Amazon Review
Jane Dunn's double biography
Elizabeth and Mary takes as its rich and explosive subject matter the ultimately fatal relationship between Queen Elizabeth I of England and her cousin Mary, Queen of Scots. Throughout much of the second half of the 16th century, these two women found themselves queens of their kingdoms and locked in a battle for possession of the British Isles, which only ended with Mary's eventual downfall and execution at Elizabeth's hands in 1586.
As Dunn points out in her meticulous and compelling recreation of the complex relationship between the two women, "from that one act of regicide, a queen killing a fellow queen, has spun a mythology of justification, romance, accusation, and blame that retains its force right to the present day." Her approach attempts to avoid myth and romance and understand the complex bond that existed between the two women. Elizabeth, the apparent victor, "was haunted by a deep-rooted insecurity as to her own legitimacy", while Mary was pursued by claims of sexual excess and immersion in murderous plots against husbands and enemies, variously seen as "a wronged Madonna or a murderous jezebel."
Dunn elegantly follows the ups and downs of both monarchs as they strive for political power. Mary's tumultuous reign as Queen of Scotland is particularly well handled, as is Elizabeth's agonised vacillation over her decision to execute Mary. In the end, death triumphed over both, and ensured that each was "elevated to an idealised majesty" for very different reasons. Dunn has marshalled an impressive body of evidence that never overwhelms this psychologically nuanced account of these two remarkable women. --Jerry Brotton
Review
‘Outstanding, perceptive and delightfully readable.’ Sunday Times Books of the Year
‘A deeply satisfying study of royal rivalry which ended in tragedy…Jane Dunn handles her subject with tremendous flair. Supremely accomplished.’ Anne Somerset, Literary Review
‘She writes with vigour and grace. This is an engaging and thoughtful new rendering of a story worth retelling.’ Spectator
‘Jane Dunn has written a splendid piece of popular history with the ready-pen of a highly skilled writer, endowed with remarkable insight.’ Roy Strong, Daily Mail
‘Dunn writes with captivating elegance and piercing intelligence, is tender, scrupulous, ironic and worldly.’ Richard Davenport-Hines, Independent
‘Jane Dunn is one of our best biographers.’ Miranda Seymour, Sunday Times
‘Jane Dunn has that sine qua non of the true biographer, an eye for significant detail and the power to fit it into a larger pattern.’ Richard Holmes, The Times
'Jane Dunn handles her subject with tremendous flair. She is a supremely accomplished stylist, who writes with poise and assurance. Her book is artfully structured, sinuously weaving the lives of its two protagonists in a manner which illustrates the parallels between them while explaining why their careers were so divergent…A deeply satisfying study of royal rivalry which ended in tragedy for both parties.' Literary Review
'Dunn has a novelist's talent for inhabiting her subjects' lives…The story, infused with the smell of parchment and wax seals, draws the reader in with a bewitching intimacy.' Time Out
'Dunn works the contrasts hard, in the process creating a kind of psychological drama in which each woman becomes a fateful reverse image of the other.' The Guardian
‘This is a drama of power, intrigue and rivalry played out between two women monarchs in a man's world, fluently and masterfully told.' Manchester Evening News
'Excellent … by moving between the two she reinvigorates oft-told stories and she writes with such a light and graceful touch that is a pleasure to read. Dunn makes splendid use of the worlds of contemporaries, bringing a host of characters together as the story unfolds.' The Tablet
'Fluent and beguiling…an excellent buy for anyone who wants a sensitive and reflective personal view of two of the 16th century's best known women.' Evening Standard
'This is a supercharged family romance’ Observer
'Dunn's well-established gifts as a biographer are used here with remarkable sensitivity' Sunday Times
