---
product_id: 29391055
title: "Elizabeth: The Forgotten Years"
price: "NZ$60"
currency: NZD
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 9
url: https://www.desertcart.nz/products/29391055-elizabeth-the-forgotten-years
store_origin: NZ
region: New Zealand
---

# Elizabeth: The Forgotten Years

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## Description

Elizabeth: The Forgotten Years [Guy, John] on desertcart.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Elizabeth: The Forgotten Years

Review: ... amazingly researched book that will give the reader a better edge on the politics of Elizabeth the First's reign - This is an amazingly researched book that will give the reader a better edge on the politics of Elizabeth the First's reign. It is a period of her life that I am fascinated with. He gives an excellent introduction to Elizabeth's life, but wastes no time getting into his topic: the last ~20 years of the "Golden Age." Whether a scholar, an Elizabethan era performer, or just an admirer of the period, this book will be amazing for you. Guy's writing style is scholarly but not dry. You may want a thesaurus nearby because Guy does not assume the reader is limited or stupid. He's a bit of a run-on sentence master, but you will never be lost. Pro: This book taps primary sources. It evaluates, debunks, supports, and demystifies secondary sources without being dismissive. There's a touch of snark in his narrative, but not too much and nothing that won't have the reader nodding in agreement. This book also fills a vacuum of knowledge as so many authors glance over this period, which Guy calls "the War Years." His rendering of Elizabeth fits far closer to those we see in movies such as Elizabeth R (Glenda Jackson,) Elizabeth 1 (Helen Mirren,) and the Virgin Queen (Anne-Marie Duffy.) He dodges the mythical Gloriana image and presents a complex and fascinating woman in an equally complex and fascinating time. Con: He doges the mythical Gloriana image. If you are someone who is in love with the Great Queen or are looking for a book supporting the image presented at nearly every Renaissance Fair, you may be thrown off by his approach. He does not hold back from presenting Elizabeth as a vain, sometimes indecisive, temperamental, aging woman in an era that dismissed all things female. Also, if you are a fan of the Cecil's and are expecting him to speak highly of Lord Burleigh, you will be shaken in your belief. He is harsh on Burleigh, citing letters and actions from primary sources that show Burleigh's disbelief in Elizabeth's ability and his manipulative nature. I'll probably earmark, highlight, mark-up, and re-read this book.
Review: It is a fine look at a specific part of the Elizabethan reign - It is a fine look at a specific part of the Elizabethan reign. It punches factual holes in many venerable beliefs about the Queen. It also corrects some myths and misunderstandings based upon new information and more detailed research,, to the extent of discerning exact definitions of words as they were used at that time, rather than later understandings. It also happily avoids the bane of most historians writings, that of judging historical people by current moralities and beliefs rather than the ones existing at the time of the subject. It is a refreshing avoidance. For less than experts on Elizabeth, it is a good read and the writing is very engaging

## Technical Specifications

| Specification | Value |
|---------------|-------|
| Best Sellers Rank | #2,035,112 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #248 in Royalty Biographies #1,453 in Historical British Biographies #2,328 in England History |
| Customer Reviews | 4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars (340) |
| Dimensions  | 6.3 x 1.5 x 9.25 inches |
| Edition  | First Edition |
| ISBN-10  | 0670786020 |
| ISBN-13  | 978-0670786022 |
| Item Weight  | 1.7 pounds |
| Language  | English |
| Print length  | 512 pages |
| Publication date  | May 3, 2016 |
| Publisher  | Viking |

## Images

![Elizabeth: The Forgotten Years - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71vV2DOkn2L.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ... amazingly researched book that will give the reader a better edge on the politics of Elizabeth the First's reign
*by T***R on June 3, 2016*

