I, Elizabeth: A Novel by Rosalind Miles Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of I, Elizabeth: A Novel
Book Review: Elizabeth's story
Summary: 3 Stars
"I, Elizabeth" is a well-written, highly detailed novel about Queen Elizabeth Tudor's life, almost from beginning to end. Rosalind Miles depicts every incident in history at the time with amazing accuracy, from the defeat of the Spanish Armada, to the ongoing conflict with Mary, Queen of Scots, who threatens Elizabeth's life time and again throughout the lengthy story. Elizabeth gives surprising insight for a royal princess (and later queen), but at other times can seem highly arrogant. While Miles excels in telling the everyday details of court life in Reformation England, character development is often overlooked. For example, Elizabeth's younger brother Edward (the only son of King Henry VIII to live to rule) is briefly described as a weak, brainwashed boy whose only trust is in his father and Privy Counselors. Mary, Elizabeth's sister as well as her rival, is described as an insane, short, ugly woman whose forty years husbandless has finally driven her over the edge of sanity. None of the characters in the book are particularly memorable, likable, or well-developed. The italicized hind sights of an older ruler break up the plot, and contribute to the drawn out book. This novel is an intriguing tale of Elizabethan England's court life, but doesn't manage to make any of the historical characters stand out (except, maybe, Princess Elizabeth).Book Review: Excellent insight on England's best queen
Summary: 4 Stars
If you enjoy learning about the British monarchy, especially the Tudors, you will love this novel. Although fiction, the novel gives excellent insight into the rule of Henry VIII, Edward VI, Mary I, and, of course, Elizabeth I. It also is rich on detail about life at the time, from the use of cosmetics to palace life to fashion to food.
The novel also gives a voice to one of England's greatest and most fascinating monarchs. It is impossible to know how accurate Miles' portrayal is in terms of Elizabeth's emotions, motivations, etc., but she strictly follows historical events, even including small factual events, such as Elizabeth's inscription on Dudley's (Earl of Leicester) last letter and several important quotes ("This is the Lord's doing and it is marvelous in our eyes..."). The novel also includes handy family trees at the beginning and a list of "persons of my history" at the end for reference.
I agree with other reviewers who noted that much time was spent on Elizabeth's favorites, including Thomas Seymour, Robert Dudley, and the Earl of Essex, but it is true that these men were the queen's favorites, even if they may or may not have been lovers. The queen is portrayed as a silly, flirty thing at times, but mostly it appears as if she never loses sight of who she is. She is also portrayed, in turns, as vain, brilliant, jealous, clever, manipulative, etc., all attributes of a person, even a queen.
A few criticisms of mine include that the portrayal of Elizabeth's relationship with Seymour was only partly factual. That he invaded her bedroom regularly to tickle her and kiss her was true, but I have read that she was not besotted with him, but rather annoyed at his attentions, so much that she asked to be sent away. Also, I did get tired of the long tug of war with the Earl of Essex, since Elizabeth the narrator mentions multiple times that she had no feeling for him, he was dead to her, she felt nothing, she felt only coldness for him, she realized he was a traitor, etc. after each of his progressively more dangerous escapades, but it takes a truly drastic act to make her fully return to her role as queen with him rather than woman (which, as with everything, follows historical events, but the details of her emotions seem especially exaggerated for dramatic value at this point). The end of the relationship in the novel does bring a twist of her reasons for acting as she did, which imply that she knew what she was doing all along and somewhat redeem the repetition of her feeling nothing, then being in love, then feeling nothing again.
Overall, the reader cannot expect this novel to be the embodiment of the real Elizabeth's voice, thoughts, and feelings, but it is as good of a surmise as any, and it is pleasurable to imagine her voice in the novel as real. The novel's other great value comes in the form of the historical facts I detailed earlier, giving the reader a fascinating look at the Tudors and life at the time.
Book Review: Flushing out an icon
Summary: 4 Stars
This book was excellent. I would've given this book 5 stars, but I am a hard grader. This book made Elizabeth I real. Not only did she come alive, but the other players during her reign became more 3 dimensional. "Bloody Mary" and Mary Queen of Scots were rather one dimensional because this book was of course a platform for the true queen, Elizabeth, and I appreciate that not-so-subtle technique. Not to give too much away, there were a few scenes in the book that really challenged my beliefs on how Elizabeth ran her life and kingdom. There was a lot of preoccupation with men and love, but it did not distract from the story too much. At some points, I had to put the book down and shake my head at some of the preoccuptions with certain men. Anyway, this is a great book and an amazingly quick read for a thick book.Book Review: Good service
Summary: 3 Stars
I was pleased with the turn around time on my order and it arrived in expected condition. Seller is reliable. Haven't read the book yet so can't give more stars.Book Review: Great Read
Summary: 5 Stars
This was one of the best book on Elizabeth that I've found. If you like anything by Margaret George, you'll love this. If you love this, read George's Henry VIII. Awesome stuff.