Elizabeth and the Prince of Spain

Elizabeth Trilogy #3

by Margaret Irwin

A historical novel which follows the progress of Elizabeth, daughter of Anne Boleyn and King Henry VIII, as she advances towards her destiny as queen of England. From the author of YOUNG BESS and ELIZABETH, CAPTIVE PRINCESS.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Tudor Period, Fiction, Historical, British Literature, Royalty, 16th Century

256 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1953

About the author

Born in 1899 and educated at Oxford, Irwin was recognized as a novelist of well-researched and occasionally heart-breaking historical fiction. She is best known for her trilogy about Elizabeth I: Young Bess, Elizabeth Captive Princess, and Elizabeth and the Prince of Spain. Young Bess was made into a movie starring Jean Simmons.

Irwin also wrote passionately about the English Civil War, causing generations to fall in love with the ill-fated but charismatic Earl of Montrose.

Reviews

[Orsolya · Rating 4 out of 5]

When considering the relations between England/Spain and Queen Elizabeth/King Philip; the main climax is obviously the Spanish Armada and Elizabeth’s conquering of it. However, there was more sizzling between these two figureheads than just ships long before Elizabeth held the crown and during the period of Philip’s marriage to Elizabeth’s sister, Queen Mary. Margaret Irwin imagines Elizabeth’s early life in the Elizabeth Trilogy published in the 1950s and follows up, “Elizabeth Captive Queen” with, “Elizabeth and the Prince of Spain”.

For those familiar with Irwin’s writing and her stylistic properties; “Elizabeth and the Prince of Spain” comes as no surprise and will easily compartmentalize into expectations. Irwin begins the piece diving immediately into an illustrative, vivid, descriptive tale dripping with literary language and classic literature qualities. “Elizabeth and the Prince of Spain” is definitely the strongest in the trilogy with Irwin finding her sweet spot and bringing all of the best characteristics of previous novels together in one place. There is certainly a strong magnetic draw and charge to “Elizabeth and the Prince of Spain”.

Like the other Elizabeth Trilogy novels, the story perspective in “Elizabeth and the Prince of Spain” shifts between various characters such as Elizabeth, Philip, Reginald Pole, and the Spanish Ambassador Feria. This results in a macro view of the interactions between Elizabeth and Philip allowing consequences of their relationship to be truly clear. Yet, on this note, Elizabeth isn’t revealed in the story and often feels like a lesser-important character standing in the shadow of the portrayal of Philip. This can also be said of the other Elizabeth Trilogy novels and is rather a shame. That being said, the events are rich and do come to life.

“Elizabeth and the Prince of Spain” take a sort of philosophical character study look at events, having character analyze and critique each other making the novel stick out with a strong, multi-faceted pace and thesis. The pages are certainly more history than fiction and readers do not have to be worried about the text being filled with fluff.

The characterizations of Elizabeth and Philip are quite riveting, believable, and give food for thought of their rapport during the time Mary was married to Philip. They not only develop personalities individually, but together, resulting in a strong piece.

In true Irwin fashion, the author tends to quote from too many folk songs, poetry, etc; which don’t feel natural in the story and not authentic in any way. “Elizabeth and the Prince of Spain” could do without these interruptions which is exactly how they come off: as interruptions.

As a whole, “Elizabeth and the Prince of Spain” is unique in that not much ‘happens’ in the traditional sense but rather Irwin explores the psychological relations between Elizabeth and Philip and even the philosophy behind politics. This is exactly what encourages page turning and quickens the pace. Rest assured that despite this complex approach; “Elizabeth and the Prince of Spain” is still perfect for a wide audience and doesn’t exclude any readers.

The conclusion of “Elizabeth and the Prince of Spain” is predictable in that readers know what happens per history but Irwin continues to input the psychological breakdown resulting in a firm ending. As typical in historical fictions novels published so many decades ago; Irwin unfortunately doesn’t include a note explaining historical liberties taken or a source list.

