false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1178524186m/804296.jpg 381713 10 Jane Dunn's <I>Elizabeth and Mary: Cousins, Rivals, Queens</I> offers a blend of history and biography that traces the "dynamic interaction" between two of the most powerful women in Western history. Dunn remains ever aware of the uniqueness of her two central figures: both women ruled as divinely ordained monarchs in a male dominated power structure; and both women were from the same family (Elizabeth I was the granddaughter of Henry VII, and Mary Queen of Scots the great-granddaughter of King Henry). <p> By focusing not on pure biography but instead on relationships, Dunn is able to narrow her book (still mammoth in scope) to the most salient and interesting events in the two queens' lives. The book begins in 1558, the year in which Mary first wed and Elizabeth assumed the throne of England. Almost immediately the cousins were embroiled in a conflict that would endure for the remainder of Mary's life. A restless, sexually-active Catholic, and leader of the Scottish people in alliance with France, Mary was ever a conduit for rumors of rebellion. The "Virgin Queen" Elizabeth used Mary as a dark reflection to underline her own celibate constancy as a ruler of law and order. <p> The pair never met face to face, but as Dunn reveals, their lives were closely intertwined. After holding Mary in Fotheringhay prison for nearly two decades, Elizabeth ordered her cousin executed in 1587. Mary had chosen martyrdom in favor of a confession to complicity in the Babington assassination plot. In court, she declared: "I would never make Shipwreck of my Soul by conspiring the Destruction of my dearest Sister." Though the ostensible victor, Elizabeth (who had struggled to find a way to release her cousin while still upholding her own power as queen) confessed, "I am not free, but a captive." In <I>Elizabeth and Mary</I>, Dunn has built a rich world that underlines the tragic struggle between private emotions and the public faces history puts on them. <I>--Patrick O'Kelley</I> 371491 2003 Elizabeth and Mary: Cousins, Rivals, Queens total:393|5:94|4:162|3:109|2:22|1:6| 393 1495 719 62 5 2 false false Sun Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2006 Sun May 11 04:00:21 -0700 2008 Sat May 17 02:33:32 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 2 false false Wed Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2006 Sun Dec 23 11:17:48 -0800 2007 Sun Dec 23 11:23:15 -0800 2007 more...]]> 4 1 false false Wed Apr 30 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sat Nov 22 15:14:04 -0800 2008 Sat Nov 22 15:14:04 -0800 2008 more...]]> 3 0 false false Tue Nov 24 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sat Nov 28 14:39:07 -0800 2009 Sat Nov 28 15:14:44 -0800 2009 more...]]> 4 2 false false Thu Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Fri Aug 17 11:32:30 -0700 2007 Fri Aug 17 11:41:27 -0700 2007 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sat Feb 28 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sat Aug 29 20:21:25 -0700 2009 Sat Aug 29 20:30:23 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 1 false false Thu Jun 04 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Apr 15 14:58:21 -0700 2009 Thu Jun 04 06:36:16 -0700 2009 more...]]> 0 0 false false Sun May 17 17:26:54 -0700 2009 Sun May 17 17:39:24 -0700 2009 more...]]> 2 0 false false Tue Apr 07 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Apr 07 13:00:36 -0700 2009 Tue Apr 07 14:02:06 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Thu Jan 24 15:03:37 -0800 2008 Wed Jan 09 09:59:52 -0800 2008 Wed Jan 09 10:09:21 -0800 2008 more...]]> 3 0 false false Sun Oct 05 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sat Apr 11 10:43:12 -0700 2009 Sat Apr 11 10:43:41 -0700 2009 5 1 false false Wed Dec 17 15:38:03 -0800 2008 Wed Dec 17 15:38:40 -0800 2008 4 0 false false Fri May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Nov 08 09:44:41 -0800 2009 Sun Nov 08 09:49:10 -0800 2009 3 0 false false Sat Jul 11 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Jul 09 18:44:37 -0700 2009 Wed Jul 15 17:00:44 -0700 2009 3 0 false false Sun Aug 31 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Jul 07 07:32:22 -0700 2008 Sun Aug 31 15:00:17 -0700 2008 I had read several books about Elizabeth a...more...]]> 3 0 false false Sat Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Mon Mar 10 20:59:39 -0700 2008 Mon Mar 10 21:05:42 -0700 2008
The story of these two queens is riveting, but the writing style of this biography is not. The author is needlessly rep...more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun Oct 19 11:59:03 -0700 2008 Tue Apr 28 12:57:13 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Sat Apr 04 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Mar 22 07:44:12 -0700 2009 Sat Apr 04 19:47:11 -0700 2009
I loved the story but feel the book was a bit too long and very repetitive in parts.
]]> 5 0 false false Wed Mar 12 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon May 04 16:27:33 -0700 2009 Mon May 04 16:28:41 -0700 2009 5 0 false false Mon Nov 16 16:06:55 -0800 2009 Mon Nov 16 16:07:23 -0800 2009 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=804296