The Words Of A Prince; & The Virgin Queen
Two new works exploring the life of Elizabeth I
- The Words Of A Prince: A Life Of Elizabeth I From Contemporary Documents
Maria Perry - Boydell Press, 1990 - 252 pp. - £18.95 - The Virgin Queen: The Personal History Of Elizabeth I
Christopher Hibbert - Viking, 1990 - 286 pp. - £16.99
'There is no adequate life of Elizabeth' – thus Conyers Read in the Tudor Bibliography of British History (1933). This fence was brilliantly mended by J.E. Neale in the following year but has not prevented a great many other writers having a go. Around seventy biographies have appeared. Like Shakespeare, Elizabeth attracts all sorts of authors – not necessarily scholars – because, while a great deal is known about her, there remain considerable areas of enigma for speculation. Strict historians take to the dangerous waters cautiously, well aware of the snags and contradictions.
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