I, Elizabeth: A Novel - Hardcover

Miles, Rosalind

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0385471602 ISBN 13: 9780385471602

Publisher: Doubleday, 1994

Synopsis

Last in the line of succession to the English throne, Elizabeth inherited a country torn by religious differences, at war with Europe, and badly in debt. When she died in 1603, having ruled for forty-five years, her empire was solvent, the Spanish Armada had been defeated, the Church of England had been firmly established, and the men she favored, such as William Shakespeare, Sir Francis Drake, and Sir Walter Raleigh, had made her reign the Golden Age still remembered today.
In this brilliantly conceived novel, Miles uses her acclaimed skills as a storyteller and historian to bring to life the woman behind the myth of the "Virgin Queen." By turns imperious, brilliant, calculating, and insecure, this Queen Elizabeth is as vividly alive today as she was in her own time. Nor is she only the public Elizabeth: She reveals her most intimate thoughts and fears as she struggles to balance her needs as a woman against her duties as England's sovereign.

About this title

About the Author

Rosalind Miles, Ph.D., is a well-known and critically acclaimed English novelist, essayist, and broadcaster. Her novels, which include the Guenevere trilogy and the Tristan and Isolde trilogy, have been international bestsellers. You can visit her at www.rosalind.net.

From the Inside Flap

Publicly declared a bastard at the age of three, daughter of a disgraced and executed mother, last in the line of succession to the throne of England, Elizabeth I inherited an England ravaged by bloody religious conflict, at war with Spain and France, and badly in debt. When she died in 1603, after a forty-five- year reign, her empire spanned two continents and was united under one church, victorious in war, and blessed with an overflowing treasury. What's more, her favorites--William Shakespeare, Sir Francis Drake, and Sir Walter Raleigh--had made
the Elizabethan era a cultural Golden Age still remembered today.
But for Elizabeth the woman, tragedy went hand in hand with triumph. Politics and scandal forced the passionate queen to reject her true love, Robert Dudley, and to execute his stepson, her much-adored Lord Essex. Now in this spellbinding novel, Rosalind Miles brings to life the woman behind the myth. By turns imperious, brilliant, calculating, vain, and witty, this is the Elizabeth the world never knew. From the days of her brutal father, Henry VIII, to her final dying moments, Elizabeth tells her story in her own words.

Edition details

• Publisher: Doubleday
• Publication date: 1994
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0385471602
• ISBN 13: 9780385471602
• Binding: Hardcover