Finding her way through the labyrinthine plots that surrounded the court, she had to live by her wits, surrounded by betrayal and suspicion, not knowing who to trust with her desire to be queen, or her desire to be a lover...

'The best account in English of the early years of Elizabeth' Evening Standard

A woman in a man's world, Queen Elizabeth I was to become England's most successful ruler.

Confident in her destiny, intensely intelligent, passionately sexual yet (she said) a virgin, Elizabeth's reign was characterised by a self-assurance unusual for the time. Finding her way through the labyrinthine plots that surrounded the court, she had to live by her wits, surrounded by betrayal and suspicion, not knowing who to trust with her desire to be queen, or her desire to be a lover.

David Starkey's portrait of the first female ruler of England is an enlightening account. Filled with lucid and clear scenes with fascinating insight throughout, Elizabeth is a truly masterful retelling of the life of a legendary monarch.

'What a page turner!' Time Out
'Fresh and lively... Vividly told' Sunday Times