The Queen's Bed: An Intimate History of Elizabeth's Court

It is true that the very interesting pictures from the print version are omitted from the Kindle book. HOWEVER, this e-book ranks with the very best of Elizabethan, ( particularly Elizabeth herself ), writings. The author is able to seamlessly integrate the "Queen" , always on public display from the moment She emerged from Her Bedchamber with her Lady-Bedfellows, and the woman who was afraid of the dark, fearful of ageing, often ill, and endured--with the CONSTANT ministry of her ladies, the ever increasing process of producing the face and body of the Sovereign of England; ever young, beautiful, and strong. In addition to spending HOURS concocting and applying a pharmacy of toxic mixtures to all visible parts of the Royal Body, hours were also required to clothe said body in layers and layers of an enormous variety of every kind of material, ( usually embroidered, stitched, tatted, woven, etc.by her " Ladies of the Privy and Bedchambers " ). They washed, dressed, and bejeweled the Queen day and night, provided support, comfort, amusement, advice, and all other company and service that might be needed. And with few exceptions, these Ladies felt, and were, HONOURED to be chosen in this capacity. They knew her in ways impermissible to all others. This is a Wonderful book.

I thought I knew all there was to know about Elizabeth I. Could not have been more wrong. While an inside view of her "private life" is glimpsed, such as her eating habits, dressing, bathing and oh, the makeup, you also see the woman herself, not as a queen, but as a simple human. I guess you can say she was two people residing in one body, a Queen, strong, willful and stubborn making her way in a man's world. The other, a woman with all the dreams of women in her time, a husband, family, love. All this plays out in her treatment of her closest and long time ladies of the bedchamber.Elizabeth I would have been a psychiatrist's dream for sure, but you don't need a PhD to understand the heart of this amazing woman. This book not only provides an intimate portrait of this Queen, but also her political life which was chock full of danger and turmoil for most of her reign.Very informative and well written. I enjoyed it thoroughly.

I actually liked this book. I had not really read much about Queen Elizabeth I, so much of this book was enlightening. Sure, she was a jealous soul, but the author brought out that she had a very soft side when she lost those that she loved the most. There were many parts in the book that I enjoyed and it's ability to take you into her inner court and how much work was put into making her look good (smile). And, she was selfish with the women that took care of her in that she came first and foremost at all times when they were busy having babies and then made to report back ASAP to be with her. I thought it was very interesting about the death of Mary Queen of Scots. This book was well written and you have a feeling after you read it that you know her. So, I give it 5 stars because I really did enjoy reading it. And to the author, Anna Whitelock, job well done!

There aren't enough books that really describe what life was like in the Tudor palaces, though there are histories aplenty, some with occasional tidbits of "how they lived," but to find a whole book dedicated to the topic of the women who served the queen - also neatly tied with the events happening at the time - was a huge treat. The photos at the back were a bonus. Highly recommended for the Tudorholic and history fan alike.

This is a well-written biography of Elizabeth 1 as regarding her life as "the virgin queen." Whether she was or not is the subject of debate, apparently, and that premise is much debated throughout her reign and this book. Highly readable, well-researched, and interesting to anyone wanting to know more about this queen as a ruler and a woman.

This is a readable history of the Elizabethan age. However, despite the provocative title, the book will disappoint the reader who hopes the book will reveal the intimate history of what went on in the Queen's Bed. There are so many names of courtiers mentioned in the book, that it was sometimes hard for me to remember much about the person who belonged to each name. I was hoping that the author would be able to bring at least some of the characters, especially the central character, to life. However, when I finished reading to book, I felt that I new little more about Elizabeth and the members of her court than I already knew from the history that I had previously read.

Most of what was unique and interesting about this book was the development of how Queen Elizabeth I's daily life was lived. From the lack of privacy (ever) in even her most private rooms and moments, to her daily routine and management of her image through portraits, it held well-researched and presented material in a very readable format. I enjoyed it very much, but I have had a high interest in Tudor history for a long time.

This is an outstanding, fascinating examination of the extraordinarily complicated public and private persona of this most powerful woman. She commanded a country, yet still had to devote inordinate amounts of her time and energy to ensure that her reputation never tainted her reign.

Not well written, feels like a high school history book and who needs that?. Won't likely buy this author again

Excellent delay of delivery and the book is in great shape.Thanks

Pretty much 'copy/paste' from archival material; very repetitive and boring, just way too many dates and quotes in old English

great book!

As interesting as this subject could be, I feel that it was a big let down due to the way it was written. It was quite disjointed and quite often went of on tangents discussing things completely unconnected to what the book is about. It turns in to more of a biography of Elizabeth than discussing the inner sanctuary of her bedchamber and private life.Occasionally, you get the feeling that certain events are over-exaggerated slightly for dramatic effect. And some events are presented with very little detail and not fleshed out.I would recommend Tracy Borman's book "Elizabeth's Women", as that delves far more into the inner sanctuary of Elizabeth's private chambers and also her relationships with the women of her bedchamber and her female relations, so the story has a far more natural flow