As Queen Elizabeth II celebrated her birthday last weekend, it might be fun to take a look at her female predecessors on the throne, especially the mightiest of them all: the Tudor queens.
Alison Weir made her name writing biographies of English royals, including the excellent The Life of Elizabeth I. Her new fictional series, Six Tudor Queens, kicks off with Katherine of Aragon, the True Queen. Drama abounds as Katherine is wed first to Henry VIII's brother, then is widowed, and then marries Henry. And then there's what everybody knows about: the fertility problems, Henry's roving eye, and then the humiliation of being divorced and the loss of England to the Catholic Church. Through it all, Katherine tries to be a credit to her beloved mother, the imposing and impressive Isabella of Aragon and Castile, of Christopher Columbus fame. Weir is expert at teasing out the emotional truths out of official documents and diplomatic maneuvering for which we have little or no direct documentation. One gets a good feel for Katherine's physical surroundings, particularly her privations when waiting to marry Henry and the sumptuousness of their court. The characters are also well drawn, and one gets the feeling Weir shook archives upside down to get telling details of historic personages' personalities. I eagerly await the next book in the series, which will concern Anne Boleyn.
Speaking of the controversial Anne, she's popular with authors. The most popular book about Boleyn is undoubtedly The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory. Told through the eyes of Anne's more scrupulous sister Mary, one is witness to the rise and fall of Anne Boleyn and the birth of her daughter, who would become Elizabeth I. Laurien Gardner's A Lady Raised High covers much the same territory, but seen from the view of a commoner who becomes part of Boleyn's court and her confidant. Robyn Maxwell focuses on Anne's adolescence in Mademoiselle Boleyn. Sent with her father to the French court, sweet Anne quickly charms all and learns the ways of statecraft. She attracts suitors and falls in love, but her father has other plans.
Alison Weir also dares to take a fictional look at the greatest of England's queens: Elizabeth I. The Lady Elizabeth chronicles her life from a very young age until her accession to the throne. The Marriage Game covers Elizabeth's early reign, focusing on her love affair with Robert Dudley. Margaret George illuminates Elizabeth's last 25 years in Elizabeth I, a doorstopper that nonetheless makes for compelling reading. Of course, there are dozens more books, both fiction and nonfiction, dealing with this singular woman.
What are your favorite books about these extraordinary women? Let us know in the comments.
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