Review: Young Elizabeth: Elizabeth 1 and Her Perilous Path to the Crown by Nicola Tallis

Young Elizabeth: Elizabeth 1 and Her Perilous Path to the Crown

by Nicola Tallis

Release Date: February 29, 2024

2024 Pegasus Books

Hardcover ARC; 432 Pages

ISBN: 978-1639365845

ASIN: B0C7RLW2NF

Genre: Non-Fiction / History / Biography / Tudor

Source: Review copy from publisher

4 / 5 Stars

Summary

The first definitive biography of the young Elizabeth I in over twenty years—drawing on a rich variety of primary sources—tracing her tumultuous path to the crown.

Queen Elizabeth I is renowned for her hugely successful reign that makes her, perhaps, the most celebrated monarch in English history. But what of the trials she faced in her challenging early life?

 

 Looking at Elizabeth as a human being rather than a political chess piece, her narrative explores the dangers and tragedies that plagued Elizabeth's early life, revealing the queen to be a young women who drew strength from her various plights as she navigated one of the most thrilling paths to the throne in the history of the monarchy.

 

My Thoughts

Young Elizabeth traces the life of Queen Elizabeth 1 from the time of her birth to the beginning of her reign as queen. And while I enjoyed this book quite a bit, it has to be quite something in order to stand out from the huge amount of work that already exists about her life. There is little question that the traumas of childhood will affect and shape your life and Elizabeth had survived quite a lot while growing up in the tumultuous reign of first Henry VIII, then through the shorter reigns of her brother and sister. Growing up motherless after the beheading of Anne Boleyn and dealing with the slurs that put on her birth and the questions of her legitimacy, enduring multiple stepmothers, having to deal with implications of plots against the crown and subsequent imprisonment and house arrests, mental health issues resulting from the political plotting, and the physical ailments from which she suffered, Elizabeth suffered through quite a bit while growing up, but managed to survive and achieve something very few people thought she would achieve, the crown. 

The book begins with a history of King Henry VIII and his courtship of Anne Boleyn, something that is necessary to include as it has a huge impact on what happens later in Elizabeth's life. While I don't feel that anything new was added, and have actually read more detailed accounts in other books, the author does draw a lot on academic facts and tries to keep an open mind with readers, to let them draw their own conclusions. While it was very readable, this type of writing continued into the next parts of the book as well. There was nothing wrong with the research or the writing style, but what it did was distance Elizabeth so that I didn't really feel a connection to her, her suffering, and what she was going through.  I enjoyed it on purely on an academic level, but not an emotional one. I did thoroughly enjoy the discussions around Thomas Seymour as well as the contrasting relationships with Edward and Mary. I thought the author did a tenable job portraying sources from people who did not see her in a favourable light as well as from those who spent the most time with her allowing the reader to form their own thoughts and opinions on the topics being discussed based on informed and valid sources. While I don't feel anything new was brought to the table, it was still interesting.  

What I did find fascinating were the author's thoughts on Elizabeth's health problems found in one of the appendices. Having consulted with professionals, she outlines her thoughts on the problems that Elizabeth suffered throughout her life. There were also her notes on the places mentioned in the book and what currently exists in today's modern world. I actually felt these were too short and would have liked to read a lot more on her thoughts. I also spent some times reading through the notes included within her primary and secondary sources, but that may just be the history geek in me. 

Verdict

Young Elizabeth, while extremely readable, did not really add that much more to the bulk of work that currently exists on Elizabeth 1. If you are looking for a good recap of Elizabeth's life before she ascended the throne, of if you are new to the world of the Tudors and don't know where to start, this is a great book from which to do so as it doesn't overwhelm and the explanations are quite clear. I have always enjoyed this author's non-fiction work, and will continue to read future publications just because I find them so readable.