“Elizabeth and the Prince of Spain” is a creative novel and possibly the strongest in Irwin’s Elizabeth Trilogy even if it focuses more on Philip than Elizabeth and has some flaws. Despite this, it is a solid read and recommended as both a standalone novel or as a conclusion to the Elizabeth Trilogy for all Tudor England or Queen Elizabeth fans.

[Karen Witzler · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read the first two in this trilogy as a child and only recently learned of this third volume. It was ok -- too much Philip POV.

[Indra · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best book of the trilogy.

Margaret Irwin has written historical fiction in its best. Not only she was able to create one of the best fictional portrayals of Elizabeth (along that in "Legacy" by Susan Kay) as I already witnessed in her previous books "Young Bess" and "Captive princess", but this book also proves that she can do the same with Philip of Spain, a man who became one of the greatest antagonists (if not the greatest) of Elizabeth and protestant England, and a person who hasn't got enough spotlight in historical fiction. Irwin allows Philip to be in this spotlight (half of the book is from his point of view) and does it with great care and understanding. He is somewhat cold, emotionally reserved, and yet he is also complex, interesting in his own way, dutiful towards his country - Spain - , clever enough to see through Elizabeth's pretense, able to do uneasy choices. In other words Philip is a three dimensional character and I was drawn to him despite his flaws. Unlike previous books where all events are shown through the eyes of the English themselves here the author offers an opportunity to view England, the English court, Queen Mary and Elizabeth through the eyes of foreigners - Philip and his attendants, making a perspective wider. It was refreshing and I thoroughly enjoyed the way how the author mixed the viewpoints of various characters.

The book focuses on an uneasy relationship between charismatic Elizabeth whose position as a protestant heir in her sister's reign is very uncertain and even deadly, and Philip who is Mary's husband, an heir to half of the Christian world but still is caught in need for an ally and support in England in case Mary dies. I really felt the tension between these two, Philip's attraction towards Elizabeth, and enjoyed their witty and well written conversations. Depiction of them in this novel led me to think that if Elizabeth weren't tied to the protestant church, they could be a great couple together.

Although the main stars of this novel are Elizabeth and Philip, there is also a story of cardinal Reginald Pole, the last Plantagenet, who returns to England after long exile to help Queen Mary to bring England back under the Roman Catholic church. The author offers a very believable depiction of him and reasons why he and Mary failed to achieve their goal. They are not presented as villains but people who were trying to do the best for their country (as they understood it, of course) and do the right thing according to their beliefs.

The thing I respect the most in Irwin's trilogy is that she doesn't cast her characters into goodies and baddies, she doesn't judge them, there are no one dimensional characters - at the same time you can admire Elizabeth's wit, charisma and her ability to learn from the mistakes of others, feel compassion to her sister Mary and her sad life, respect Philip and understand his point of view and feel sorry for Pole's failures. Add here supporting characters - Ruy Gomez, Feria, Robert Dudley, Kat Ashley, John Dee, the emperor Charles, Juana of Castile and even some common folk - , a skillful and beautiful writing, great themes to think about (can a good ruler be also a good Christian and what to do with uneasiness caused by necessity to make a choice or decision today without knowing where it will lead you tomorrow?) and you get great, well researched based on facts historical fiction, which is quite rare in nowadays. Five stars.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an enjoyable conclusion to the three part trilogy by famed author Margaret Irwin. The book can be read as a stand alone, but I am looking forward to reading the first two in the series: Young Bess: The Girl Who Would Be Queen and Elizabeth, Captive Princess: Two Sisters, One Throne.

These books were originally published in the 40s and 50s. Sourcebooks is continuing their grand tradition of reintroducing fantastic books to readers of today. The books come across a bit more reserved than many of the modern stories about the Tudors that we're used to reading. I felt it was a refreshing change to see these characters in a different light. Obviously the historical facts can't be altered, but the author's own inspirations and influences reflect in her writing. It was also nice to see a lot of the sexual content toned down and not becoming the central theme or focus of the story.