This is an amazingly researched book that will give the reader a better edge on the politics of Elizabeth the First's reign. It is a period of her life that I am fascinated with. He gives an excellent introduction to Elizabeth's life, but wastes no time getting into his topic: the last ~20 years of the "Golden Age." Whether a scholar, an Elizabethan era performer, or just an admirer of the period, this book will be amazing for you. Guy's writing style is scholarly but not dry. You may want a thesaurus nearby because Guy does not assume the reader is limited or stupid. He's a bit of a run-on sentence master, but you will never be lost. Pro: This book taps primary sources. It evaluates, debunks, supports, and demystifies secondary sources without being dismissive. There's a touch of snark in his narrative, but not too much and nothing that won't have the reader nodding in agreement. This book also fills a vacuum of knowledge as so many authors glance over this period, which Guy calls "the War Years." His rendering of Elizabeth fits far closer to those we see in movies such as Elizabeth R (Glenda Jackson,) Elizabeth 1 (Helen Mirren,) and the Virgin Queen (Anne-Marie Duffy.) He dodges the mythical Gloriana image and presents a complex and fascinating woman in an equally complex and fascinating time. Con: He doges the mythical Gloriana image. If you are someone who is in love with the Great Queen or are looking for a book supporting the image presented at nearly every Renaissance Fair, you may be thrown off by his approach. He does not hold back from presenting Elizabeth as a vain, sometimes indecisive, temperamental, aging woman in an era that dismissed all things female. Also, if you are a fan of the Cecil's and are expecting him to speak highly of Lord Burleigh, you will be shaken in your belief. He is harsh on Burleigh, citing letters and actions from primary sources that show Burleigh's disbelief in Elizabeth's ability and his manipulative nature. I'll probably earmark, highlight, mark-up, and re-read this book.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ It is a fine look at a specific part of the Elizabethan reign
*by T***R on August 2, 2016*

It is a fine look at a specific part of the Elizabethan reign. It punches factual holes in many venerable beliefs about the Queen. It also corrects some myths and misunderstandings based upon new information and more detailed research,, to the extent of discerning exact definitions of words as they were used at that time, rather than later understandings. It also happily avoids the bane of most historians writings, that of judging historical people by current moralities and beliefs rather than the ones existing at the time of the subject. It is a refreshing avoidance. For less than experts on Elizabeth, it is a good read and the writing is very engaging

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ This Biography of Queen Elizabeth Sheds Light on Who Wrote Shakespeare
*by D***N on August 7, 2017*

John Guy's superb book unintentionally illuminates the contentious debate about who wrote Shakespeare, the most important author of the period that his biography covers. Since the shaky but still prevailing authorship theory turns out to be faith-based, it is helpful to have Guy's fresh look at recently discovered archival evidence about Queen Elizabeth and her era, so we can construct a more accurate, evidence-based picture of Shakespeare's real identity. Perhaps inadvertently, Guy repeatedly links pivotal court events with the works of Shakespeare. He thus provides support for the relatively new consensus that Shakespeare wrote not just for the Globe, but also for court performances. It is extremely fruitful to assume he always had the Queen in mind when he wrote. This is consistent with Guy's repeated references to Shakespeare in connection with the life of Elizabeth. Let me offer you some salient examples. Which Shakespeare character does the following quotation make you think of? "[The Queen] stamps with her feet at ill news, and thrusts her rusty sword into the arras in great rage." That's according to Queen Elizabeth's favorite godson, John Harington, in 1600. Give up? It is Hamlet who famously thrusts his sword into the arras behind which Polonius was hiding, killing him, when he thought he was stabbing his step-father, King Claudius. Several Shakespeare plays refer to swords and rapiers rusting. The character Coriolanus in Shakespeare's play of that name is terrific in battle, but not so good when it comes to civilian affairs. Guy links this mixed description with the colorful career of the Earl of Essex, who alternated between pleasing and infuriating the Queen. Anthony Bacon, in encouraging Essex's quarrel with Robert Cecil, lampooned Cecil as a proverbial "little pot too hot," possibly echoed by Petruchio's servant Grumio saying in Taming of the Shrew "were not I a little pot and soon hot..." You need to know that the actual author of Shakespeare's works was Cecil's brother-in-law, and he couldn't stand Cecil. He also cruelly ridiculed Robert Cecil's prominent hunchback with his historically false characterization of King Richard III as having a hunchback, when both the historical record and his recently discovered skeleton show Richard III suffered from scoliosis, with one shoulder higher than the other. In 1595, the previous taboo against any public discussion whatsoever of the royal succession was shattered by a widely read and deliberately seditious book, A Conference about the Next Succession to the Crown of England. It was written (under a pseudonym) by Robert Parsons, the exiled superior of the English Jesuits. Guy believes the impact of this book influenced the discussion of dynastic civil wars, usurpation, and legitimate monarchs in the Shakespeare plays King John and Richard II. (The mainstream scholar Hannibal Hamlin, in his fine book The Bible in Shakespeare is confident that Shakespeare read an earlier work by Parsons.) Whoever he was, "Shakespeare" knew intimate details of court politics, and alluded to them repeatedly, though usually between the lines. By the way, the book's index is incomplete. I noticed that with several topics, including Shakespeare. In my edition of the book (an earlier one, with the subtitle "The Forgotten Years"), the index omits these additional references to Shakespeare's works: pp. 173, 243, 249, 268, 347, 364, and 403.

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*Store origin: NZ*
*Last updated: 2026-04-23*