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The Lady Elizabeth: A Novel (Random House Reader's Circle)

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Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Following the tremendous success of her first novel, Innocent Traitor, which recounted the riveting tale of the doomed Lady Jane Grey, acclaimed historian and New York Times bestselling author Alison Weir turns her masterly storytelling skills to the early life of young Elizabeth Tudor, who would grow up to become England’s most intriguing and powerful queen.

Even at age two, Elizabeth is keenly aware that people in the court of her father, King Henry VIII, have stopped referring to her as “Lady Princess” and now call her “the Lady Elizabeth.” Before she is three, she learns of the tragic fate that has befallen her mother, the enigmatic and seductive Anne Boleyn, and that she herself has been declared illegitimate, an injustice that will haunt her.

What comes next is a succession of stepmothers, bringing with them glimpses of love, fleeting security, tempestuous conflict, and tragedy. The death of her father puts the teenage Elizabeth in greater peril, leaving her at the mercy of ambitious and unscrupulous men. Like her mother two decades earlier she is imprisoned in the Tower of London–and fears she will also meet her mother’s grisly end. Power-driven politics, private scandal and public gossip, a disputed succession, and the grievous example of her sister, “Bloody” Queen Mary, all cement Elizabeth’s resolve in matters of statecraft and love, and set the stage for her transformation into the iconic Virgin Queen.

Alison Weir uses her deft talents as historian and novelist to exquisitely and suspensefully play out the conflicts between family, politics, religion, and conscience that came to define an age. Sweeping in scope, The Lady Elizabeth is a fascinating portrayal of a woman far ahead of her time–an orphaned girl haunted by the shadow of the axe, an independent spirit who must use her cunning and wits for her very survival, and a future queen whose dangerous and dramatic path to the throne shapes her future greatness.

From the Hardcover edition.

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Customer Reviews

Can't stop reading

I am a huge fan of Weir's 'The Six Wives of Henry VIII' and having read quite a few books on the subject deem it to be one of the most thorough books I've read. So I was very happy to find 'The Lady Elizabeth' at a local Costco! I can't put this book down, despite having read many non-fiction and fictional books about Bessy! Weir has a real talent of taking a familiar story and making it exciting, through detail, pacing and each crisis in Bessy's earlier life. Warning: it's dangerous to read before you go to sleep because you could be up all night reading! Cheers!

Long Live the Queen!

The Lady Elizabeth: Alison Weir
Five Stars

Though it starts slowly, The Lady Elizabeth is a captivating telling of the early life of Elizabeth I. We hear so much of her later life, and thus, it was interesting to gain insight into what her childhood/young adult years might have been like.

Although it is historical fiction, this book was not difficult to understand or follow.

An embellished and controversial novel of Queen Elizabeth's early years.

Take everything you read in this novel with a grain of salt. If you are unfamiliar with the details of Queen Elizabeth's life, I recommend that you read the author's note at the end of the book before you begin reading the novel. After reading Alison Weir's biography on Elizabeth I, I was excited to read The Lady Elizabeth. However, a few pages into the book I was horrified that Ms Weir could write something that so blatantly contradicted her own biography. I quickly read the author's note and was relieved to read that Ms Weir was simply flexing her creative muscle with the sundry of myths surrounding the virgin queen.

The Lady Elizabeth was a rare mix of historical fact and historical gossip. There were a few facts that the author tinkered with for dramatic purposes such as Elizabeth's devotion to her mother's memory. There is no evidence that Elizabeth ever spoke of Anne Boleyn. Elizabeth's infatuation with Thomas Seymour and resulting pregnancy is a well known myth that has lingered around for centuries. The Admiral's advances towards Elizabeth are historical fact, but there is zero evidence that Elizabeth ever had intercourse with him or conceived a child. Elizabeth was considered a precious commodity and would never have been left alone for such an act to be committed. Mary's feeble role as Queen after her marriage to Philip of Spain is actually considered a fact. Although Mary's love was unreciprocated, Mary was not the wallflower that Weir depicted. I recommend The First Queen of England: The Myth of Bloody Mary by Linda Porter for an accurate view of Mary's reign and marriage.

The novel begins with the death of Anne Boleyn and whisks the readers through King Henry VIII's many moods and marriages: Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleves, Katherine Howard, and finally Katherine Parr. In the turbulent years after the old King Harry's death, Elizabeth remains true to her Protestant fate and her rightful place in the line of succession. Yet Elizabeth has many trials to face before being crowned Queen of England: malicious rumors and plots, accusations of treason and heresy, and the ever present fear of sharing her mother's bloody end. Although the author took many liberties with the historical facts surrounding the young Elizabeth, she still managed to stage a page turner novel. The book was not something I would have expected from Alison Weir, but it is an entertaining read if not taken too seriously. No matter how much or how little you know about Queen Elizabeth, The Lady Elizabeth is terrific and thought provoking read.

Great Read

I loved this book. Granted I have always been fasinated with English history,but Ms. Weir brings this period to life better than anyone else. As with her other historical novel "Innocent Traitor", about Lady Jane Grey, I couldn't put it down. I found myself immediatly picking up her biography of Elizabeth I.

Delicious historical fiction

The Lady Elizabeth: A Novel is intriguing, hard to put down and engrossing to read. You really get a feel for the main characters and can visualize so many details. Loved it, would highly recommend.