Front cover image for Elizabeth : the struggle for the throne

Elizabeth : the struggle for the throne

An abused child, yet confident of her destiny to reign, a woman in a man's world, Elizabeth I was to be famed as England's most successful ruler. This biography, by concentrating on the formative early years--from her birth in 1533 to her accession in 1558--shows how her experiences of danger and adventure formed her remarkable character and shaped her opinions and beliefs. In growing up, Elizabeth experienced every vicissitude of fortune and every extreme of condition. She was three years old at the time of her mother's execution; when she was a young woman, her step-father cut her dress off of her with a knife. She had been Princess and inheritrix of England--then bastardized and disinherited. At sixteen she was the head of a great princely household. Yet she was also an accused traitor on the verge of execution. Amid all this, she had mastered the most advanced classical curriculum of the day. But it was her lessons in the school of life that mattered more--and that taught her humanity. David Starkey re-creates a host of extravagant characters, madcap schemes and tragic plots, while using original documents to point up the importance of the rituals of power and life at court. Elizabeth, whose own Protestant faith was personal and sophisticated, was extremely judicious in her handling of Reform, as in her choice of advisors and councilors. Here, too, is a fresh view of the famous rivalry between the daughters of Henry VIII: the pious Catholic Mary and her clever sister. While Elizabeth remained utterly devoted to her father, she was also determined not to lose her opportunity for power--and not to make the same mistakes as Mary. The skill with which she achieved her goal proved to be a sign that England had reached a watershed moment in its history
Print Book, English, 2007, ©2001
1st Perennial ed View all formats and editions
Harper Perennial, New York, 2007, ©2001
Biographies
xii, 363, 20 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : genealogical table, illustrations (chiefly color), portraits ; 21 cm
9780061367434, 0061367435
1035133227
Includes P.S., read exclusive extras including: interviews and features
Reprint. Originally published: London: Chatto & Windus, 2000
"The first U.S. ed. of this book was published in 2001 by HarperCollins Pub."--Title page verso