Elizabeth and Leicester : The Truth About the Virgin Queen and the Man She Loved

View our feature on Sarah Gristwood's Elizabeth & Leicester.Though the story has been told on film—and whispered in historic gossip—this is the first book in almost fifty years to solely explore the great queen's attachment to her beloved Robert Dudley, the Earl of Leicester. Fueled by scandal and intrigue, their relationship set the explosive connection between public and private life in sixteenth-century England in bold relief. Why did they never marry? How much of what seemed a passionate obsession was actually political convenience? Elizabeth and Leicester reignites this 400- year-old love story in a book for anyone interested in Elizabethan literature. Though the story has been told on filḿand whispered in historic gossiṕthis is the first book in almost fifty years to solely explore the great queen's attachment to her beloved Robert Dudley, the Earl of Leicester. Fueled by scandal and intrigue, their relationship set the explosive connection between public and private life in sixteenth-century England in bold relief. Why did they never marry? How much of what seemed a passionate obsession was actually political convenience? Elizabeth and Leicester reignites this 400- year-old love story in a book for anyone interested in Elizabethan literature An analysis of the working partnership and intimate bond between Elizabeth I and Robert Dudley discusses the scandal and speculation that surrounded their early romance, the earl's servitude to the queen as her counselor and army commander, and her contrary treatment of him regarding her suitors and his second marriage. Reprint.