Elizabeth I (Biography & Memoirs) - Softcover

Ridley, Jasper

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0094692106 ISBN 13: 9780094692107

Publisher: Constable, 1989

Synopsis

The central question that Jasper Ridley addresses in this perceptive and entertaining biography is, "Was Elizabeth herself a great Queen or did she simply preside over a great era in English history?" Employing the same narrative skill and fascinating use of detail as in his biography of Henry VIII, Jasper Ridley brings Elizabeth and her court vividly to life.

About this title

About the Author

Jasper Ridley FRSL is a distinguished historical author whose Henry VIII and Elizabeth I are published in the US by PPI. They now join the Penguin Classic Biography list. Other books by the author include Thomas Cranmer, Lord Palmerston, Garibaldi and Napoleon III and Eugenie.

From Publishers Weekly

British biographer of John Knox, Henry VIII and other personages, Ridley here broadens the reader's understanding of Elizabeth I as a woman who prevailed through "shrewdness." Born in 1533, she was intelligent and aware from childhood on that the times were dangerous for people with royal blood. Along with her half sister Mary, the daughter of Anne Boleyn was declared illegitimate but not disowned by Henry VIII. Elizabeth was docile and undemanding, subservient to Bloody Mary and wary always, even when she became queen in 1558. Ripley views the Virgin Queen as a manipulator, frequently indecisive and mistaken in judgment, at considerable cost to England. But during the 45 years of her reign, the arts flourished and England became the mightiest country in the Western world. Elizabeth was widely mourned when she died in 1603, although she was notoriously cruel to anyone suspected of disloyalty. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Constable
• Publication date: 1989
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0094692106
• ISBN 13: 9780094692107
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 392