The many characters are well developed, and although the plot may be a bit hard to follow at times for readers not familiar with that period of history, the book is well-written and very enjoyable to read. From what I know about this period of English history, the book seems to be historically accurate. In this book, Elizabeth comes across as a very likeable, witty and determined young woman who faced many perils, and had to overcome many hurdles before becoming queen of England. This technique brings Elizabeth closer to the reader who sympathizes with her, and learns about some private facets of her personality. This book is written with Elizabeth as the narrator, which makes the reader privy to her thoughts and emotions, as if the reader were reading a diary. When Mary became sick and understood she was dying, she finally recognized her sister as her successor, and Elizabeth became queen on November 17, 1558. She also had Elizabeth imprisoned in the Tower of London, and then under house arrest in the ruins of Woodstock palace for several months because Elizabeth was accused of supporting Protestants rebelling against Mary. They were burned at the stake if they refused, and hundreds of them died that way during her five-year reign. Mary was a fervent Catholic, and she wanted all Protestants (including her half-sister Elizabeth) to convert to Catholicism. Noblemen and common people flocked to her defense because she was popular, and she was declared queen very soon after that.
However, Mary claimed her rights to the throne. One of the members of the privy council, John Dudley, had managed to make Edward declare Lady Jane Grey (Henry VIII's great-niece) as his successor, and not his half-sister Mary, as his father's will had stipulated. Edward VI died of tuberculosis in 1553, at age 15. Those charges proved groundless, but that was one early scare she had as a teenager. She knew him because he had married her stepmother after her father's death. Her younger brother, Edward, had become king, and Elizabeth found herself under suspicion for a while because of her association with Tom Seymour who was accused of wanting to kidnap the king, and of scheming to marry her. With the death of Henry VIII, Elizabeth lost her main protection. Subsequently, she was declared illegitimate. Her mother, Anne Boleyn, had been executed by order of her father when Elizabeth was not yet three years old. Show More and worry about after the death of her father.
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