Fictional Scandals

Anyone who reads this blog on a regular or even occasional basis knows the love I have for Alison Weir as a supremely excellent non-fiction chronicler of Britain's Royals. She is the author of my favourite book, Britain's Royal Families: The Complete Genealogy, and numerous other books on such varied topics as the wives of Henry VIII, Katherine Swynford (mistress and wife to John of Gaunt - ancestress of the Tudors and today's Royal Family), Isabelle of France (Queen to Edward II), and the murder of Lord Darnley (second husband of Mary Queen of Scots and ancestor of today's Royal Family). Recently, Weir has decided to augment her excellent non-fiction works with historical fiction.

Her first historical fiction book was Innocent Traitor. It is about Lady Jane Grey, grand-niece of Henry VIII and briefly Queen of England. It got rave reviews and was a success. I was interested in trying out Weir's fiction and found her second historical fiction attempt on the shelf at my library: The Lady Elizabeth. This book covers the life of Queen Elizabeth I from her childhood up to her accession to the throne.

The two best known Tudor monarchs are probably Henry VIII and Elizabeth I - but many people forget about the two Tudors in between, Elizabeth's half-siblings; Edward VI and Mary I. This book covers Elizabeth's childhood and young womanhood growing up during those reigns. The book is not bad and somewhat enjoyable. It is not as enthralling as a Sharon Kay Penman historical novel, but it gets into the feelings and opinions of the main characters more than a usual non-fiction book. It is almost half-way between non-fiction and fiction. I think I prefer Weir's non-fiction works, but I would like to read Innocent Traitor and her other fiction works before I decide fully.

You can tell as you read the book that Weir really knows her stuff - she knows the relationships between people, the clothes they wore, the food they ate, and how people acted. She just needs to draw the reader a little bit more into her world. However, I thought her portrayal of Elizabeth was engaging and sympathetic. Some people may quibble with Elizabeth's seeming precociousness in her scholastic abilities, but Elizabeth was quite a brilliant monarch and well-known for her intelligence at a young age, so the characterization is apt. I also enjoyed the character of Mary. Mary is often ignored and neglected by historians or writers who focus only on her nickname as "Bloody Mary" for her suppression of Protestantism during her reign. But Mary was also an intelligent, thoughtful woman. She loved her half-sister and half-brother very much, and perhaps in them she found the children she would never have. I think it is time for a sympathetic portrait of Elizabeth's big sister.

As usual, I have my quibbles. And while this is a major one which normally would make me throw the book away in disgust, I persevered and finished anyway and still enjoyed the novel. When Elizabeth was in her middle teens (14-16), she lived for a while with Queen Katherine Parr, recent widow of Henry VIII. Before Katherine's marriage to Henry VIII, the twice widowed lady was contemplating a third marriage, for love, to one Thomas Seymour, brother of the late Queen Jane Seymour and uncle to the future Edward VI. Unfortunately, Henry's interest in Katherine disrupted those plans, and Katherine dutifully married the King. However, Henry's death left Katherine a widow again, and this time she was determined to marry for love. She married Tom Seymour a mere 4 months after the King's death and they set up house in Chelsea.

Elizabeth came to live with Katherine and Tom. Tom soon realized the attraction that Elizabeth held for him - not only in her person but in her position - she was the next heir but one. It is well documented by history, and by Weir, that Tom began visiting Elizabeth in her bedroom early in the morning, generally before she was dressed and was still in her flimsy nightgown. He would engage in horseplay and tickle and tease the young girl. Katherine witnessed the horseplay herself on a few occasions and even participated in a jest in the garden; holding Elizabeth while Tom slashed her mourning gown into ribbons. Tom's scandalous behaviour towards Elizabeth and Katherine acquiescence and participation are well documented. But Weir takes it one step further: she has Tom and Elizabeth sleep together - just once! - which results in a pregnancy for the young Elizabeth. Elizabeth is sent away in disgrace to the country manor of Cheshunt, where a midwife attends her secret miscarriage. This leads to her determination not to give herself to any man again, and to hold herself up as the pinnacle of virginity.

That is where I disagreed with Weir - I do not believe that Seymour and Elizabeth had any sort of relationship. He probably wanted one, but I don't believe he got away with it. I think there is some sort of flimsy historical evidence about a midwife attending a birth for a lady that looked like Elizabeth, but the veracity is doubtful. I understand that Weir used the incident to further cement Elizabeth's distrust of men and marriage, but I thought the plot twist was unnecessary and that Elizabeth already had enough reason to be wary of men and marriage without suffering through a pregnancy by Thomas Seymour. Usually, a large disagreement with the characterization of a historical person would make me put the book down, but I persevered, and finished anyway. If that bit was taken out, I would have enjoyed the book a lot more.

What is interesting is that in her afterword, Weir states that she firmly believes that Elizabeth lived and died the as the true Virgin Queen she was. Weir has been outspoken as a historian that there is no definite proof that Elizabeth was not the Virgin Queen she depicted herself to be. However, despite "going against her instincts as a historian", she enjoyed the artistic freedom to depict Elizabeth's life otherwise. I'm not entirely sure I agree with that - sure, books have to sell copies, but usually history is interesting enough that the fact presents the best story, even when fictionalized. I hope that readers of the book will remember that it is fiction and that they should look elsewhere for fact.

Overall, this book was not bad and had some really positive elements. I did enjoy the characterization of Elizabeth, but had some questions about the plot points. Still, historical fiction is better than most other genres any day. Even my cat is a historical fiction fan - she really got into this book!