Recent reads – April 2013

Death and the Virgin Queen: Elizabeth I and the Dark Scandal That Rocked the Throne – Chris Skidmore

My latest read was Death and the Virgin Queen: Elizabeth I and the Dark Scandal That Rocked the Throne by Chris Skidmore. I really enjoyed this book overall. It’s a different style of writing because the book focuses mostly on the relationship between Elizabeth I and Robert Dudley, her great favorite, and the untimely death of his wife, Amy Robsart Dudley. Amy’s death was and still is a strange episode in British history, an unsolved crime with an infamy of that of Jack the Ripper.

The Tudors: The Complete Story of England’s Most Notorious Dynasty – G.J. Meyer

I also finished The Tudors, a seminal history of England’s most famous (notorious?) dynasty by G.J. Meyer. Overall, this is a great work that provides good detail of the 118 year Tudor era. It is 600 pages, but it’s surprisingly easy to read. Each chapter is followed by a background section that further explains non-Tudor context about events just covered (like Parliament or torture). It opens with Henry VII’s accession after the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485, ends with Elizabeth I’s death in 1603, and examines each monarch’s role in the image of the whole dynasty.

Anne Boleyn: A New Life of England’s Tragic Queen – Joanna Denny

I recently finished Anne Boleyn: A New Life of England’s Tragic Queen by Joanna Denny. Out of all of the biographies I’ve read, this one was my least favorite. At best, it’s a poorly researched, too biased to be taken seriously biography. At worst, it’s a farcical revision of history. If you’re looking for a biography on Anne to read, don’t bother with this one.

Elizabeth I: Virgin Queen? – Philippa Jones

I rather enjoyed this book because it investigates the possibility of Elizabeth I having illegitimate children. I like the organization of this book: she presents the actual facts, focusing on Elizabeth’s relationships (like Thomas Seymour and Robert Dudley), and then provides short biographies of Elizabeth’s rumored children (Francis Bacon and Robert Devereux, to name some) and why (or why not) they could have been her children. The research is open-ended and allows the reader the draw their own conclusions.

Roanoke: Solving the Mystery of the Lost Colony – Lee Miller

I just finished Roanoke: Solving the Mystery of the Lost Colony by Lee Miller. This was another book on the Lost Colony that we bought on our honeymoon. Overall, it was an interesting, if entirely unproveable book. I personally agree with Ms. Miller’s hypothesis that the Lost Colony members split up and moved throughout the area. But I’m not entirely sure I agree with her main idea that Sir Francis Walsingham intentionally sabotaged the colony.

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