I found it interesting that Margaret Irwin was able to tell us Philip's story while still being true to Elizabeth and her glory. So many of these characters that played such important roles in Elizabeth's life don't usually get a chance to share in the spotlight. She was such a larger-than-life individual that others faded into the background when she was near.

I definitely recommend this book to fans of the Tudor stories and good historical fiction. It was a quick read and I know I will be re-reading it after I'm done with the first two installments.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

A mix of biography and historical fiction with very few dialogues which makes hard to read it.

[May · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is probably a 3.5 but by sheer virtue of the fact that this is the only book I've found that actually is about Elizabeth and Philip of Spain, I will mark it 4 stars. WHAT A WILD RIDE I JUST WENT ON READING THIS BOOK. Going into it, I absolutely had no expectations for it (apart from hoping that Irwin treats Elizabeth well and hoping that it's not as bad as Philippa Gregory, which is hardly a feat) and actually really disliked it at first. I still have some complaints about the POV shifts -- Irwin does this thing where she will change perspectives in the middle of a page and it takes you a while to figure out who is narrating right now. I don't know why she does it. It does get better/I was able to keep up with it after a while, but it's really jarring when you're reading and suddenly Elizabeth is the POV when just two sentences ago, it was Mary. She also overuses semicolons a lot. But these two things weren't enough to detract from the rest of the story, which I found very compelling, particularly in its characters.

I tongue-in-cheek said that Philippa Gregory must have read this book and decided to write her own but much, much worse, because if you compare it to The Queen's Fool and probably The Virgin's Lover, you see a lot of the same plot beats, which is fair, because you know, history. But some of it, I really do think, is "inspired" by Irwin's work. However! I don't need to go on to prove that Gregory falls completely short of it. For one thing, Irwin actually understands Elizabeth as a character much better than Gregory. She's not writing her to be this two-dimensional, coquette whose only goal in life is to steal everything from Mary and also stupid enough to flaunt her increasing power. She's not saying Elizabeth Deserved Everything Bad She Had Coming to Her and Also She's The Worst and A Slut. What I loved about Irwin's Elizabeth (though I still had my problems with her, namely in her portrayal of how Elizabeth seems to get away with a lot, when she's much more secretive and sly than people like to portray her as (hello, how else did she survive through all those years otherwise)) is that you get to see all of her faults and strengths. You get to see how cautious and cunning she really is and also how vain and stubborn she really is. Enthralling/jealous, modest/possessive, etc etc. You really see why people are drawn to her!!! Strangely enough, it's hard to find historical fiction that acknowledges all of that. TRULY I DO BLAME PG. (You see the same with Philip, but I don't know enough about Philip to really talk about it.)

Also. This book gave me a Philip/Elizabeth/Robert Dudley (kind of) love triangle. HAVE I EVER ASKED FOR ANYTHING MORE?

Why had he thought of death to do with her? To kiss her was to kiss life itself, warm, tingling, and, he could have sworn, laughing.
- p. 99

"Robin, will you come with me on an adventure?"
"To the end of the world."
- p. 194

Here was alchemy indeed! Equal to Dee's, and partly due to him. The Prince of Spain was translating the prophecies by the light of his desire for her. It should be easy to fall in love with this handsome young man who would be the master of the world. But could he master her? [...] But it was not a bird she had seen at the window; it was her own thought that had flashed across her vision in the form of hte child that had been herself, a being not afraid to walk through the world alone, a world whose purpose it was to overcome her. And could Philip? 'God's death, no,' she almost exclaimed aloud, 'let him try all his life. He'll never be my master.'
- p. 236

[loopyloulaura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Elizabeth Tudor has survived plots and politics, keeping the throne in sight. Now is her time to reign...
Elizabeth and the Prince of Spain is an historical fiction novel about the life of Elizabeth I, the third and final book in the trilogy
Elizabeth doesn’t even appear for the first 5 chapters! There is plenty of back story about Philip of Spain’s marriage to Mary and the scene which took place at the end of the last book.
Elizabeth finally becomes queen and has to keep her wits about her to thrive in a male dominated world. She is also at risk due to her Protestant faith which puts her in danger of plots from Catholic enemies at home and abroad.
As with the earlier books, Elizabeth sometimes gets lost in the stories of the men in her life. However, the author has worked hard to bring the Tudor era to life through the minute details of foreign and domestic policies that shaped Elizabeth's reign. Whenever she does appear, Elizabeth steals the scene, vividly depicted as outwardly fearless but vulnerable underneath.
Elizabeth and the Prince of Spain is a well researched book and a fitting end to the trilogy.

