Young Bess: The Girl Who Would Be Queen (Elizabeth I Trilogy)

I first read this as an almost-teenager back in the late 1950s. The copy I read (and still have) was my parents' Book of the Month Club edition. Other reviewers have done a good job describing the story; my point is that the staying power of this novel and the sequel, Elizabeth, Captive Princess, speaks to the amazing job the author did bringing Elizabeth's early years to life. It is amazing that Elizabeth survived to come to the throne. The final book in the trilogy, Elizabeth and the Prince of Spain, isn't as thrilling, but that might be because the central tension of the first two novels, Will Elizabeth Survive?, is missing here.The first time I read the novels, it was easy to identify with the young Elizabeth, because in a sense they are coming-of-age stories. I have reread them over the years and still find them gripping. These books set me off on a life-long love of historical fiction, or as I like to think of it, chocolate-covered history.An historical aside about the books is that the subtitles are not original.

This is the book written by Margaret Irwin, my favorite author after Elizabeth Chadwick on the third place. Here is the story of Young Elizabeth I, the Queen of England, the Queen who had never been married. A Virgin Queen, who had so many lovers, and adorers, but was an orphan. Here are her young years, when she had a friends and sisters, who helped to realize who she is. I would like to recommend the book everyone who is studying English history or interested in biography of Elizabeth I, the Queen of England.

Margaret Irwin's novel "Young Bess" is the first in a series of three books on the life of England's Queen Elizabeth I(reigned 1558-1603). The Virgin Queen was a Gloriana but shehad a difficult childhood and adolescence. Her mother Anne Boleyn was executed by Bess's cruel father Henry VIII. She wasaccused of bastardy and had a strained relationship with hertwo siblings: Mary (daughter of Katharine of Aragon-Henry'sfirst wife) and Edward (son of Henry's wife Jane Seymour). Followng the death of Henry the land was ruled by the sickly Edward who had Protestant leanings. The 15 year old monarch died in 1553 followed by the prickly "Bloody Mary" whose short reignled to the persecution and burning of Protestants. This book takes us from Elizabeth's girlhood to the moment when Edward has died and the succession is in dispute. It dealsin depth with Bess's relationship with the Seymour family. Thomas Seymour loved Bess and wed Henry VIII's last queen Katharine Parr. He was executed for treason during the reign ofEdward. The book can be boring and seem old fashioned to those expecting garish desciptions of execution and vivid sexual scenes.Irwin's style is rich and her prose sparkles. The book would most appeal to someone who has a basic knowledge of the Tudordynasty. All of the names and titles can be confusing to an American reader. Overall this is a good, clean book dealing with the fascinatingElizabeth.

my wife collects books like this and really enjoyed them some are hard to find but seem that amazon has every thing

This was a great read!

Best way to learn history.

Too many relatives listed throughout the book. It goes on and on. Who is related to who, etc. I couldn't even remember all these details. It was very boring.

Young Bess is the story of Elizabeth Tudor,the daughter of King Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. After the King had Anne executed,he declared Elizabeth illegitimate,thus losing her place in line to the throne, and removed her from his presence, to Hatfield House. After King Henry dies his last wife Catherine Parr has Elizabeth live with her and her new husband Tom Seymour. Thomas Seymour (known as Lord High Admiral) has an older brother Edward, who becomes The Lord Protector.So begins the story of court intrique and royal whims that Elizabeth finds herself in. The Seymours gained power when their sister, Jane married King Henry VIII and produced a son and heir, Edward who is Elizabeths brother. Tom Seymour was jealous of his brothers power and pursues a relationship with Elizabeth, sometimes very intimate, with their bedroom antics. Tom would go into "the Lady Elizabeth's chamber before she was ready, and sometimes before she did rise; and if she were up he would bid her good morrow and ask how she did, and strike her upon the back or on the buttocks familiarly...." Kat Ashley, Elizabeths governess and friend tries to tell Elizabeth that these antics need to stop and after awhile Catherine Parr realizes that she needs to get Elizabeth away from Tom so to try to save Elizabeth's reputation she sends her away to the house of Anthony Denny in Hertfordshire. However, when Catherine dies in childbirth in August 1548, Thomas renewed his attentions to the Princess.In his determination for power Thomas then devises a plan to kidnap the King. He breaks into the Kings apartments at Hampton Court, but was subsequently caught and arrested for treason in his plot to seize the throne from her half-brother, Edward VI. The Privy Council charged him with thirty-three counts of treason, one of which was,that they believed he had had a sexual relationship with Elizabeth and that she was with child, which we know now was not true.I really enjoyed reading this book about Elizabeth and to learn a little more about her years under the age of 20. Ms. Irwin's writing was pleasurable and easy to understand. If I didn't know that this book had been previously published in 1944, I would feel like it was recently written. Thouroughly researched and beautifully told, Young Bess is a novel that anyone interested in the Tudor court after King Henry VIII, the early years of Elizabeth and even about King Edward VI,would enjoy. I highly recommend this book.

