The Life of Elizabeth I

Yes, if they were interested in British history.

Davina Porter could read the phone book and I'd listen to her. Her accents and voices given the different characters are wonderful.

Why marrying would have ruined Elizabeth I.

I've listened to several Tudor histories recently and this one completed the series. Alison Weir exhaustively researches her subjects and it shows - there is so much information about Elizabeth its mindboggling.

I was fascinated by her relationships with first Leicester and then Essex - she seemed to have a penchant for men that were as colourful as she was and that had petulant characters and egos that needed constant massaging!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and it goes into some depth but its never overwhelming and explains how Elizabeth steered England into its Golden Age.

Alison Weir is a master of historical narrative. This is a well written, comprehensive biography of Elizabeth I. The book begins with her Grandfather and quickly sets the stage through the reign of her father and siblings Edward and Mary. After the story of her childhood, the real story begins with the reign of her younger brother.

Elizabeth's story is familiar in broad strokes - Bloody Mary, Mary Queen of Scots, the Spanish Armada, Shakespeare and the English Renaissance. Never the less, the details read like a spy novel, a romance, a treatise on civil government, religion and culture. From Sir Francis Drake raiding Spanish ships to Lord Essex at war in Ireland, the book covers her life and 45 year reign in style.

I particularly like the way Weir quotes her sources in an authoritative manner without disrupting the flow of the narrative. In this way the book reads like historical fiction - which it is not. Weir is simply knowledgeable enough having done adequate research to re-create scenes dramatically with the words of her characters.

Ultimately, there is little revolutionary in her point of view on Elizabeth. As a scholar, I don't think her research brings her to any new or shocking revelations though she clarifies and adds details to many points. Elizabeth was with little doubt a pivotal figure in the history of Europe and defining leader in the development of what was to become Great Britain. I suspect Weir's "The Life of Elizabeth I" is well on it's way to becoming a modern classic on the subject of the life of Elizabeth I. Well worth a read if you have any interest at all. This book is long, but quite accessible.

This is a historical novel and is well done.It really needs to be more of a story to hold my interest. I did struggle with parts of it.

The reader, Davina Porter is great!

All

No

The audio version is great I'm not sure about the print version as I have not seen it.

The six wives of Henry the 8th. I listened to that one first and loved it as well.

All were great I couldn't pick just one.

Neither. It was just an excellent listen and the narrator was phenomenal.

Highly recommended!!!

i love audio to much to try the print version of anything with rare exceptions

the differences between Elizabeth and Henry the VIII

i love davina porter, as a narrator she is ideal for british history.

listen to the autobiography of henry the viii first and then listen to this one, if you are a history buff like i am you will love it.