The riveting inside story of the Elizabethan Court and the favoured women who tended the Queen

Elizabeth, subtle and seductive, was also a warrior. Self-possessed, she was also owned by every gossip in Europe. Her virginity was a national asset, but a wasting asset as her reign progressed. Her body was the body politic, closely guarded but obscenely scrutinised, subject to adoration, speculation and threat. Anna Whitelock's skilful and detailed history will bring you closer than seems possible to this glittering, infuriating, fascinating woman Hilary Mantel With the lively imagination of a dramatist and the rigor of an academic, Whitelock discards the chastity belt of conventional royal history and presents Elizabeth in terms of the intimate politics of her life The Times Whitelock's fearless approach to Elizabeth is not like that of Essex. She, too, has burst into the bedroom and shown us the Queen in her most private state. This is an intimate history of the court and a brilliant history of intimacy Frances Wilson, Mail on Sunday Whitelock brings a fresh eye to the significance of anecdotes and, in doing so, injects them with new life ... With this dazzling portrait of Mary's successor, she takes her place among the foremost - and most enthrallingly readable - historians of the Tudors Miranda Seymour, Sunday Times A great story, told with wit and verve John Gallagher, Sunday Telegraph An impressive and powerful debut David Starkey on Mary Tudor Whitelock excels in her timely portrait of a religious fanatic Frances Wilson, Sunday Times Books of the Year ***** Anna Whitelock's greatest achievement is her portrait of Mary as a woman as well as a Queen ... complex and compelling Anita Sethi, Independent Brilliant Jenny Uglow, Financial Times A memorable portrait Literary Review Dazzling and fresh Sunday Times Summer Reads The fascinating story of England's first successful queen told from a unique perspective Good Book Guide It's a rollicking introduction to a remarkable woman, who lived in a very weird world The Times, Summer Reads Essentially a biography of Elizabeth I with a special concern for the Queen's relationship with her male favourites and the various marriage negotiations that dominated England's external relations until at least the early 1580s ... Gradually she won me over, principally by her very skilful use of contemporary quotations, and since much of the contemporary comment was extremely lively, the book became a very good read ... A readable and well-documented biography Times Higher Supplement Anna Whitelock demonstrates that the ladies of the bedchamber exercised considerable power and influence in their abilities both to make suggestions to the Queen and to report on her private thoughts ... Some of the best parts are the material details of Elizabeth's domestic surroundings ... In places the book offers fascinating glimpses of Elizabeth I's life behind closed doors, and is enriched by Anna Whitelock's eye for the curious and engaging detail ... This is partly a book about gossip, and it is in these kinds of gossipy and flavoursome morsels that its chief insights and pleasures lie TLS It's a great story, told with wit and verve Sunday Telegraph One cannot fault Whitelock for her meticulous research Independent on Sunday Whitelock makes sparkling use of the eye-witness testimonies of courtiers, who recorded their impressions of the Queen Daily Mail A memorable portrait, though not one that unquestioning admirers of the Virgin Queen may find palatable Literary Review The first Queen Elizabeth is examined again in this revelatory book, which seeks out the private woman behind the public image Independent Best Winter Reads Fresh insightful analysis to a more general history of Elizabeth's reign ... Whitelock has skilfully pulled together a wealth of evidence, and the intimate parts of this study are wonderful Tablet

Anna Whitelock's bestselling debut, Mary Tudor: England's First Queen, was published to critical acclaim in 2009. She is a Senior Lecturer in Early Modern History at Royal Holloway, University of London. She regular appears on television and radio and has written for the Guardian, BBC History, Sunday Telegraph and the New York Times. She lives in Cambridge. @AnnaWhitelock www.annawhitelock.co.uk