At the moment I have a bit of a "thing" for the Tudors and have been watching a lot of documentaries dealing with the wives of Henry VIII and the fortunes of his offspring. I was recommended to read Phillippa Gregory but spotted this one on sale and thought I would give it a go. I have to admit, it was money well spent and I was surprised to discover how long ago this book was originally published (1944) as some of what we think of as modern sensibilities are overlaid on to the telling of the tale.Clearly based in a good dose of fact (going of what I have seen on my recent documentary splurge and a little judicious internet searching) with just enough licence taken with the events to make for a fascinating read. Certainly no effort is made to project Elizabeth as a simpering princess or a wily-woman just waiting for her chance. Instead, Elizabeth is at first a relatively innocent child who is just getting to grips with the machinations of those surrounding her when her father passes who rapidly develops a sharp political instinct which will see her well through the years to come. I also enjoyed the fact that some reference is made to the numerous rumours circulated at the time that when Elizabeth went on "progress" to remote parts of her Kingdom she was really going to give birth to yet another Tudor illegitimate. Whether the rumours started as early as her being 14/15 I have no idea but they certainly were plentiful during her actual 40+ year reign.You do need to pay attention as there is a varied cast here and not always called by the same name with some characters referring to others by affectionate diminutives only and others by their titles and yet more by their actual birth name. Compound this with the constant political upheavals and wranglings as each Lord tries to advance his cause whilst supposedly acting as part of a court of Regents for the young Edward as he grows towards Kingship and it does get a little bit confusing if you try and gallop through. The turns of phrase also smack well of what we know of the era from extant documentary evidence and particularly in the surviving journals of Royalty and those who surrounded them. The small sections written in the vernacular where wonderful to read as an evolution of our language.If this is an era that interests you then this is a wonderful fictionalised account of the years during which Henry VIII dies and his young son is still only a King in name only, with all the power lodging with his Uncles. Although much of the book does concern the young Elizabeth in the second half there is a lot of information about what is happening at the Court and in other countries during this time period.Once I've caught up a bit on my reading I will certainly be purchasing the remaining books in the trilogy.

The first in the Margaret Irwin series and I can't wait to read the other two. The storyline draws you in and offers an insight into the young Princess Elizabeth's life. How accurate it is I don't know but it still works even forty or so years after it was first published. It is entertaining and that is the point of good fiction.

Why this idiotic insistence on classifying books by age? Are people so narrow-minded that they're only interested in characters their own age? (gender? ethnicty? religion?) What nonsense. This is an exellent book for anyone interested in history and good writing, written in 1944, long before the concept of 'YA' fiction was invented.

If you haven't read this trilogy by Margaret Irwin, I highly recommend that you do so! And this book is so good that, delighted to find it still in print, I bought a copy for a friend as well as one for myself. And I was very happy to find that it was every bit as good as I remembered.

I think that Margaret Irwin has a superb way of telling history. I read this novel years ago and felt that it gave as faithful account as possible of the history of this period. Many books have been written on the subject of Elizabeth and although this attempt must definitely be regarded as a novel and not a history reference book, it does have the ring of truth in my opinion.

This is the fist book I've read by this author. It won't be the last. I did expect more of a storyline of Bess but on reflection it had to cover detail of Ned and Tom. It was so well written that even though I knew the outcome the author kept you enthralled and almost allowed you to think there might have been a different ending to that of history gives us.

Read before and always loved, it brings a young Elizabeth and her chaotic time to vivid life - emotions, characters, Byzantine manoeuvring.I do object to a limited labelling of lesbian/ gay literature - it has enough romance and history for all of us.

I am interested in historical novels especially about Elizabeth1st. It is an easy read and very interesting. It certainly provided an insight into the first part of her early life.

I'm enjoying reading this book good author historically good would recommend to anyone who enjoys reading historical novels look forward to reading other books by this author

A reasonable book

Love the Tudor history and this is a great read for folks like me.Difficult to leave -really enjoyed it, and well written -well done Margaret Irwin !!

I have read a lot of historical novels especially of the Tudors. Irwin evokes the period beautifully. The young Elizabeth is perfectly portrayed as a child and teenager and shows how she went onto become one of England's greatest monarchs. This novel is for anyone who enjoys historical fiction.I will now go on to read all Irwin's other books.

I enjoyed this book - found it well written and fairly historically accurate. It made a change to read about Elizabeth the First in her younger days when she lived in a state of near terror for much of her life! Would recommend to anyone who enjoys a good tudor tale

I thoroughly enjoyed the facts and fiction woven together in this book and would recommend it to anyone who is interested in history.

Enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys a bit of historical romance. Brought to life some of the characters and political intrigue of the time and a very innocent Elizabeth 1