
Elizabeth and Mary
Cousins, Rivals, Queens
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Narrated by:
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Donada Peters
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By:
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Jane Dunn
About this listen
The first dual biography of two of the world’s most remarkable women - Elizabeth I of England and Mary Queen of Scots - by one of Britain’s “best biographers” (The Sunday Times)
In a rich and riveting narrative, Jane Dunn reveals the extraordinary rivalry between the regal cousins. It is the story of two queens ruling on one island, each with a claim to the throne of England, each embodying dramatically opposing qualities of character, ideals of womanliness (and views of sexuality) and divinely ordained kingship.
As regnant queens in an overwhelmingly masculine world, they were deplored for their femaleness, compared unfavorably with each other and courted by the same men. By placing their dynamic and ever-changing relationship at the center of the book, Dunn illuminates their differences.
Elizabeth, inheriting a weak, divided country coveted by all the Catholic monarchs of Europe, is revolutionary in her insistence on ruling alone and inspired in her use of celibacy as a political tool - yet also possessed of a deeply feeling nature. Mary is not the romantic victim of history but a courageous adventurer with a reckless heart and a magnetic influence over men and women alike. Vengeful against her enemies and the more ruthless of the two queens, she is untroubled by plotting Elizabeth’s murder.
Elizabeth, however, is driven to anguish at finally having to sanction Mary’s death for treason. Working almost exclusively from contemporary letters and writings, Dunn explores their symbiotic, though never face-to-face, relationship and the power struggle that raged between them.
A story of sex, power and politics, of a rivalry unparalleled in the pages of English history, of two charismatic women - told in a masterful double biography.
©2004 Jane Dunn (P)2004 Random House, Inc., Random House Audio, a division of Random House, Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
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Critic reviews
"A perceptive, suspenseful account of complex English history .... By the end of this satisfying book, one feels sympathy for both women, brave queens in an age when ‘no one considered that a woman could effectively rule alone.'" (The New York Times Book Review)
“Elegant.... Dunn demythologizes Elizabeth and Mary. In humanizing their dynamic and shifting relationship, Dunn describes it as fueled by both rivalry and their natural solidarity as women in an overwhlemingly masculine world.” (Boston Herald)
“A wholly engrossing and sumptuous retelling of a tale that entered legend even before its protagonists were dead.” (Newsday)
Excellent book and excellent audio
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elizabeth and mary
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Excellent Excellent Excellent
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Almost put my head on the block!
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Wonderfully researched and read!
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Fantastic book
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Great book!
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More Mary than Elizabeth
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What did you love best about Elizabeth and Mary?
I really enjoyed the way the writer took the time to explain all the ways one life affected the other. How she could make you both feel frustrated with both women and sympathic at the same time. How the way the life and times they lived in affected the end result.I loved how she compare the two women and how each one had their strengths and obvious weakness'.
Who was your favorite character and why?
Definately has to be Elizabeth I. For all her attempts to side step and save Mary Queen of Scots, there was no way out.If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?
No Way Out!Great Book, Lots of History
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As an atheist, I found it especially remarkable to note how much adversity and disaster, personal and societal, was generated over religion during Elizabeth's reign. It seems humanity hasn't learned much since the 16th Century.
Fascinating
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