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"It’s a challenge to cast fresh light on figures such as Anne Boleyn and Mary Tudor, but Borman rises to it… Perhaps Borman’s most significant achievement is to have given us and innovative exploration of the implications of Elizabeth’s gender for her queenship, and a new perspective on this most closely studied of reigns"--BBC History Magazine
Book Description
A groundbreaking and fascinating biography of England's most famous queen, viewed via the women who influenced her life
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
31 of 32 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Probably the best book I have read about the great lady. I really like the approach that Tracy Borman has taken - it shows a side to Elizabeth I that doesn't usually come across in most biographies. Still the complex, contradictory, sometimes vindictive woman that we've all read about but this book focuses on the events and the people which made Elizabeth the way she was. It is impossible not to feel great sympathy for her, particularly for the young motherless princess. The strongest characteristic which comes through, for me, was her loyalty to those she loved.
It sparked my imagination in a way history books don't usually. I found myself wondering so many "what ifs" while reading this book - what if she had married and had children? What if she had met Mary Queen of Scots? What if Anne Boleyn had not been executed?
This is a very readable, far from boring account of Elizabeth I and I think it will appeal particularly to women because of the empathy the author has towards her subject.
It sparked my imagination in a way history books don't usually. I found myself wondering so many "what ifs" while reading this book - what if she had married and had children? What if she had met Mary Queen of Scots? What if Anne Boleyn had not been executed?
This is a very readable, far from boring account of Elizabeth I and I think it will appeal particularly to women because of the empathy the author has towards her subject.
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I believe this is a book the first of its kind to delve into the power relationships between the women who directly attended to their queen's personal needs and the overwhelmingly male court of Elizabeth the First. Never before, because of the gender of the English monarch, had women of this social class found themselves wielding so much political influence. Elizabeth I's early life was fraught with very real danger because she remained the least cherished of Henry VII's children. She was lucky to have found solace from her wise and learned stepmother, Katherine Parr; but almost was undone by the scheming of her governess, Kat Champerowne and her ruthless stepfather who had designs on making her his wife should anything happen to Queen Katherine. The one complaint I had about this book was that the author seem to repeat verbatim the very biased pro-Catholic sources about Anne Boleyn without further scholarly investigation. Rather than spending any time on examining correspondence between her ladies in waiting, the Queen and various petitioners, Borman seems content to repeat how Elizabeth dealt with various claimants to the English throne, namely Mary, Queen of Scots, and the hapless Arabella Stuart. Interestingly, the women who served Elizabeth the longest chose NOT to use their influence to obtain favors for friends and family members. Overall, this book presents an original and fresh take on the court surrounding Elizabeth I but this topic could do with more thorough research.
39 of 41 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I have read so many books on the Tudors that initially I wasn't sure I would find much to interest me and I bought it mainly because I like the style of the author, Tracey Borman, but after a few pages I was hooked.
Concentrating entirely on a totally overlooked aspect of Elizabeth's life, her relationships with the women who interacted with her, from step-mothers, half-sister Queen Mary, numerous cousins who had a place in the succession such as Mary, Queen of Scots through to her governesses and ladies-in-waiting, the book reveals a side of Elizabeth unknown to me. And I didn't much like what I discovered. Her love and loyalty was bestowed only on those women who were prepared to admire her unconditionally and put her first in their lives such as her governess Kat Ashley, her step-mother Katherine Parr. Even this was not always enough to secure her appreciation as Lady Mary Sidney found out after nursing Elizabeth devotedly through the smallpox and having caught it herself was so badly scarred by it as to be unrecognisable she was then deprived of her good apartments at Court and assigned a cold, draughty lodging for which she begged for wall-hangings to keep out the cold in vain.
Elizabeth treated her rivals with scant respect: when her sister and predecessor on the throne Mary Tudor died Elizabeth insisted her epitaph be altered becuase it included no mention of herself and left Mary, Queen of Scots to remain unburied until her corpse became unbearably noisome. Being the much vaunted Virgin Queen made her envious of those women close to her who found happiness in marriage and very dog-in-the mangerishly determined that nobody should have what she did not. Nothing could be nastier than Elizabeth's behaviour towards the young daughter of Sir Robert Arundel, newly arrrived at court and naive in it's ways who innocently confessed her love. Elizabeth promised to obtain her father's consent to the match, only to refuse her own consent to the girl's utter devastation.
Elizabeth may have been a canny and astute ruler but as a woman towards other women she was generally a nasty piece of work although towards men she was charm itself as long as they worshipped at Gloriana's shrine and did not seek love with another woman, as witness the imprisonment of Walter Ralegh for marrying her maid-of-honour Bess Throckmorton.
The book is packed with fascinating tidbits of information overlooked by other historians such as the young princess Elizabeth painted in a group portrait of the Tudor family secretly wearing her disgraced mother's pendant round her neck.
