I, Elizabeth by Rosalind Miles

GENRE

Historical Fiction (618 pgs.)

SYNOPSIS

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. 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.

MY REVIEW

Elizabeth I is quite possibly my favorite historical figure of English history. I adore and respect this powerful woman who brought the world to her feet in a time when women were extremely undervalued. If there was ever a school project to do on a famous historical person, I always chose Queen Elizabeth I.

Because she is such the famous Queen of England, there are many interpretations of her that exist today. Rosalind Miles did an excellent job of blending all of these different personas to create a person out of all of the history; a living, breathing human being.

The historical accuracy of this novel is very good. So good, in fact, that I found myself scrambling to keep track of all of the characters! I enjoyed the fact that Rosalind Miles managed to give the reader a great sense of historical presence without having to slap on paragraphs and paragraphs of lengthy description, which can really become too overwhelming at times.

Rosalind Miles succeeded in capturing the art of historical fiction: crafting a driving, engaging story out of pre-determined events. Some authors err on the side of history, and make their stories too textbooky; others err on the side of fiction, making their story too unbelievable. But Rosalind Miles managed to capture the best of both worlds.

I also enjoyed the fact that Miles was able to blend two distinct personas of Elizabeth I: the Queen, and the woman. Even though Elizabeth I is famed for her wise and powerful rule of England, history tends to turn a blind eye to the woman behind the Queen. Because like any other woman, or human for that matter, she would have had her faults. This novel was a refreshing reminder of the person that Elizabeth I truly was... and even she could not escape her biggest downfall: her own heart.

This novel, albeit a very hefty 600+ pages, was a journey; a journey with Queen Elizabeth I. It is truly a window into her mind, her heart, and her soul, and I am glad to have read it.

MY RATING

4.5****/*

Book #11 in Historical Fiction Reading Challenge

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? (22)

Greetings everyone, hope you are all doing well! Happy Monday!

Yes, I'm still plugging through I, Elizabeth. Even with voracious hours of reading, it doesn't seem like I'm making much progress. Have you ever had that happen? I guess I just have to remember that it's about the 600+ page journey, not the destination.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a weekly meme hosted by Book Journey in which we bloggers share what we have read in the past week, and what we're currently tearing through this week.

Last Week I Read

I, Elizabeth by Rosalind Miles

Currently I'm Reading

I, Elizabeth by Rosalind Miles

Cate of the Lost Colony by Lisa Klein

GENRE

YA Historical Fiction (321 pgs.)

SYNOPSIS

An orphan, young Lady Catherine rises to become one of Queen Elizabeth's favorite maids of honor--until her romance with the dashing adventurer Sir Walter Ralegh is discovered. In a fit of jealousy, the queen banishes Cate to the fledgling colony on Roanoke Island.

Sustained by the hope that Sir Walter will soon join her, Cate learns to face the unexpected hardships and dangers of the New World. Torn by conflict and mistrust, and with their numbers dwindling, the colonists are forced to rely on Manteo, a mysterious Croatoan Indian, for their survival. Manteo, who calls Cate his Moon Maiden...

But is Manteo truly a friend, or will he betray the English to their enemies? And Sir Walter in England--has he forgotten his beloved, or will he come to claim her? As the months pass without rescue, Cate turns her gaze from the past and considers the possibility of a new love. Then one day a ship arrives--and Cate must make an agonizing choice.

MY REVIEW

Lisa Klein, in my opinion, is one of the best YA authors out there. I love her historical fiction books, because she always puts a new twist on famous events, stories, and legends. However, this book seemed to be one exception.

I really wanted to fall in love with this book, but I just couldn't. When I first picked it up, I was so excited to read it! My history-geek brain was drooling... this is one of my favorite time periods in history, and written by such a brilliant author. But this one sort of fell short.

Cate, our heroine, I could never really connect/sympathize with. She just never really fascinated me. She didn't grab my attention. Sure, she was brave and adventurous, willing to befriend the Indians, which I think is great, but she came off as rather flat to me, emotional wise.

