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I, Elizabeth by Rosalind Miles

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amyb
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I, Elizabeth by Rosalind Miles

Post by amyb » Mon March 16th, 2009, 8:43 pm

Rosalind Miles, oh Rosalind Miles...how happy I am to have found you! You have written a most excellent novel about my favorite monarch, Queen Elizabeth I, and gave me hours of reading ecstasy that I will never forget! I loved every minute of this book!!!!

I, Elizabeth is a fantastic read of the life, loves, trials and tribulations of Queen Elizabeth I, "The Virgin Queen". We follow Elizabeth from childhood, when she was labeled a "bastard" and her mother a "whore", to the treacherous times before her accession to the throne, through her 45 year reign as Queen of England, until her death at the age of 69. Miles does a great job at putting you right there with her through it all...the good, the bad and the ugly!

The novel is broken down into 5 parts...Bastard, Virgin, Queen, Bellona and Gloriana, the five phases in Elizabeth's life. At a little over 600 pages, this is no light reading...but, do not fret, the chapters are short and it goes by quickly. Elizabeth is portrayed just how I imagined her...spunky, fiesty, strong, vain, gutsy, ornery and a tad bitchy! And it's a good thing that she was all those things, or else she never would've lasted against her Parliament!

The question of Elizabeth's virginity was handled very well in my opinion...she was such a passionate woman (being the offspring of two very amorous people, poor girl didn't stand a chance) and always surrounded herself with adoring men, it's easy to see how the scandals and rumors started. The matter of marriage never ceased to be a nuisance to Elizabeth and I can certainly understand her reluctance to it...after seeing what all the men in her life did to their wives, who could blame her?

The dialect in this novel was superb, Elizabeth has some great quotes that would make me laugh out loud or give me fantastic insight into that complex brain of hers.

Bottom line: Yours truly most enthusiastically recommends this outstanding novel to anyone and everyone who will listen! :D

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Amanda
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Post by Amanda » Mon March 16th, 2009, 9:23 pm

[quote=""amyb""]
The dialect in this novel was superb, Elizabeth has some great quotes that would make me laugh out loud or give me fantastic insight into that complex brain of hers.
[/quote]

Totally agree with your review! I read this book some years ago, and I distinctly remember that the dialogue was just fantastic. She "sounds" just like Glenda Jackson.

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EC2
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Post by EC2 » Mon March 16th, 2009, 10:11 pm

Thanks Amy, I'll have to read this one. I really enjoyed Susannah Kay's Legacy about Elizabeth 1 many years ago, but have recently had to wall bang Alison Weir's efforts at the same subject. Good to know that someone else has written a decent novel about her.
Les proz e les vassals
Souvent entre piez de chevals
Kar ja li coard n’I chasront

'The Brave and the valiant
Are always to be found between the hooves of horses
For never will cowards fall down there.'

Histoire de Guillaume le Mareschal

www.elizabethchadwick.com

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amyb
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Post by amyb » Mon March 16th, 2009, 11:22 pm

EC...my life long mission is to get my hands on a copy of Legacy one day!! And I am sooo with you on the Weir book about Elizabeth! I didn't get that far into it before I chucked it...although I do like her non-fiction books.

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Misfit
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Post by Misfit » Mon March 16th, 2009, 11:36 pm

[quote=""amyb""]EC...my life long mission is to get my hands on a copy of Legacy one day!! And I am sooo with you on the Weir book about Elizabeth! I didn't get that far into it before I chucked it...although I do like her non-fiction books.[/quote]

I am soooo glad I never bothered with the Weir book, but I agree with eC about Legacy. How many times can you look at a book's reviews on Ammy and see 20 + and all five stars?

Sigh, another one for the TBR pile although I think I may already own this one. :p :confused:
At home with a good book and the cat...
...is the only place I want to be

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Tanzanite
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Post by Tanzanite » Tue March 17th, 2009, 12:42 am

I really didn't like this one and found it rather flat and uninspiring (quite unlike Legacy).

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Telynor
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Post by Telynor » Sat March 21st, 2009, 4:52 am

This one and Susan Kay's Legacy are my favourites as far as novels about Elizabeth I. Those I can reread and not want to fling them through a window.

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Misfit
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Post by Misfit » Sat March 21st, 2009, 12:39 pm

[quote=""Telynor""]This one and Susan Kay's Legacy are my favourites as far as novels about Elizabeth I. Those I can reread and not want to fling them through a window.[/quote]

Heh, now what do we call a book being thrown out the window? Window banger doesn't quite cut it. Ideas?

:D :D
At home with a good book and the cat...
...is the only place I want to be

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Veronica
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Post by Veronica » Sat August 1st, 2009, 12:13 pm

This book is on my shelf... can't wait to read it now! Thank you
"Time you enjoy wasting, was not wasted"

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robinbird79
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Post by robinbird79 » Mon August 3rd, 2009, 8:31 pm

[quote=""amyb""]

The dialect in this novel was superb, Elizabeth has some great quotes that would make me laugh out loud or give me fantastic insight into that complex brain of hers.
[/quote]

This is one of my favorite things about this novel: the voice of Elizabeth that the author manages to create. I've had this book for maybe 5 - 6 years now and I read it at least once a year. I like it that much.
Currently Reading: Crown in Candlelight, R. H. Jarmen

http://almostcrazymommy.blogspot.com

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