Book Review Friday 10/02/09

Ha.  But it's Sunday you say.

So.

Book: The Virgin Queen's Daughter
Author: Ella March Chase
Pages: 347

I was a little hesitant to pick up this book.  For starters, I know next to nothing about the Elizabethian era.  I have heard a few of the more famous names throughout my (very limited) history education: King Henry VIII, Ann Boleyn, Katherine Parr (maybe?).  But that was it. 

By which I mean, that was all I knew.

Secondly, I'm not really into historical fiction...blah, blah, zzzzzzzzz.

And so with these two strikes against me, I'm now breaking with Friday tradition to write a review on Sunday for this book that I just finished.

(And you thought I took the week off.)

Because I enjoyed it that much.

The story follows Nell, a country borne girl who grew up in a family with some ties to the Royal family (or something.  I enjoyed the book, but I didn't get all of the formalities.)  Nell's father taught her everything he could, breaking mold with the notion that women weren't as intelligent as men.  From an early age Nell wanted to escape her small town(?) and become a servant(?) for Queen Elizabeth I, who was educated much the same way that Nell was. 

Nell, against her mom's greatest wishes, leaves to go to court (Queen Elizabeth I's) and once there discovers secrets that threaten to unravel her and perhaps end her life.

The story line itself was intriguing.  It held my interest for sure.  But what I really liked about this read was the historical backgrounds thrown in.  I was especially pleased that you didn't have to have much of a previous knowledge of Queen Elizabeth I, the Tudors (Queen Elizabeth I's bloodline) or her reign to fully appreciate the story .   The inner workings of the court and the reign of Queen Elizabeth I FASCINATED me.

The characters were well developed and you had a definitive sense of like/dislike for each one of them.



I don't want to give away any more of the story, so I'll leave it at that, but suffice it to say that I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone and everyone.  If not for the story itself, then definitely for the in depth study of life at that time during Queen Elizabeth's reign. Note, however, that the author makes no secret that she took liberties with the historical aspect for the sake of the story, so it's not all true.  Which is why it's historical fiction.  But there was definitely a lot of research involved.