A solid book on Elizabeth, although it’s difficult to find much new to say on her. This isn’t a flowing biography, it’s divided into objects and images of influence, which makes for an easy read, but little in-depth analysis. It’s a nice easy way into the Queen and her context for those who are looking for an introduction to her, but readers who’ve already read biographies of her won’t find much new here.

A fantastic text for the classroom. Kendall's Queen Elizabeth I follows the Virgin Queen's life closely, beginning with birth all the way through to death. All of Elizabeth's key moments are given a short chapter which focuses closely on her role in it. However, Kendall does provide ample historical, cultural, and social context -- enough for an advanced high school or undergraduate reader in an introductory Modern History of Europe course. The chapters are short and succinct, ideal for weekly or daily assignments, perfect for in class activities and readings. The text also provides images, photographs, and visuals to offer the reader a more immersive texture of the Tudor Age.

I first took an interest in Elizabeth Tudor as a human being rather than as a name among monarchs when I was a student of 20, eking out my year of study in Europe on a strict eat-once-a-day budget (or skip the meal entirely if I wanted to buy a book, which happened frequently). I mention that starving student existence, cliche that it is, because it was in some ways a precarious existence. Not that my life was threatened (actually that did happen, too, but that story lies outside of the boundaries of this review) but if I messed up, I had to use that return plane ticket and go home to California before my year was up.

So, the context was being hungry and always having to think ahead when I visited the British Museum for the first time, and there on display was a letter written by a teenage Elizabeth, her calligraphy exquisite (I was trying to teach myself calligraphy at the time, by sitting in museums and copying letters in displays over and over again) as she begged her sister not to kill her.

That brought home to me that all those crowned heads were human heads, with thinking and feeling brains beneath, and it was around then that I switched over from language studies to history.

There is no dearth of biographies of Queen Elizabeth I. I read them all, before my interests began shifting from England ever eastward. It's been a few decades since I read one, but when this one turned up on NetGalley, I went for it.

So glad I did.

There's nothing new in the text for any reader familiar with the Tudors or the times they existed in. This book offers two things that the biographies of my day didn't: first, the approach, which is akin to that Paula Byrne took in her book on Jane Austen, A Life in Small Things>. Kendall uses places and objects from Elizabeth's life to stitch together small, factual chapters that added together convey a terrific overview of her life. If the reader wants more depth, there's an impressive bibliography at the back.

The second thing I appreciated was something often overlooked in the histories I read, many of which were written in the early or mid twentieth century (sometimes earlier): a more balanced view of Drake and Elizabeth's condoning of piracy, which did fill her coffers as well as bolster England's prestige. Kendall doesn't shy away from shining light on the cost, paid not just by the Spanish (who were busy looting South America themselves) but that paved path toward colonization and slavery. These aspects were pretty much overlooked, or explained away, in earlier works that trumpeted Drake's heroism and England's rise to empire.

I think the idea reader for this book is someone unfamiliar with the times, and also younger readers wanting a glimpse of the people who made history

Queen Elizabeth I adds to the wide body of literature about this Tudor Queen. Primary sources are the cornerstone of Kendall's biograpy and the book has some lovely illustrations.
Kendall examines and analyses the books that Elizabeth gave to her father, Henry The VIII and his last wife Katherine Parr.
Telling her story through the items still available is enjoyable and is not the usual information that is standard in so many books.

Elizabeth was quite a Queen and this is quite a book

3.5 stars rounded up.

Biographies of Queen Elizabeth I of England are numerous, she's probably the most written-about monarch not just from the Tudors but Britain in general. There's at least one book published per year about her, varying in length and focus and, naturally, quality of research as well.

Paul Kendall's book isn't a traditional biography but a combination of biography and travel guide. Or tour guide, rather. And that's what sets it apart from the others: instead of retreading the known facts of her life as a standard biography would, Kendall acts like your (very erudite) tour guide, taking readers by the hand to walk them through Elizabeth I's life by showing you places and objects that highlight the important points in her personal life and her reign, the highs and the lows, the good and the bad.

He starts at the memorial commemorating the Queen's birth at what's now the Royal Naval College in Greenwich, UK, and then takes us to see a portrait of her father, Henry VIII, and then to see the Hatfield castle where the Queen spent her childhood, and so on for the rest of the book until the tour finishes at Queen Elizabeth I's tomb within Westminster Abbey. It's a hundred short chapters, in which the author shows you a place, an object like a painting, a mural, a chair, a book, a letter, a commemorative plaque, a tree, a royal hall, and many castles related to Elizabeth I, explaining in each what it is, when it was created, and why it's significant to the Queen's life, rule, and legacy. Kendall is very precise, concise, and doesn't waste words, the kind of guide that tells you exactly what you need to know, and if you have questions, you can go read any of the books in the bibliography he provides. He also has a nose for selecting what to show, I can't personally think of anything he's missed that was relevant. Some of the details I didn't know about, such as that Queen Mary I's still exists or that Elizabeth handwriting was so pretty, but most will be known at least from hearsay to Tudor history readers.

All this makes this book perfect for schoolchildren, who groan at hefty history tomes. But it's also perfect for casual readers, such as historical fiction lovers that need to visualise the places and objects the novel they're reading might be mentioning. So, take this, pair it with a reputable traditional biography like Starkey's, and you're set for learning everything you'd like to about this long-reigning monarch.

How fascinating that some of the artefacts and buildings that concern Queen Elizabeth I still exist today. And what a wonderful idea to use those artefacts and buildings to tell the story of this most iconic of queens. I read this book in almost one sitting. Pretty engrossing! I liked the clear and well-written overview (with interesting details) of her life and times and of the people who played a big part in her life.

Now wouldn’t it be nice if I could go back to the UK and see some of those things she left behind and also revisit places like Westminster’s Abbey and Hampton Court!

5 stars from me. Really enjoyed it