Elizabeth I (Penguin Monarchs)

In the popular imagination, as in her portraits, Elizabeth I is the image of monarchical power. The Virgin Queen ruled over a Golden Age:

• The Spanish Armada was defeated.
• English explorers reached the ends of the earth.
• A new Church of England rose from the ashes of past conflict.
• The English Renaissance bloomed in the genius of Shakespeare, Spenser, and Sidney.

But the image is also armour.

In this illuminating account of Elizabeth's reign, Helen Castor reveals how England's iconic queen was shaped by profound and enduring insecurity—an insecurity rooted in both practical political realities and personal psychology.

Key challenges of Elizabeth's life included:

• A precarious upbringing at the whim of a brutal, capricious father.
• A perilous accession to the throne after his death.
• Religious divisions that marred her state.
• The failure to marry, which threatened her line of succession.

Elizabeth lived under constant threat, yet she faced down her enemies with a compellingly inscrutable public persona. Ultimately, the last and greatest of the Tudor monarchs became a timeless, fearless queen.