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1-1-2011

Death & the Virgin Queen: Elizabeth I & the dark scandal that Death & the Virgin Queen: Elizabeth I & the dark scandal that

rocked the throne, Chris Skidmore (book review) rocked the throne, Chris Skidmore (book review)

Kathleen McCallister William & Mary, krmccallister@wm.edu

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Recommended Citation Recommended Citation McCallister, Kathleen, Death & the Virgin Queen: Elizabeth I & the dark scandal that rocked the throne, Chris Skidmore (book review) (2011). Library Journal, 136(1), 106. https://scholarworks.wm.edu/librariespubs/70

This Book Review is brought to you for free and open access by the William & Mary Libraries at W&M ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in W&M Libraries Publications by an authorized administrator of W&M ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact scholarworks@wm.edu.

SOCIAL SCIENCES

British Royal LoreCastor, Helen. She-Wolves:The Women Who RuledEngland Before Elizabeth.Harper: HarperCollins.Mar. 2011. c.480p. illus.maps, bibliog. index. ISBN9780061430763. $27.99. BIOG

Castor (fellow in history,Univ. of Cambridge; Bloodand Roses: One Family'sStruggle and Triumph Duringthe Tumultuous Wars of theRoses) readably recounts thelives of six women who exer-cised—or tried to exercise—political power in Englandprior to Elizabeth I: Matilda,granddaughter of William theConqueror; Eleanor of Aquit-aine; Isabella of France; Mar-garet of Anjou; Jane Grey;and Mary Tudor. The story ofElizabeth I's ultimate acces-sion can be fully appreciatedonly when viewed in the con-text of these women's earlierstruggles to hold power ina society where female rulewas seen as grotesque andan immoral aberration. Inlight of source limitationsand the bias of contemporarychroniclers. Castor has donea masterful job of outliningthe burdens these womenfaced—public scrutiny andridicule, imprisonment.Incorrigible husbands, politi-cal manipulation—as theyattempted to secure thepolitical prizes that shouldhave fallen to them had nottheir gender been an impedi-ment to rulership. ERDIGTGenealogical charts andmaps will help general read-ers follow a narrative lackingscholarly apparatus or histo-riographical debates, whichwill be thus of less interestto specialists. Readers ofpopular history of British roy-als will enjoy their immenselyhuman stories and applaudthe indomitable will of thesestrong protofeminists.—Ma-rie Marmo Mullaney, CaldwellColl., NJ

Farquhar, Michael. Behindthe Palace Doors: FiveCenturies of Sex, Adventure,Vice, Treachery, and Follyfrom Royal Britain. Random.Mar. 2011. c.304p. hibliog.ISBN 9780812979046. pap.$15. HIST

Historical scandal afi-cionado Farquhar (staffwriter, Washington Post; ATreasury of Royal Scandals)turns again to the Britishmonarchy. Beginning afterthe Wars of the Roses (e.g.,with the Tudors), Farquharchronicles the marriages,betrayals, scandals, and suc-cesses of rulers of the last500-plus years. Humorouslytitled chapters like "A Fooland his Crown" are arrangedchronologically, and eachis devoted to a single ruler,although in many casesstories overlap. Even thoughhe has a lot of material towork with, Farquhar keepsthe chapters manageable,providing enough contextfor those who are not veryfamiliar with the Britishroyals and focusing on thelesser-known episodes andmonarchs. While

not written for scholars ofBritish history, this is a well-researched popular retellingof some outrageous periodsin the lives of perennially in-triguing rulers. A good selec-tion for lighter history read-ing on the lives of British

monarchs and really goodscandals.—Elizabeth Nelson,UOPLIb., Des Plaines, IL

Skidmore, Chris. Death andthe Virgin Queen: ElizabethI and the Dark ScandalThat Rocked the Throne.St. Martin's. Jan. 2011. c.448p.illus. bibliog. index. ISBN9780312379001. $27.99. HIST

The relationship betweenElizabeth I and her favoritecourtier. Lord Robert Dudley,was one of the more infa-mous aspects of Elizabeth'sreign—and it became aneven greater controversywhen in 1560 Dudley's wife,Amy Robsart, was founddead at the bottom of astaircase, her neck broken.The strange circumstancesprovided fuel for speculationthen and now: Was it an ac-cident? Suicide? Or a murderarranged to leave Dudley freeto marry the queen? Draw-ing extensively on historicaldocuments, including theoriginal coroner's report,only recently uncovered inthe UK's National Archives,Skidmore (history, Bris-tol Univ.; Edward VI: TheLost King of England) notonly examines the varioustheories surrounding theselong-standing questions butalso provides an in-depthlook at how Amy's death andElizabeth and Dudley's re-lationship affected the earlyyears of the Virgin Queen'sreign. Those hop-

ing for an answer to thismystery will be disappointed,as Skidmore affirms thatpotential solutions rely tooheavily on conjecture to bedefinitive. Nonetheless, ow-ing to the wealth of detail,both academics and generalreaders with an interest inTudor history will find muchof interest.—Kathleen McCal-lister, Univ. of South CarolinaLib., Columbia

The likeliest audience is readers who alreadybelieve that Limbaugh is racist, sexist, andhomophobic. Wilson (Patriotic Correctne.^s:Academic Freedom and Its Enemies) has spenthours listening to Limbaugh broadcasts amireading transcripts. To illustrate how dan-gerous and extreme Limbaugh's ideas are,he examines the language lie uses to de-scribe women and minorities, dissects "Lim-baughnomics," and documents the misin-formation broadcast on health-care reform.Wilson decries Limbaugh's impact on civilpolitical discoui-se. VEROICT With over2()()(tfootnotes, this book almost serves as a refer-ence tool to document Limbaugh's extremeviews. It provides more description thananalysis and, with its extensive documen-tation, can be slow reading. Of interest toliberal readers and scholars concerned aboutLimbaugh's intlucncL- on Anicricm societyand politics.—Judy Solberg, Seattle Univ. Lib.

FCONOIVIICSBrandon, Ruth. Ugly Beauty: HelenaRubinstein, L'Oréal, and the BlemishedHistory of Looking Good. Harper: HarperCollins.Feb. 2011. c.304p. photogs. bibliog. index.ISBN 9780061740404. $26.99. BUSBeauty became a huge business in the lastcentury, largely through the pioneeringefforts of Helena Rubinstein and L'Oréalcreator Eugène Schueller. Brandon (Gor-erness: The Lives and Times of the Real JaneEyres) provides a deep, probing account othow their companies grew to dominate themarket and how their merger combined notonly products but the founders" opposingphilosophies. Kubinstein never quite lettbehind her humble origins in the Krakowghetto of late 19th-century Poland duringher incredible evolution into the world'sfirst-ever, self-made woman tycoon. Hercompetitor and ultimate purchaser ot herempire Schueller was himself of "humble"origins but through formal science studyfollowed a very different path. Brandonskillfully proceeds from individual historiesto explore the improbable phenomenon ofbringing together the life's work of thesebusiness giants, whose goals, ethics, andbackgrounds could hardly have been moreincompatible. The final result was an enor-mously lucrative global enterprise. VEROICTThis engaging book should appeal not onlyto beauty enthusiasts but also to studentsof corporate histories, who will relish thecompelling aspects of the unlikely crossingof paths of two hugely successful entrepre-neurs.—Richard Drezen, Brooklyn, NY

'A'Buffett, Mary & David Clark. WarrenBuffett and the Art of Stock Arbitrage:Proven Strategies for Arbitrage and OtherSpecial Investment Situations. Scribner.

106 j LIURARY JOURNAL ] JANUARY 2011

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