Customer Reviews
A fantastic read - By: T. Bradbery, 25 Aug 2008 
If you are interestin Elizabeth Iin any capacity, then this is the book for you. I stumbled across Alison Weir's book on Lady Jane Grey, & was transfixed, so was delighted when The Lady Elizabeth came out. The book takes you through Elizabeth's childhood, her teenage years, until the moment that she becomes queen. It is both fascinating & compelling & I would recommend it to anyone who has any interestin this period, but more importantly for bringing to life Elizabeth I's amazing & intriguing personality. A fantastic, higly recommended read!
An entertaining read - By: Carly Askwith, 10 Jun 2008 
I enjoy historical novels & am a reader of all things tudor both fact & fiction. Whilst this was an entertaining read, I completely agree with the previous reviewer who stated Alison Weir's dialogue could be quite nauseating at times. She writes with a simplicity which does not reflect the period or subject matter. At times it is almost, "he said", "she said", which did annoy after a while.
In addition, I believe this period of time & particularly the story of Elizabeth is interesting enough without having to incorporate myth, legend & the supernatural as fact. The author herself statesin her epilogue that she does not believe some of the things on which she has elaborated.
See Phillipa Gregory for a superior example of how to write Tudor history.
Nauseous - By: H. Spencer, 03 Jun 2008 
I find the subject very interesting but her style is nauseating, too sycophantic/reverential, the sweetness of her characters is cloying & unreal.
Hmmm - By: Lynda Loo, 29 May 2008 I read 'Lady Elizabeth' recently & unlike all the other reviews here it left me cold. I must admit to not usually choosing to read historical novels & so have little to compare it toin terms of peer comparison.
Whilst the portrayal of Elizabeth as a teenager & feisty young woman was good, & showed well the intertangled web of relationshipsin which she was involved, Alison Weir's characterisation of the young Elizabeth, I feel, was somewhat clumsy. She seemed desperate to emphasise the childs precociousness &in doing so lost sense of her innocence (except where sexual matters were concerned) as a young girl.
Her writing throughout the book remained very literal, showing little fiction writing skill of using inference & deduction to intrigue the reader & let him or her draw their own conclusions by leaving clues through characters actions & speech.
Despite it being referred toin the authors notein the back of the book, the speech throughout the book veered from authentic Tudor phrasing to more modern variations, which often made for uncomfortable reading.
However, her true skill throughout the book layin her conjuring up colourful & authentic historic images, which she did well, her 'history' cannot be doubted, although I would question her decision to include Anne Boleyn's ghost which had no placein the book & felt entirely incongruent with what she was trying to achieve.
A useful bookin terms of bringing history to life but not one I would read for reading pleasure.
The lady Elizabeth- an amazing story - By: Jennifer, 24 May 2008 
I have just finished reading this excellent book- full of the detail I would expect from such a respected historian. It also comes with the story "readability" of a fast paced, exciting novel with danger, political double dealings & has given me a deeper appreciation of the amazing woman Elizabeth was.
One thing I like about the way Alison Weir writesin both her novels is the way she does not attempt to justify the morality of the day by modern standards of equalilty. There is no overt feminist tone that would have been totally out of placein Tudor England. Alison cleverly leaves it to the reader to make their own judgement about the status of women & individuals fighting through predjudices through the historical facts & comments of the time, without imposing modern appreciation.
The only negatives for me, were the embellishments after the episode with the Admiral (which the author later explainsin the epilogue) & that the script ended rather abruptly, with the last parts seeming thinnerin detail than I would have liked.
The lady Elizabeth was a prodical genius it seems & by her wit & cleverness survived amazingly against many odds to become queen.
A fascinating & gripping read.
