Product Description

The new novel from the author of the Sunday Times Top Ten bestselling Innocent Traitor.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #602 in Books
• Published on: 2008-04-03
• Binding: Hardcover
• 496 pages

Daily Express
'This novel takes us into a very plausible and frightening 16th-century world... Can Elizabeth survive? Well, you know the answer but this Tudor thriller is so exciting that you find yourself amazed that she did.'

Publishers Weekly
'The author lends a refreshing perspective to well-known characters and events... [An] entertaining look into the rarely explored life of one of England's most fascinating characters.'

Booklist (starred review)
'[A] compelling, even irresistible read... Weir offers an exceptionally perceptive as well as imaginative interpretation of the most significant monarch in English history.'

Customer Reviews

An entertaining read
I enjoy historical novels and am a reader of all things tudor both fact and fiction. Whilst this was an entertaining read, I completely agree with the previous reviewer who stated Alison Weir's dialogue could be quite nauseating at times. She writes with a simplicity which does not reflect the period or subject matter. At times it is almost, "he said", "she said", which did annoy after a while.

In addition, I believe this period of time and particularly the story of Elizabeth is interesting enough without having to incorporate myth, legend and the supernatural as fact. The author herself states in her epilogue that she does not believe some of the things on which she has elaborated.

See Phillipa Gregory for a superior example of how to write Tudor history.

Nauseous
I find the subject very interesting but her style is nauseating, too sycophantic/reverential, the sweetness of her characters is cloying and unreal.

Hmmm
I read 'Lady Elizabeth' recently and unlike all the other reviews here it left me cold. I must admit to not usually choosing to read historical novels and so have little to compare it to in terms of peer comparison.

Whilst the portrayal of Elizabeth as a teenager and feisty young woman was good, and showed well the intertangled web of relationships in which she was involved, Alison Weir's characterisation of the young Elizabeth, I feel, was somewhat clumsy. She seemed desperate to emphasise the childs precociousness and in doing so lost sense of her innocence (except where sexual matters were concerned) as a young girl.

Her writing throughout the book remained very literal, showing little fiction writing skill of using inference and deduction to intrigue the reader and let him or her draw their own conclusions by leaving clues through characters actions and speech.

Despite it being referred to in the authors note in the back of the book, the speech throughout the book veered from authentic Tudor phrasing to more modern variations, which often made for uncomfortable reading.

However, her true skill throughout the book lay in her conjuring up colourful and authentic historic images, which she did well, her 'history' cannot be doubted, although I would question her decision to include Anne Boleyn's ghost which had no place in the book and felt entirely incongruent with what she was trying to achieve.

A useful book in terms of bringing history to life but not one I would read for reading pleasure.