I did a tonne of Elizabeth I stuff in late high school and first year of university. I remember that there's a HUGE historiographical debate over what sort of ruler, exactly, she was, and how her rule has been (mis)-represented by various historians with agendas, particularly during WWII and the Cold War.
David Starkey is famous for his championing of Elizabeth as a great ruler - the fastest way of characterising his writing is that he's an Elizabeth fanboy from way back. He's a very good writer, very accessible, but you've got to be aware that he loooooves Liz, yes he does.
There's another guy, Christopher Haigh, who AFAIK basically works from the opposite perspective from Starkey.
the Wiki page for Elizabeth I has a fantastic list of references that is really jogging my memory. Looking at the list, I really recommend Susan Doran's work, and I think that A R Rowse was the guy whose work on Elizabeth I was really influenced by WWII and the Cold War.
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Date: 2011-02-27 07:11 am (UTC)David Starkey is famous for his championing of Elizabeth as a great ruler - the fastest way of characterising his writing is that he's an Elizabeth fanboy from way back. He's a very good writer, very accessible, but you've got to be aware that he loooooves Liz, yes he does.
There's another guy, Christopher Haigh, who AFAIK basically works from the opposite perspective from Starkey.
the Wiki page for Elizabeth I has a fantastic list of references that is really jogging my memory. Looking at the list, I really recommend Susan Doran's work, and I think that A R Rowse was the guy whose work on Elizabeth I was really influenced by WWII and the Cold War.