Tudor Book Reviews

Posted By Claire on September 2, 2011

The following review of these two Elizabeth I themed books, one factual and one fiction, is written by our regular reviewer, Niki A. Incorvia, M.A. Thank you, Niki!

Elizabeth’s Women: Friends, Rivals, and Foes Who Shaped the Virgin Queen by Tracy Borman, and Legacy: The Acclaimed Novel of Elizabeth, England’s Most Passionate Queen — and the Three Men Who Loved Her by Susan Kay

After reading numerous books which merely skimmed over Elizabeth’s life, I resolved myself to read biographies solely focusing on her childhood and reign as queen of England. I discovered the novels, Elizabeth’s Women: Friends, Rivals, and Foes Who Shaped the Virgin Queen by Tracy Borman and Legacy: The Acclaimed Novel of Elizabeth, England’s Most Passionate Queen — and the Three Men Who Loved Her by Susan Kay, to be reliable depictions of what I envisioned the Virgin Queen to be like. Kay’s book is a self-described novel, not entirely based on fact, while Borman’s book is classified as “non-fiction.”

Both novels were consistent in Elizabeth’s childhood, depicting her formative years as “rocky” with her father and the subsequent series of step-mothers she went through during the course of her father’s reign. Some, like Jane Seymour, according to Borman, preferred her half-sister Mary over Elizabeth, while others, such as Katherine Howard, Elizabeth’s own mother’s first cousin, favored Elizabeth over Mary. One indisputable fact presented in these two novels is that Elizabeth’s life was tumultuous after the death of her father in 1547 and during the events leading to her accession to the English throne.

A biography of Elizabeth I could not be written without the mention of her great rival, Mary Queen of Scots. Both books include detailed accounts of Elizabeth’s ongoing rivalry with the Scottish queen and her eventual execution. The specifics of Mary’s execution were consistent in both novels and did not stray from the conventional sequence of events that are re-told by most historians of the Tudor era.

While Borman focused on the women in Elizabeth’s life, Kay concentrated on the men who adored, admired and loved their Gloriana, although there are inconsistencies between the two novels. In Borman’s account of Elizabeth’s reign she noted that Elizabeth included cousins from the Boleyn side, such as the children of George Boleyn and Jane Parker. It is my belief that Jane and George never had any children, but some sources say George may have had an illegitimate son; although this fact is highly disputed. Kay did not include any reference as to where the information was linked to, but instead did remain consistent in stating that Elizabeth gave her cousins, Mary Boleyn’s children, positions at her court following other historians’ accounts of Elizabeth honoring her late mother. Secondly, Borman’s novel has Elizabeth enduring a wavering and distrustful relationship with her close favorite, Robert Dudley’s sister, Lady Mary Sidney who attended Elizabeth when she was sick with smallpox. In Kay’s book, Elizabeth lashed out in fury when she discovered that her illness had permanently disfigured her long-time servant and faithful friend. On Mary asking to be excused from court on account of her disfigurement Kay writes, “Elizabeth stared at the coverlet and Robin saw the struggle in her eyes, the struggle of a selfish woman in the act of making a real sacrifice. There were very few women that she [Elizabeth] cared for and he knew how much she had come to depend on Mary’s affection. Her instinct was to talk her friend out of this, to beg her to stay, but she strangled it, knowing that, if she asked it, Mary would not deny her.” This was in stark contrast to Borman’s version of the event as she had Elizabeth all too eager to dismiss the Lady Mary Sidney from her court.

The tone of these two books is quite different. Kay’s novel kept the reader in more suspense as she re-told Elizabeth’s story with passion and inspiration, giving Elizabeth a lively and tempestuous character. Borman’s book was intriguing, but she often used redundancy in her descriptions and instilled less personality in Elizabeth and the other characters in her life.

I read Kay’s book on my Kindle, so I am unaware if she includes some pages of portraits of Elizabeth’s reign, but Borman included two inserts of colorful pages with pictures of Elizabeth, her father, mother, siblings, and her four step-mothers. The next insert included portraits of Elizabeth’s female servants at court, including some of her rivals throughout her reign. I especially enjoyed one specific detail of Kay’s novel which I am not sure is based on fact or not. Throughout the entire book, Kay has Elizabeth owning a doll with its head removed. The doll was given to Elizabeth as an infant and when her mother was executed, Elizabeth ripped the head off. She kept it with the rest of her most precious belongings.

Both books were fascinating. Both Borman and Kay captured Elizabeth’s spirit and sometimes lively temper. The books paralleled in many ways, confirming many historical accounts of England’s queen who led the country through a “Golden Age.” I found Kay’s book a more dynamic read, while Borman’s book is packed with facts, although some of them may not be true. The reader will choose which “flavor” of literature they are looking for on Elizabeth’s reign and life.

Both books are available from Amazon.com – click on book covers above for further details. They are also available from Amazon UK, click on the following links:-

• Elizabeth’s Women by Tracy Borman
• Legacy by Susan kay

Categories: Elizabeth I, Fiction, Non-fiction
Tags: Elizabeth I, Susan Kay, Tracy Borman