[Louis · Rating 3 out of 5]

This third book in the series linked Philip and Elizabeth together through the same seen book 2 ended on, but this time from Philip's point of view. I found it interesting reading about Philip and some of the other figures of Queen Mary's reign, namely Reginald Pole and Dr Dee, but the style felt drawn out and unnecessarily wordy. I was very much looking forward to this third instalment, but it missed the mark for me.

[NayNay · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a slow paced novel, but, the attention to detail, accuracy of events, and the incisive understanding of the relationships among the queen, her consort, her sister, and her court make it an interesting read.

[Helen Hanschell Pollock · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this trilogy in childhood

[Marie Z Johansen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Originally published in 1953 this was the last book in Margaret Irwin's "Young Bess" series. Because it was written in an earlier era the book is not a racy bodice ripper - something that I appreciate. It's not that I'm a prude - but I do get a tad tired of the "sex sells" philosophy- especially in relation to good historical fiction writing.

This book revolves around Philip of Spain's relationship with Elizabeth. The staunch Catholic, philanderer (depending on your point of view I guess) and husband of Elizabeth's half sister Queen Mary, lusted for Elizabeth. This aspect of Elizabeth's life provides a fresh point of view which I quite liked. I think Ms. Irwin did an excellent job of portraying the historical context and the book is rife with court life details. It's a book that I enjoyed reading and thinking about all of the "what ifs" made for some interesting "grist for the mill".


I don't believe that I have read the first two books in this series - but would like to. It's a good stand alone book but reading it in series might be worthwhile. Sourcebooks does such a great job of bringing back some of "the best of the best". This is another highly recommended read for all historical history fans - especially those of us who love Elizabeth I .

[Tracy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the entire trilogy very much. As a history major I have read about and studied Tudor England ad nauseam, however, these books gave a fresh perspective albeit a fictional one. But then, since history is based on the perspectives and observations of biased and subjective human beings I guess in a way history itself is just another form of fiction... Anyway, I waited to review the books until after I had read all three. Although the books are well written and could be read independently of each other, I feel they are much better when read altogether and in order. This final book was probably the weakest and least appealing of the three but that is probably because of the part of Elizabeth's life it sought to portray. I wish there were a few more books in this series that dealt with Elizabeth's adventures as queen. I base my opinion about a book's content on how involved I feel in it. I got pretty caught up in these to the point that even though I knew historically Elizabeth did not have her head cut off, there were several times throughout the series that I actually feared she might. So when she finally became queen I felt like she and I were both owed a few more novels to experience some of the power of being the undisputed ruler of England. Just a thought...

[Patty · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was such an unusual point of view for an Elizabethan novel. It is the third in Ms. Irwin's series on the young Elizabeth. I read the first one, Young Bess and liked it but didn't love it. I did not have the opportunity to read the second. This one I found fascinating. I must admit to not knowing all that much about Philip of Spain and this book opened my eyes a bit to a man who was an important figure in Tudor times. Ms. Irwin's book postulates that Elizabeth may not have survived Mary's reign without Philip's intervention and that is very interesting to contemplate.


The book is not long and was very very easy to read. In this tale you see the beginnings of Elizabeth's years long dance of courtship while keeping all her suitors at bay. The book ends with her coronation.


I think it was the focus on the early relationship with Philip that made the book so interesting for me. With all the reading on Elizabeth I have done this was new territory. It is always enjoyable to explore new material.

