Person of the Month

Elizabeth was proclaimed as the heir to the throne at her birth, but by the time she was two-and-a-half, she had been demoted to the king’s illegitimate daughter. Restored to the succession in 1543, she navigated scandal in her brother’s reign, and rebellion in her sister’s, to claim the crown at the age of 25. Her skilful handling of her courtiers, her ability to compromise over religion, her choice of able councillors, and her never-failing devotion both to her people at large, and to keeping herself on the throne, made her reign largely successful.

There are more books on Elizabeth I than there are shelves to put them on. Reviewed here are several we have read over the last few years.