Product Description

William Cecil, Lord Burghley (1520-1598) was Elizabeth I's closest adviser and, as this revealing and provocative biography shows, the driving force behind the Queen's reign for four decades. Cecil, the steadfast rock of Elizabeth's government, had a deep and personal impact on the development of the English state. A committed Protestant, he guided the domestic and foreign affairs of the nation with the confidence of his religious conviction. Believing himself to be the divinely-instigated protector of his monarch, he felt able to disobey her direct commands. He was uncompromising, obsessive, supremely self-assured - a cunning politician as well as a consummate servant. This comprehensive biography gives proper weight to Cecil's formative years, his subtle navigation of the reigns of Edward VI and Mary I, his lifelong enmity with Mary Queen of Scots, and his obsession with family dynasty. It also provides a fresh account of Elizabeth I and her reign, uncovering limitations and concerns about invasion, succession and conspiracy. Intimate, authoritative, and enormously readable, this book will redefine our understanding of the Elizabethan period.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #121523 in Books
• Published on: 2008-05-31
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 432 pages

Review
'Written by a master of the source material who has a feel for the nature of the Tudor Court and writes with balance and sympathy.' --Diarmaid MacCulloch, Oxford University

Review
" ... a treat."

Review
"...a balanced and sensitive treatment of the man."

Customer Reviews

Generally Excellent
Stephen Alford's "Burghley" strikes an excellent balance between being readable and engaging, and being scholarly enough to contribute meaningfully to the interpretation of Burghley's character and place in the history of the Tudor court. Alford writes with a great deal of skill, and the narrative he tells is as amusing as it is insightful.

Despite these high praises, the second half (roughly) of the book does become less compelling: in the first half we are given a genuine insight into Burghley's development as an administrator and politician, as well as provided with what feels like a compelling portrait of an individual. The latter half of the book becomes dominated by politics - not unreasonably given Burghley's occupation and immersion in his work. But the result is to lose a little of the character that had been built up over the course of the book, and several occasions for fleshing out the details a little are passed over. Alford makes mention of libels and insults, and one feels a little sorry that the (repeated) attacks of a poet of the stature of Edmund Spenser are passed over without a word, despite the fact these attacks led to the 'calling in' and burning of the said works.

This said, there is much to commend this book, not least its resuscitation of a powerful and important figure who has occasionally been overlooked among the number of fantastic individuals ripe for biography in this period. Alford sets the scene well and gives us a more full and well-rounded Burghley than before - even if the work might have been more compelling if the man had not become secondary to a retelling of the politics of the time.

Rich and thoughtful
This is a rich, thoughtful biography I would recommend wholeheartedly to anyone with an interest in Tudor England. Stephen Alford has succeeded in writing an account that is deeply analytical of Burghley and his times while remaining accessible to the general reader. Not least of its virtues is a strong, page-turning narrative.

Those with a working knowledge of Tudor history may find the chapters on Burghley's early years particularly revealing: his formative years at St John's College, Cambridge, his rapid rise at the court of Edward VI and his survival under Mary. A surprise to many may be Alford's account of his chameleon-like adaptation to Mary's regime.

To tell Burghley's story under Elizabeth is effectively to tell the entire story of Elizabethan government and politics, for, as Alford notes, he was the master of every detail of every policy. Choices need to be made to avoid an overlong and unwieldly account, and I felt Alford's decision to focus primarily on the politics of the succession worked well. It is a clearer, more sharply-focused book as a result.

There is much to enjoy here, too, for those who want to understand the man behind the politician. It is no easy task to tease this out at a distance of 400 years, and for a man who was perfectly placed to suppress material unfavourable to him. But Alford is always alive to the telling detail that might illuminate Burghley's character and motivation. Just one example that sticks in my mind was Burghley's passion for cartography, and how we can get a little closer to understanding it from his detailed annotations to a copy of the leading atlas of the day in his library.