book it showed the very human sides of these two icons. My only criticism would be that it ended at the death of Mary . I wanted to hear the details of Elizabeth's later years. All in all though its very much worth a listen.

Detailed

The book was quite detailed and wasn’t easy to keep up with. This is the first book I’ve read or listened to on English his

A wonderful book

This is a moving and well researched book about two queens in the Tudor era The author compares and contrasts the personality of each, as well as their actions and why events happened as they did. The narrator was excellent, using different accents for different people. I’ve listened to it twice and will do again - it’s that interesting. If you like Tudor history you’ll love this - it’s one of the best I’ve read.

overall good, but a little repetitive

I would recommend this book as a good starting point to learn about these two women; it was well-researched. At least, I'm assuming the author was historically accurate although she differed from others I've read recently in a few minor points (timing, more than anything). I enjoyed her spin on Mary's upbringing and attitude playing so directly into her downfall.

The narrator is very good; in fact, her expertise is what got me over the humps. Those humps were the repetitiveness of the author. Okay, so Mary was tall, gorgeous and capitivating to the opposite sex - I got it the first 10 times; I didn't need to hear it another 10.

Overlooking that one flaw, again, I would recommend this book.

Enjoyed this very much.

I really enjoyed this book. It gives great insight as to the outlook of both Queens and why they took the actions they did.