About this title: 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 Weir turns her storytelling skills to the early life of young Elizabeth Tudor.
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Description: Very Good. Great condition for a used book! Minimal wear. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Description: Very Good. 0345495365 **Softcover**--Exact ISBN Match--Cover has extremely minor shelf wear at tips of corners. No personalizations, writing or marks in the text. Clean, Tight and Neat. Ships Quickly-IN STOCK-Satisfaction Guaranteed! read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Date Published: 2008-04-29
ISBN-13:9780345495358ISBN:0345495357
Description: New in New jacket. New book. Publisher's inventory dot on bottom edges. We ship 6 days a week, generally within 24 hours; single CDs and DVDs upgraded to 1st class! read more
Description: Like New. 2008-Paperback-May contain minor shelf-wear. Otherwise, volume un-read and in "As-New" condition. -Used-Like New-Hall Street Books proudly ships from Brooklyn, NY. All orders are processed and shipped within 24 hours, M-F. 100% money back No-Worry guarantee with expedited delivery and delivery confirmation available. read more
Binding: Trade Paperback
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Date Published: 2008
ISBN-13:9780345495365ISBN:0345495365
Description: Fine. 8vo-over 7¾"-9¾" tall. Near-new condition. NO remainder marks or clippings. Tight spine, bright pages. NO writing, marks or tears inside book. 492 pages. Synopsis 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 ... read more
Edition: First edition. 1st U. S. edition
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Date Published: 2008
ISBN-13:9780345495358ISBN:0345495357
Description: New in new dust jacket. Clean and tight-unused copy-Excellent! ! Glued binding. Cloth over boards. With dust jacket. 480 p. Audience: General/trade. read more
Binding: Trade paperback
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Date Published: 2008
ISBN-13:9780345495365ISBN:0345495365
Description: Very good. No dust jacket as issued. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 492 p. Random House Reader's Circle. Audience: General/trade. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Date Published: 11/4/2008
ISBN-13:9780345495365ISBN:0345495365
Description: New. Paperback. You are buying a Book in NEW condition with very light shelf wear to include very light edge and corner wear. Buy it Now! ! ! As always, thank you for buying this book from International Book Source, YOUR ONE source FOR ALL your BOOK related NEEDS. Please remember to CHOOSE carefully how QUICKLY you would like to RECEIVE this material FAST, or standard (on next page). Thanks again! ! ! ! read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Date Published: 11/4/2008
ISBN-13:9780345495365ISBN:0345495365
Description: New. Paperback. You are buying a Book in NEW condition with very light shelf wear to include very light edge and corner wear. Buy it Now! ! ! As always, thank you for buying this book from International Book Source, YOUR ONE source FOR ALL your BOOK related NEEDS. Please remember to CHOOSE carefully how QUICKLY you would like to RECEIVE this material FAST, or standard (on next page). Thanks again! ! ! ! read more
Edition: First Edition
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: N/A
ISBN-13:9780345495358ISBN:0345495357
Description: Used-Good in Good jacket. FIRST EDITION hardcover; Good condition. very clean and bright pages; slightly loose spine pencil price first page; Reliable customer service and no-hassle return policy. read more
Binding: Trade paperback
Publisher: Ballantine Books, Great Britain
Date Published: 2008
ISBN-13:9780345495365ISBN:0345495365
Description: Very good. No dust jacket as issued. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 487 p. Random House Reader's Circle. Audience: General/trade. Book is in excellent condition. Cover and Pages are clean, binding is tight. Some light creasing on spine. We ship daily, Satisfaction Guaranteed. read more
"I have long been a fan of Alison Weir's well-written and accessible history books, so I was excited to find out that she is now writing fiction. This novelized version of Elizabeth I's life did not disappoint me. I enjoyed reading about Elizabeth's early life, especially her childhood, and about Edward, who I always tend to forget about.
I was impressed by how closely the book follows the facts, while still making for a compelling read. There is one rather surprising plotline where Weir strays away from the facts, but I found it a fun touch. When you know all the facts cold, as Weir does, why not play around with them? And when I picked up a biography of Elizabeth, I was surprised at how much she really did follow use events and conversations with only a few twists to produce her shocker. I hope Weir follows this up with a novel about Elizabeth as queen."
