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Books : The Lady Elizabeth
Rating: 
- A fantastic read
If you are interest in Elizabeth I in any capacity, then this is the book for you. I stumbled across Alison Weir's book on Lady Jane Grey, and was transfixed, so was delighted when The Lady Elizabeth came out. The book takes you through Elizabeth's childhood, her teenage years, until the moment that she becomes queen. It is both fascinating and compelling and I would recommend it to anyone who has any interest in this period, but more importantly for bringing to life Elizabeth I's amazing and intriguing personality. A fantastic, higly recommended read!
Rating:
- 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.
Rating:
- Nauseous
I find the subject very interesting but her style is nauseating, too sycophantic/reverential, the sweetness of her characters is cloying and unreal.
Rating: - 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.
Rating:
- The lady Elizabeth- an amazing story
I have just finished reading this excellent book- full of the detail I would expect from such a respected historian. It also comes with the story "readability" of a fast paced, exciting novel with danger, political double dealings and has given me a deeper appreciation of the amazing woman Elizabeth was.
One thing I like about the way Alison Weir writes in both her novels is the way she does not attempt to justify the morality of the day by modern standards of equalilty. There is no overt feminist tone that would have been totally out of place in Tudor England. Alison cleverly leaves it to the reader to make their own judgement about the status of women and individuals fighting through predjudices through the historical facts and comments of the time, without imposing modern appreciation.
The only negatives for me, were the embellishments after the episode with the Admiral (which the author later explains in the epilogue) and that the script ended rather abruptly, with the last parts seeming thinner in detail than I would have liked.
The lady Elizabeth was a prodical genius it seems and by her wit and cleverness survived amazingly against many odds to become queen.
A fascinating and gripping read.
- A fantastic readIf you are interest in Elizabeth I in any capacity, then this is the book for you. I stumbled across Alison Weir's book on Lady Jane Grey, and was transfixed, so was delighted when The Lady Elizabeth came out. The book takes you through Elizabeth's childhood, her teenage years, until the moment that she becomes queen. It is both fascinating and compelling and I would recommend it to anyone who has any interest in this period, but more importantly for bringing to life Elizabeth I's amazing and intriguing personality. A fantastic, higly recommended read!
Rating:
- An entertaining readI 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.
Rating:
- NauseousI find the subject very interesting but her style is nauseating, too sycophantic/reverential, the sweetness of her characters is cloying and unreal.
Rating:
- HmmmI 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.
Rating:
- The lady Elizabeth- an amazing storyI have just finished reading this excellent book- full of the detail I would expect from such a respected historian. It also comes with the story "readability" of a fast paced, exciting novel with danger, political double dealings and has given me a deeper appreciation of the amazing woman Elizabeth was.
One thing I like about the way Alison Weir writes in both her novels is the way she does not attempt to justify the morality of the day by modern standards of equalilty. There is no overt feminist tone that would have been totally out of place in Tudor England. Alison cleverly leaves it to the reader to make their own judgement about the status of women and individuals fighting through predjudices through the historical facts and comments of the time, without imposing modern appreciation.
The only negatives for me, were the embellishments after the episode with the Admiral (which the author later explains in the epilogue) and that the script ended rather abruptly, with the last parts seeming thinner in detail than I would have liked.
The lady Elizabeth was a prodical genius it seems and by her wit and cleverness survived amazingly against many odds to become queen.
A fascinating and gripping read.