Christopher Hibbert has written many well-received biographies, including, most recently, Queen Victoria. He is a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and an honourary Doctor of Letters of Leicester University.
Queen of England from 1558 until her death in 1603, Elizabeth I is an endlessly fascinating figure. This engaging biography is essentially personal rather than political history. Hibbert is the author of many histories for the general reader, most recently The English: A Social History, 1066-1945 ( LJ 5/15/87). There are many biographies of Elizabeth, and more than a few good ones, but Hibbert's is solid and sure to charm. Perhaps not essential, given the many treatments of Elizabeth that most libraries hold already, but nevertheless a reliable and highly readable choice for general collections.--Nancy C. Cridland, Indiana Univ. Libs., Bloomington
A skillful storyteller and historian, Hibbert ( Cities and Civilizations ) here refreshes long-familiar facts with the drama befitting such an epochal personality as Elizabeth I, the child of executed Anne Boleyn. Succeeding to the crown at age 25, the queen ruled during England's renaissance in the arts, with the emergence of Shakespeare, Marlowe, Spenser, Lyly et al. Although she promised her subjects tolerance, Elizabeth rivaled her father and half-sister, ``Bloody Mary,'' in mercilessly dealing with any threat to her throne. It may be significant that Gloriana's death at age 70 in 1603 marked the realm's decline in prosperity and classic works--the end, in every sense, of the glittering Elizabethan era. Illustrations not seen by PW. (Apr.)
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