The Lady Elizabeth: A Novel
by Alison Weir
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Book Summary Information
Author: Alison WeirEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2008-04-29
ISBN: 0345495357
Number of pages: 496
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Book Reviews of The Lady Elizabeth: A Novel
Book Review: Enjoyable, albeit flawed, read (3.5 stars)
Summary: 3 Stars
It's a story that has been explored many times, both in fiction and non-fiction, but the early life of Elizabeth I continues to fascinate.
In "The Lady Elizabeth," Weir abandons the multiple first person narrative used in "Innocent Traitor" and adopts the omniscient third-person to tell the story of Elizabeth I, from early childhood until she became Queen. While I consider Weir to be a talented writer, she seems less confident using this narrative form. The novel starts off slowly - I found the first third of the book rather heavy going - and there are occasional, and distracting, changes in character point of view mid-page, sometimes mid-paragraph. Weir still has a tendency to write as if this is one of her biographies, so the narrative comes across as a little dry: telling, rather than showing.
As the novel progresses though, particularly as we move into Elizabeth's teen years and her time under the care of Katherine Parr and Thomas Seymour (I use the term "care" very loosely, in the latter's case!), the pace picks up, and the writing seems more assured and vivid. Weir takes a big risk in exploring one of history's "what ifs" as part of her plot, which I found extremely confronting, and some readers who are fans of Elizabeth I may find it a bit much to take (I won't say any more than that, to avoid spoilers). Nonetheless, dramatically it works, and is handled with delicacy and an element of respect. I had a strong sense of Elizabeth as human being - despite her poise, intellectual precocity and wit, a vulnerable adolescent undergoing a traumatic experience, for which none of her formidable education has prepared her, and which, in the parameters of the novel, irrevocably shapes many of her attitudes and decisions as an adult. The novel proffers an interesting potential explanation for Kat Ashley's role and possible motives in the infamous Thomas Seymour saga, too.
To her credit, Weir also acknowledges in no uncertain terms that her fictional version of events is by no means accepted historical fact, and draws a firm distinction between her conclusions as an historian and the literary licence she has taken as a novelist.
Overall, "The Lady Elizabeth" is well-written and generally compelling, and once I got into it, I enjoyed it, despite its flaws (particularly in the early part of the novel). I'm in the minority, I think, but I prefer "Innocent Traitor" and think the author is more comfortable using the first person narrative voice. Nonetheless, Alison Weir shows great potential as a novelist.
Summary of The Lady Elizabeth: A Novel
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.
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