Elizabeth I: The People's Queen

Elizabeth I, the People's Queen: Her Life and Times, 21 Activities Kerrie Logan Hollihan

This is in the same series as Thomas Jefferson for Kids: His Life and Times with 21 Activities, and was also nominated for a Cybil.

The biography portion is overall well done. It does a great job of explaining the domestic and international politics and events that really shaped Elizabeth’s life. It also covers many of the cultural aspects, mainly Shakespeare.

My only complaint is that Hollihan sometimes quotes primary sources, complete with Elizabethan spelling and doesn’t offer any translation, gloss, or explanation. I mean passages like this: ...paraventure your Lordeship and the rest of the Counsel wil thinke that I favor her ivel doinge for whome I shal speake for, whiche is for Kateryn Aschiley, that it wolde please your grace and the rest of the Counsel to be good unto her... First, bicause that she hathe bene with me a longe time, and manye years, and hathe taken great labor, and paine in brinkinge of me up in lerninge and honestie, and therfore I ougth of very dewtye speke for her, for Sait Gregorie sayeth that we ar more bounde to them that bringeth us up wel than to our parents, for our parents do that wiche is natural for them, that is bringeth us into this Worlde; but our brinkers up ar a cause to make us live wel in it. were hard enough for me to understand. And I’ve dabbled in Anglo-Saxon! The ONLY help was that she points out that “Kateryn Aschiley” was Kat Ashley.

The activities though, are all over the place, which is a complaint I often have about this series. Some are really basic, such as the “Elizabethan Cloak” which involves cutting a cloak out of felt and pinning it together. Some are much more difficult, like singing a madrigal, which assumes you and your friends can all read music, or have ready accompaniment. These are complaints I’ve had about other titles in this series. It must be really hard to come up with 21 activities for some of these historical figures and time periods-- it’s not a job I envy. But... I often wish they had come up with 21 different activities.

Book Provided by... my local libary

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The Queen!

I'm spinning DC library conspiracy theories over at Geek Buffet check it out if you want more insight into my paranoia.

But, in happier news, Her Royal Majesty, the Queen of England is here! And my friend Cathy met her! As in was actually introduced and exchanged pleasantries met her!

And, in honor of that, we're kicking off what I hope will be biography week here at Biblio File. We'll see what happens, because in Jennie-land, it's also finals week, so you know that's a good blend. ;)

But, our first biography is The Little Princesses by Marion Crawford.

In what was probably the first royal tell-all written by a former staff member, Crawford (nanny and governess to Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret) paints a loving portrait of two young girls, one of whom would grow up to be Queen. It's hard to imagine that this book, which is has very little negative information would create the uproar it did when first published-- the princesses never forgave Crawford and never spoke with her again.

The book is charming and a very positive look at Elizabeth and Margaret-- Crawford cared for them very much indeed. Large portions of the book are spent rebutting views taken in the media about the girls. I think the section about them at a "secret, undisclosed location" during the war is one of the most interesting. As are the stories of getting Elizabeth's wedding trousseau ready during fabric rationing.

The other interesting tidbits are Crawford's opinions of the various palaces and castles they lived in, as well as the reality of working for the royal family (like realizing you literally don't have anything appropriate to wear and can't afford anything either.) Crawford started working of the Duke of York before he became King and the suddenness, surprise and upheaval it caused was rather unexpected-- both for the family and the reader. The tale ends before Elizabeth's coronation.

Although it has no juicy gossip or scandalous insights, it does paint an interesting picture of a family and a time period. I'm not a big royal watcher, but I did thoroughly enjoy this book.