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Elizabeth's bedfellows : an intimate history of the queen's court

Whitelock, Anna2013
Books
The inside story of the Elizabethan Court and the favoured women who tended the Queen, from the author of }Mary Tudor{. Uncovers the feminised world of Elizabethan politics, and has already been optioned for a 6 part prime time BBC One drama series. Elizabeth I acceded to the throne in 1558, restoring the Protestant faith to England. At the heart of the new queen's court lay Elizabeth's bedchamber, closely guarded by the favoured women who helped her dress, looked after her jewels and shared her bed. Elizabeth's private life was of public, political concern. Her bedfellows were witnesses to the face and body beneath the make-up and elaborate clothes, as well as to rumoured illicit dalliances with such figures as Robert Dudley. Their presence was for security as well as propriety, as the kingdom was haunted by fears of assassination plots and other Catholic subterfuge. For such was the significance of the queen's body: it represented the very state itself. This riveting, revealing history of the politics of intimacy uncovers the feminized world of the Elizabethan court. Between the scandal and intrigue the women who attended the queen were the guardians of the truth about her health, chastity and fertility. Their stories offer extraordinary insight into the daily life of the Elizabethans, the fragility of royal favour and the price of disloyalty.
Author:
Imprint:
London : Bloomsbury, 2013.
Collation:
462 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (black and white, and colour) ; 24 cm
Notes:
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN:
9781408808801 (hbk)
Language:
English
Related title:
Elizabeth's bedfellows [electronic resource] : an intimate history of the queen's court
BRN:
511146
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