[April · Rating 4 out of 5]

ELIZABETH AND THE PRINCE OF SPAIN by Margaret Irwin is a historical fiction set in 1541 England.It is the final book in the Elizabeth I trilogy.See Young Bess and Elizabeth,Captive Princess.This is an intriguing story of Elizabeth,King Henry VIII's,daughter,the beheading of Anne Boleyn,and Phillip, the Prince of Spain.It has treachery,betrayal,sibling rivalry,tragedy,truimphs,the battle between King Henry VIII's daughters,danger to one sister through another sister's rule and jealousy.This is a compelling and captivating story of Tudor England. It will pull you into the Tudor era,a vanishing age and the danger of the era. This is a must read for fall Tudor England,and anyone who enjoys the King Henry VIII rule.This book was received for the purpose of review from the publisher.Details can be found Sourcebooks,Landmark,a division of Sourcebooks,Inc. and My Book Addiction Reviews.

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a major student of the Tudor dynasty, I was really looking forward to this book. Sadly, I was disappointed; as was likely the case in reality, the vibrant Elizabeth cast everything else around her -- including the plot -- into shadow. I didn't love it, but I will probably read it again *after* reading the first two books in the trilogy. After thinking about it, I went with three stars.

Truncated review available at Luxury Reading: http://luxuryreading.com/elizabethand...
Expanded review available at The Writer's Closet April 22, 2011

[Helene Harrison · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review - This final novel in the trilogy focuses on Elizabeth's relationships as Queen, in particular building on the previous storyline with Philip II of Spain. Philip isn't in this book as much as the previous one, but Elizabeth still plays with him, juggling relationships with different men to keep the balance of power in Europe.

Genre? - Historical / Drama

Characters? - Elizabeth I / Philip II of Spain / Robert Dudley / William Cecil / Mary I / Renard / Matthew Parker / Reginald Pole

Setting? - London & Hatfield (England)

Series? - Elizabeth #3

Recommend? – Yes

Rating - 14/20

[Martha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Elizabeth finally becomes queen in the 3rd and final book in the trilogy. I read all 3 from the book shelf of the condo we rented in Ft. Pierce, FL. Pattie and I were able to discuss the interesting parts as we went since she read all three books before me. The question remains... did Elizabeth remain a virgin. The book never answers that but both Pattie and I doubt it.

[Iona · Rating 1 out of 5]

Sadly I did not finish this and do not understand why it has been given such high ratings. I did not enjoy the style of writing - which I found to be pretentious and overly complicated. Nor could I work out if the author was trying to be a historical biographer or a mills & boon author. The chapters did not flow, and the style chopped and changed.
Not for me!

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5/5

An excellent conclusion to the Elizabeth I trilogy. My full review may be read on my book review blog Rundpinne.

[Kiki · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was really disappointed by how boring this book was! What a surprise considering how exciting that period and the plots were. Perhaps it's a symptom of the age when this book was written, as it is quite old now. I won't be reading any other books by this author now!

[Svea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read the full review on my blog:
http://muse-in-the-fog.blogspot.com/2011/05/book-review-elizabeth-and-prince-of.html

[Adrian Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think if this series had been written today, it would have been one epic novel. I'm so glad it wasn't. And I liked the ambiguous ending- it made it apparent that history continues, without a lot of foreshadowing. Nice.

[Elaine Cougler · Rating 4 out of 5]

This trilogy of books, Margaret Irwin's Elizabeth Trilogy, is about queen Elizabeth I and takes the reader from her turbulent childhood through her siblings' reigns and finally to becoming Queen herself. It is great historical fiction.

[Jemidar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really 4.5 stars.

[Éowyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

The ending was certainly a bit strange - this is the third of a three part series but the way the book ended it felt like there should have been another one to follow!

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this part of the trilogy. It focused alot on Philip and his relationship with Elizabeth. It is something that is mostly breezed over in other novels about Elizabeth.

[PK Reeves · Rating 3 out of 5]

Philip at the hands of the Tudor sisters Mary and Elizabeth. Read Aisle B's review http://aisleb.tumblr.com/post/4285276...

[Sheryll Putnam · Rating 1 out of 5]

Painful. Dry. ICK.

[Kathleen Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review to come