Many volumes have been written about the long reign of Elizabeth I.
Now, for the first time, comes a brilliant new work that focuses on
the critical year her reign ended, a time in which England lost its
childless queen and a Machiavellian struggle ensued to find her
successor.
December 1602. After forty-four years on the throne, Queen
Elizabeth is in decline. The formidable ruler whose motto is Semper
eadem (I never change) has become a dithering old woman, missing
teeth and wearing makeup half an inch thick. The kingdom has been
weakened by the cost of war with Spain and the simmering discontent
of both the rich and the poor. The stage has been set, at long
last, for succession. But the Queen who famously never married has
no heir.
Elizabeth's senior relative is James VI of Scotland, Protestant son
of Elizabeth's cousin Mary Queen of Scots. But as a foreigner and a
Stuart, he is excluded from the throne under English law. The road
to and beyond his coronation will be filled with conspiracy and
duplicity, personal betrayals and political upheavals.
Bringing history to thrilling life, Leanda de Lisle captures the
time, place, and players as never before. As the Queen nears the
end, we witness the scheming of her courtiers for the candidates of
their choice; blood-soaked infighting among the Catholic clergy as
they struggle to survive in the face of persecution; the widespread
fear that civil war, invasion, or revolution will follow the
monarch's death; and the signs, portents, and ghosts that seem to
mark her end.
Here, too, are the surprising and, to some, dismaying results of
James's ascension: his continuation of Elizabeth's persecution of
Catholics, his desire to unite his two kingdoms into a new country
called Britain, and the painful contrast between the pomp and
finery of Elizabeth's court and the begrimed quality of his own.
Around the old queen and the new king, swirl a cast of
unforgettable characters, including Arbella Stuart, James's
ambitious and lonely first cousin; his childish, spoiled rival for
power, Sir Walter Raleigh, who plotted to overthrow the king; and
Sir John Harrington, Elizabeth's wily godson, who switched his
loyalties to James long before the queen's death.
Courtesy of Leanda de Lisle's keenly modern view of this tumultuous
time, we are given intimate insights into of political power plays
and psychological portraits relevant to our own era. After
Elizabeth is a unique look at a pivotal year-and a dazzling debut
for an exciting new historian.
"From the Hardcover edition."
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