Young Bess by Margaret Irwin

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.