A minor quibble is that the book needs more careful proof-reading and picture attribution. A portrait is identified in the Contents section as Elizabeth Knollys but in the text as Lettice Knollys. And on page 177 it is stated that the son of George Boleyn was made Bishop of Lichfield, despite George Boleyn having no known progeny among others. However,this does not detract from the overall fascination of the book at all.
Elizabeth's Women is an absolutely riveting read and one I literally couldn't put down.
Concentrating entirely on a totally overlooked aspect of Elizabeth's life, her relationships with the women who interacted with her, from step-mothers, half-sister Queen Mary, numerous cousins who had a place in the succession such as Mary, Queen of Scots through to her governesses and ladies-in-waiting, the book reveals a side of Elizabeth unknown to me. And I didn't much like what I discovered. Her love and loyalty was bestowed only on those women who were prepared to admire her unconditionally and put her first in their lives such as her governess Kat Ashley, her step-mother Katherine Parr. Even this was not always enough to secure her appreciation as Lady Mary Sidney found out after nursing Elizabeth devotedly through the smallpox and having caught it herself was so badly scarred by it as to be unrecognisable she was then deprived of her good apartments at Court and assigned a cold, draughty lodging for which she begged for wall-hangings to keep out the cold in vain.
Elizabeth treated her rivals with scant respect: when her sister and predecessor on the throne Mary Tudor died Elizabeth insisted her epitaph be altered becuase it included no mention of herself and left Mary, Queen of Scots to remain unburied until her corpse became unbearably noisome. Being the much vaunted Virgin Queen made her envious of those women close to her who found happiness in marriage and very dog-in-the mangerishly determined that nobody should have what she did not. Nothing could be nastier than Elizabeth's behaviour towards the young daughter of Sir Robert Arundel, newly arrrived at court and naive in it's ways who innocently confessed her love. Elizabeth promised to obtain her father's consent to the match, only to refuse her own consent to the girl's utter devastation.
Elizabeth may have been a canny and astute ruler but as a woman towards other women she was generally a nasty piece of work although towards men she was charm itself as long as they worshipped at Gloriana's shrine and did not seek love with another woman, as witness the imprisonment of Walter Ralegh for marrying her maid-of-honour Bess Throckmorton.
The book is packed with fascinating tidbits of information overlooked by other historians such as the young princess Elizabeth painted in a group portrait of the Tudor family secretly wearing her disgraced mother's pendant round her neck.
A minor quibble is that the book needs more careful proof-reading and picture attribution. A portrait is identified in the Contents section as Elizabeth Knollys but in the text as Lettice Knollys. And on page 177 it is stated that the son of George Boleyn was made Bishop of Lichfield, despite George Boleyn having no known progeny among others. However,this does not detract from the overall fascination of the book at all.
Elizabeth's Women is an absolutely riveting read and one I literally couldn't put down.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
All Girls Together
Keep your Borgias, Hapsburgs, and Kennedys, just give me a good biography of Henry VIII or Elizabeth I. I never get tired of reading about the Tudors. Read more
Published 1 month ago by takingadayoff
Delightful with a blip.
I really cannot help but like this book. The focus remains tight throughout on the women in Elizabeth's life and only dips into the rest to provide much needed background... Read more
Published 14 months ago by HistoryEnthusiast
Old tales, newly mixed up
It hardly makes sense to put all kinds of women Elizabeth had to deal with into one study: half of mankind are women. Read more
Published 16 months ago by Christine Arabella
First, Very Thoroughly Researched, Look at Elizabeth's Women
"Elizabeth's Women: Friends, Rivals and Foes Who Shaped the Virgin Queen," is, of course, a close look at the 16th century's Elizabeth I; not the current Elizabeth II, who reigns... Read more
Published 20 months ago by Stephanie DePue
Confusion of Cousins
I know that some of these comments have been made before, but this is my opinion of this book. First, I should make it clear that I mainly enjoyed it,as it was quite a good read,... Read more
Published 21 months ago by Rumpuscat
Elizabeths Women
A fabulous book giving a different view of the Elizabeth's court and the many many women surrounding her during her lifetime, It's amazing how the Tudor Dynasty seemed to produce... Read more
Published 22 months ago by Forest Edge
Not enough of Elizabeth's Women
This is an excellent biography of Elizabeth and it was nice that the focus was on the women around her.
However, there wasn't enough information about those women. Read more
However, there wasn't enough information about those women. Read more
Published 22 months ago by Anne
Wonderfully written yet in the end I wanted it to be a different book!
Tracey Borman concentrates on Elizabeth's personal and political relationships with the important women throughout her life and how these relationships helped to shape her... Read more
Published 22 months ago by K. J. Greenland
A great read with a glaring omission
The book is a historical account of Elizabeth I's female servants, retinue and political rivals. As it goes into detail on the queen's long-distance relationships with her... Read more
Published 23 months ago by marmaladecat
Could not put it down!
Wow. This is the second book I have read by Tracy Borman in recent months, and I love her easy style. Read more
Published on 19 May 2010 by Eve
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