Elizabeth's Women: The Hidden Story of the Virgin Queen - Tracy Borman

So many biographies have been written about the life and times of one of England's longest-lived and longest-reigning sovereigns of medieval times that one might wonder whether there is anything new left to say about her. However, Tracy Borman has found an interesting new angle – by telling the story of her life through the women closest to her.

It begins with the courtship of her parents, Henry VIII and his second wife Anne Boleyn, who was so desperate to give him the son he ardently desired. When she gave birth to Elizabeth in 1533, only three months after they were married, it was a major disappointment to them both. Within three years, after Anne had 'miscarried of her saviour', a boy, she was tried for high treason, found guilty, and ended up on the scaffold. As a result the attitude towards her of her half-sister Mary, the elder by seventeen years, who had previously regarded her as a threat, softened considerably.

Nevertheless, in the years to come, religious differences between the fanatically Catholic Mary and her Protestant sister would be uneasy to say the least. At least once during Mary's five-year reign, Elizabeth feared she was in imminent danger of execution on a trumped-up charge of treason. With her stepmothers, she enjoyed a better relationship, finding Anne of Cleves and Katherine Parr ever supportive. Katherine proved her rock, until her sudden death of puerperal fever after giving birth to a daughter.

Elizabeth was brought up in a mainly female world. The household consisted of maidservants and governesses, with very little in the way of more than occasional male company - and what little there was was constantly watched. Once she came to the throne, she was regularly attended by her ladies of the bedchamber.

One of the most interesting women with whom she was closely associated was 'Kat' Astley, initially her governess and later her First Lady of the Bedchamber. She too found herself imprisoned and at risk of losing her life during Mary's reign through being associated with treasonable activities (as was nearly everyone at court at some time or another, often unfairly), but good fortune saved her and she went on to serve her mistress until her death in 1565.

Less harmonious were Elizabeth's dealings with the sisters of the tragic nine-day-Queen, Lady Jane Grey, particularly Lady Mary, who proved a thorn in the Queen's side for much of her short life. As the author says, to be born a woman of royal blood in the 16th century was often a curse. It certaunly was for the deluded Arbella Stuart, who was seen as a possible future sovereign, and spent much of her life in captivity as she was regarded as serious competition. Having been brought up in a tough school, Elizabeth could be equally tough, even cruel, with others whom she believed or even imagined were crossing her.

The most interesting connection is undoubtedly that with her troublesome but tragic cousin Mary, Queen of Scots, who spent almost half her life in captivity. It was an ambivalent relationship, and Elizabeth's cautious dealings with and attitude to the woman who continually represented a major threat to her for many years is skillfully handled. Mary was implicated in a plot to assassinate Elizabeth, put on trial for high treason, found guilty and sentenced to be beheaded. Although well aware of her cousin's guilt, Elizabeth was persuaded to sign the death warrant and did so with grave misgivings. Her privy council then ensured the sentence was carried out before she had any chance to change her mind. Mary's execution was perpetually on her conscience, yet at least she was able to make amends to some extent when shortly before her death she nominated Mary's son James as her successor.

The author portrays Elizabeth's character vividly, as the woman who remained a virgin partly as a reaction to the fate of her mother, and who had to face one conspiracy after another throughout her reign. She was undoubtedly a shrewd, intelligent woman, who managed to lead a long life during a particularly troubled age. At the same time she was certainly vain, capricious, with a fearsome temper, and the faults are painted just as strongly as the virtues. Add to that the vivid descriptions of the colourful Elizabethan court, its splendours and its intrigues, and the result is a fascinating read for anybody interested in not only the Tudor era, but history in general.

(This is a modified version of the review I originally posted on Bookbag)