Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Stolen Crown:
Wily Lizzie and slippery Jimmy.
Quick synopsis:
The story of the Elizabethan Succession and how it didn’t go the way we thought it did.
Fact for Non-History People:
In 1500, the English monarchy’s annual income was about 19 times that of Scotland.
Fact for History Nerds:
60% of Henry VIII’s will discussed his succession.
My Take on The Stolen Crown:
Oh, that rascally Lizzie the first. Did you know she played one of the longest games of “I’m not going to tell you, but you can try and guess” of all time? No big deal. It just had to do with the future of the English kingdom.
Tracy Borman tackles the succession drama of Elizabeth I in her fantastic The Stolen Crown. I was going to say that Borman treats the subject matter much more seriously than my opening sentence. However, that would be (like Elizabeth) a bit misleading. Underneath all of the sterling research and excellent storytelling is an author who will slyly let a few digs fly when you aren’t paying attention. Yes, I am puerile where she is not, but we all have our parts to play.
My sole warning for the reader is that Borman is laser focused on Elizabeth and her succession in this book. Yes, that seems obvious, but very often books will say they are about one thing while pulling in numerous other stories. Not so here. Instead, Borman walks us all the way through Elizabeth’s long reign and how she handled the question on almost every English mind. For example, the Spanish Armada is mentioned, but only in how it affected Elizabeth’s mindset towards the succession and James’ machinations around it. Borman never seems tempted to analyze anything extraneous. This is by no means a criticism. I found it refreshing to read a title so utterly dedicated to one historical thread. It is also so well put together and thorough that I would venture to say I never need another book on this particular subject. Borman has put Elizabeth’s succession to bed.
Which is very ironic since Elizabeth refused to…
(This book was provided as an advance copy by NetGalley and Grove Atlantic.)
Verdict:
A masterpiece. Buy it here!
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