Elizabeth, Captive Princess by Margaret Irwin

This is a complex book that delves in to more than the superficial facts of the years of Queen Mary's reign.  The imaginings of the pressures put upon the young Elizabeth Tudor by both the Court, the People and Herself are well executed and are doubtless based on extensive research of contemporary reports and documents.

My issues with this book were that it seemed to got lost in iot's own web of intrigue and language.  In evoking the Tudor Era you expect a certain amount of words unfamiliar to modern ears and turns of phrase and sentence structure that feel strangely familiar and yet alien at the same time.  However, in this book the obfuscation of Elizabeth seeps too earnestly on to the page and left me re-reading some passages several times to try and discern their meaning and how they would affect the outcome. 

Of course, this is a fictionalisation of a real life so we know that however afraid Elizabeth is that Mary is going to have her executed as a Traitor or a Heretic we know it does not come to pass.  However, there is still a palpable sense of terror in some sections and there is genuine tension in the pages - admirably done. 

I did not enjoy this as much as Young Bess, it was just a little too dry for me and some of the humanity had been stripped from the characters, rendering them almost as caricatures.  I found this to be particularly telling with Queen Mary whilst she waits for her Spanish Prince to finally make the journey to England to marry her.  Even Elizabeth herself suffers from time to time with becoming stagnant and lifeless on the page.

Overall this is a well crafted tale but you do need to have an interest in the Tudors or Social History to really glean enjoyment from it.