I think the best-written character in this book was a tie between Sir Walter Ralegh/Manteo. Both had complex challenges and problems to face, but overcame them. Both showed devotion to the ones they loved. Both fought hard to keep the fledgling colony alive. I really admired these two, for all they sacrificed.

I also didn't like the way Lisa Kelin portrayed Queen Elizabeth I in this book, but I think that's just bias on my part. Court life back then was a lot more treacherous than I think we see it today. Royalty was fickle; even the ones who seemed "perfect" had their faults.

The middle-back half of the book was hard to get through. Bascially, the Indians, led by the war-hungry Wanchese, and the colonists go back and forth in what seems like an endless tug of war. It actually became quite annoying after a while. No one could decide who to trust, people kept attacking other people, opinions were divided... no one could agree on anything. I was so relieved when SPOLIER Manteo finally killed Wanchese END SPOILER. After that, the plot healed itself.

The romance between Sir Walter and Cate was hard to grasp. It was a little unrealistic when Cate was at the colony and she was longing after Sir Walter... he never told her that he loved her, ever. And yet, she was expecting him to come to her rescue. Just a bit fanciful, in my humble opinion.

I did like the ending of the book, however. SPOILER The fact that Cate ends up with Manteo instead of the perfect Mr. Ralegh was very refreshing. END SPOILER That ended the book on a good note for me.

Another plus side was the historical detail. Ms. Klein gets an A+ in that category! It is perfectly researched and really gives you a picture of how hard life was for those unfortunate colonists. And to my delight, she includes an Author's Note in the back to explain the history behind her story, which I always love and appreciate.

All in all, this book was a bit of a letdown. Not one of Lisa Klein's greatest. If you want to see Lisa Klein at her best, I strongly recommend Ophelia. Now that was a great book.

MY RATING

3.5***/*

Queen's Own Fool by Jane Yolen & Robert Harris

GENRE

Y.A. Historical Fiction (390 pgs.)

SYNOPSIS

Now called La Jardiniére, a resourceful and clever jester to the queen's court, Nicola was a most unlikely person to end up "fool" and friend to Mary, Queen of Scots. But Nicola isn't an ordinary comedian tumbling and clowning before the court; her quick wit and sharp tongue are rare amongst the fawning nobles. As fate takes Mary from France to Scotland, and into confrontations with rebellious lords and devious advisors, Nicola remains deep in the queen's inner circle. But when the Scots start to turn on Queen Mary, Nicola struggles to find something--anything--that she, just a fool, can do to save her friend.

MY REVIEW

The Elizabethan/Tudor time period in English history is one of my favorites. I really, really tried to like this book just for that fact, and for Mary, Queen of Scots. But I really just couldn't.

This novel hardly merits the name of "Historical Fiction." It was very, VERY lax in that area. Besides the place names and the people, it was hardly historical at all. I don't know if the authors were just too lazy to do good research or what, but it showed, and not in a good way. No real sense of the "presence" of history whatsoever.

Mary, Queen of Scots, the person for whom I was so originally interested in this book, remains aloof and distant. I mean sure, Nicola is our main character, but it's Mary Queen of Scots!! Queen Elizabeth I's counterpart! In this book, she does alot of agreeing, shows some strength at times, but not as much as I would have liked her to. I almost think maybe this was due to an unreliable narrator?

Moving on to our heroine Nicola. She started off great... full of witty quips and lovely vivacity. But she definitley didn't age well. As the book moved on, she really lost all of her wit and charm, which I was sorry for.

This book is emotionally DRY. Imagine leaving a wet sponge out in the sun till it shriveled up. Dry and brittle. I really couldn't feel any sympathy for the characters, except maybe a little for Mary at the end. But wow. VERY little emotion in this novel.

This book is SO plainly written! Again, that just ties into the emotionless aspect of it I think. The only really interesting part is Nicola's dialogue at the beginning.

Many of the Scottish nobles were so similar that they confused me. I couldn't keep track of them. Nothing really unique about them. They all played the same part in the same story.

Like I said before, I really wanted to like this book. Here's hoping that some of you out there might be able to.

MY RATING

2.5**/*