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Elizabeth I (Penguin Monarchs)

Elizabeth I (Penguin Monarchs)

A Study in Insecurity

Summary

'The experience of insecurity, it turned out, would shape one of the most remarkable monarchs in England's history'

In the popular imagination, as in her portraits, Elizabeth I is the image of monarchical power. But this image is as much armour as a reflection of the truth. In this illuminating account of England's iconic queen, Helen Castor reveals her reign as shaped by a profound and enduring insecurity that was a matter of both practical politics and personal psychology.

About the author

Helen Castor

Helen Castor is an acclaimed medieval and Tudor historian. Her books include the prize-winning Blood & Roses, She-Wolves: The Women Who Ruled England before Elizabeth, and Joan of Arc, dubbed ‘a triumph of history’. She has presented a range of radio and television programmes for the BBC and Channel 4, including documentaries based on She-Wolves and Joan of Arc. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and a Fellow Commoner of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, and was a judge for the 2022 Booker Prize. She has one son, and lives in London.
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