"Alison Weir has authored an intriguing fictional representation of "Lady" Elizabeth (later Queen Elizabeth I). Her understanding of history provides a detailed context in which this story is placed. Since I am not a historian of the era, I cannot comment on historical accuracy per se. Nonetheless, from having read a few other works regarding the era, it does not seem too far off the mark.
The story depicts Elizabeth, bastard daughter of Henry VIII, as a survivor. Her early life often placed her in situations where she was at risk (this era featured quite a bit of killing of nobles/pretenders to the throne/etc.). The tale begins with Elizabeth as a child and traces her life up to the death of her sister, Queen Mary (also designated as a bastard by Henry VIII, daughter of Katherine of Aragon). Eli9zabeth is the daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, who has been beheaded (probably under trumped up charges). Obviously, that places her at some disadvantage!
The story focuses on Elizabeth's early life. She is shown to be very intelligent, very mature (the modern concept of childhood was not a part of the culture then). The story traces the trajectory of her life nicely--from the impact of friends, relatives, and powerful figures). She was often the pawn of power struggles involving others.
Her relationship with her father and sister and younger brother (later, Edward VI) is nicely told. The relationships among Henry VIII's children is well drawn. There are obvious tensions between Mary (Catholic daughter of a Catholic Queen) and Elizabeth (advocate of a reformed church after Henry VIII's breakaway from the Catholic Church). The dialectic between the sisters is developed very well.
There is one very speculative element (in the discussion at the end of the book, Weir elaborates why she used this episode) based on Elizabeth's time spent with Thomas Seymour and his wife. While it is a conceivable event, it is also controversial. Some will have this, perhaps, color their view of the novel. While I am unconvinced, I felt that the episode did work and helped provide a motivation for her later life.
At any rate, this is well done historical fiction on Elizabeth I's life before she ascended to the throne. It shows her as a tough survivor, someone who strived for being sovereign without being ruthless, someone who understood the delicate context in which she lived. All in all, a pretty intriguing novel."
"I've enjoyed several of Weir's non-fiction works (Life and Court of Henry VIII, Elizabeth I, Princes in the Tower) so when I saw she's trying her hand at novels I picked this up.
This is the story of the early part of Elizabeth's life, from the execution of her mother Anne Boleyn in 1536 (age 2) to the death of her sister Mary and her declaration as queen in 1557 (age 23). Weir has spent her entire adult life researching the Tudors, so I knew she'd be on solid ground fact-wise (something that bothers me at times about historical novels). While she does take a few liberties to make for a more interesting story, these are all based on events where the historical record is scarce, and speculation has always abounded.
The pace is a bit slow, but I really enjoyed how Weir captured the uncertain (and at times terrifying and outright dangerous) world Elizabeth inhabited. Where the novel shines is getting inside Elizabeth's head and seeing how the events of her childhood and adolescence formed her psyche and created the world's most famous virgin, who would outrageously (and courageously) rule her kingdom alone for over 40 years."
The life of Elizabeth Tudor is very well known, yet still continues to fascinate. Alison Weir throws her fiction hat into the ring with a novel that covers Elizabeth's life until her ascension to the throne.
I enjoyed Weir's novel about Lady Jane Grey, Innocent Traitor, and I've found her non-fiction books, such as The Princes in the Tower, to be highly readable. However, The Lady Elizabeth is...boring. And one would think it would be very difficult to make Elizabeth Tudor boring. Yet Weir manages this dubious accomplishment. Her Elizabeth is more acted on than active, a victim time and again of unscrupulous men and their schemes and plots. She almost spends more time cowering in her bed, crying piteously and suffering dropsy than she does out of it. She's passive, a bit of a wet blanket, and rather one dimensional. The only time she shows spark is when Weir includes words actually spoken or written by the historical Elizabeth.
I have no doubt that Elizabeth was deathly afraid for her life, especially during her sister Mary's reign, and did spend much time crying. But Weir is far too nice, far too deferential to her characters. She avoids anything that would make Elizabeth - or even Queen Mary I, another woman manipulated by men in Weir's telling - too unsympathetic. Unfortunately, that leaves us with bland storytelling that never attempts to dig deeper than the superficial. It's as if Ms. Weir didn't want to be constrained by sticking to the historical record, so she told Elizabeth's story as a novel. But then she didn't take advantage of all the liberty fiction allows her and kept her subjects at a historian's arm distance. The result is less than compelling storytelling."
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