Queen Elizabeth Tudor: Journey to Gloriana by Laurel A Rockefeller

“I am by your Council from you commanded to go to the Tower, a place more wanted for a false traitor than a true subject, which though I know I desire it not, yet in the face of all this realm it appears proved,” wrote Princess Elizabeth Tudor in her eleventh-hour letter to sister Queen Mary as guards waited to transport her to the prison at the Tower of London. Queen Elizabeth is perhaps the most legendary and celebrated ruler in English history. Yet do you really know her as well as you think you do? In this beautiful narrative biography, you explore Elizabeth’s path from “Lady Elizabeth” to “Gloriana” through the lens of her relationship with Robert Dudley, a relationship far more contentious than most people believe. Politics and religion collide, provoking Elizabeth to console herself with her music, and a hard decision lays before her as plots against her life threaten her throne. Take the journey to Gloriana and discover a side to Elizabeth you never knew existed. Features six medieval and Elizabethan songs, a detailed timeline, and an extensive suggested reading list. Continues “Mary Queen of the Scots.”

Sherry Terry’s Review: 4.5-Stars

I am a big fan of Laurel’s books about powerful women in history. Queen Elizabeth Tudor did not disappoint either. I love the cover. It tells me what I’m going to get, and it’s dripping with history.

One of my favorite things about Laurel’s books is how she starts them with a prologue that sets you up to go back in time. I found that the lad sailing to the new world with his parents is a really good prologue to Elizabeth’s life when he tells the story to another girl on the ship.

As always, Laurel’s writing is spot on, and she has the touch of making learning fun. In this book, she has gifted us with songs and prayer from the era along with the research. I enjoyed reading Queen Elizabeth Tudor: Journey to Gloriana by Laurel A Rockefeller.

I give the book 4.5-stars because I wanted more. I wanted more of the history of Queen Elizabeth’s life and the times of her reign. This book is a very good accounting of her love affair with Robert Dudley, the fifth son of the first Duke of Northumberland, and the book touches on different events during Elizabeth’s life, but I felt the book could be much bigger.

Overall, this book is a good accounting of Elizabeth I as an addition to your other books on the era.

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