In Her Own Words: Elizabeth I Onstage and Online

Children and Young Adults

Bush, Catherine. Elizabeth I. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1985. 112 pp. Illustrated with black-and-white photographs and reproductions; further reading; chronology; index.
Placing Elizabeth's reign against a complex historical background, Bush gives a reasonably detailed exposition of the religious and political issues for middle school and high school readers.
Hodges, C. Walter. The battlement garden: Britain from the Wars of the Roses to the Age of Shakespeare. New York: Houghton Mifflin/Clarion Books, 1980. Illustrated with color plates and black-and-white photographs and reproductions.
Deft social history of Tudor England shows how the introduction of the printing press, the economics of land use, and even new fashions in chimneys affected the lives of commoners (cleverly represented by Shakespeare's family) and royalty alike.
Lace, William W. Elizabethan England. San Diego, CA: Lucent Books, 1995. 128 pp. Illustrated with black-and-white photographs and reproductions; chronology; notes; further reading; index.
Social history with more insight than some biographies into the character of Elizabeth, "[c]onstantly on display" but "the most private of persons." Lace explains clearly the customs and expectations that limited Elizabeth's options, while offering vivid details about everything from medicine to ruffs ("very fragile, and the wearer had to avoid brushing against walls, curtains, other people's ruffs, and--for obvious reasons--candles").
Stanley, Diane, and Peter Vennema. Good Queen Bess: The Story of Elizabeth I of England. New York: Four Winds Press, 1990. 40 pp.
A brief but coherent account of Elizabeth's life, enriched by the vibrant colors of Stanley's elegant and meticulous illustrations.
Winwar, Frances. Queen Elizabeth and the Spanish Armada. New York: Random House, 1954. "World Landmark Books"; 184 pp.
Balanced and responsible, with little fictionalizing, a strong narrative pace, and some blunt moral judgments of Elizabeth's contemporaries. Winwar emphasizes the positive and progressive in her portrayal of Elizabeth, and manages to give an understandable overview of important religious, political, and cultural developments.
Zamoyska, Betka. Queen Elizabeth I. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1981. 69 pp. Illustrated with photographs and reproductions in color; chronology; further reading; index.
Straightforward and factual, Zamoyska grapples with some of the thornier issues in a text that should be accessible to middle school readers.

In Her Own Words is sponsored by The Brown University Women Writers Project and The Rhode Island Office of Library and Information Services