Review Of J. E. Neale's Queen Elizabeth I

The Queen: A Critical Comparative Book Review

Queen Elizabeth I, was a powerful, diplomatic, female leader that ruled in a time that was dominated by males. In the biographies Queen Elizabeth I, by J.E. Neale and The Life of Elizabeth I, by Alison Weir, both authors’ have strong opinions on how Queen Elizabeth was a very strong, intelligent, female ruler considering she was never married.

Queen Elizabeth I was born September 7, 1533 to Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, Henry VIII’s second wife. Anne Boleyn was executed for treason when Elizabeth was two and a half years old. Elizabeth received a large amount of education as a child before her reign. Elizabeth was the fifth and the last monarch of the Tudor dynasty. She was never married and never had any children. Even though Elizabeth never married, she did have many suitors. Elizabeth’s reign lasted from 1558, when her half-sister died until her own death in 1603.

In Queen Elizabeth I, by J.E. Neale, the author states the reasoning for why this biography was written. This was written in the preface. Neale states “this biography has been written for a particular occasion and a particular public. The occasion is the fourth centenary of Queen Elizabeth’s birth; the public is the body of lay men and women interested in a great historical personality” (Neale, preface). Neale’s biography has discussed Queen Elizabeth’s life in great depth. It started from her early years. Then he goes on to

this biography was based on historical references and gives the reader a fascinating insight into the life of England's Queen Elizabeth I. even though this biography had a lot of facts about Queen Elizabeth’s life it seem to revolve more around the individuals in her life. Anytime a person gained a new title, such as when Robert Dudley became the Earl of Leicester, he was referred to as Leicester after. It was hard to keep straight who was who, and who had what