Description

By (author) Norton Elizabeth

Short /annotation:

The riveting story of the sex scandal that threatened the life of the young Elizabeth Tudor, and whose outcome was pivotal to the creation of the public persona of Elizabeth I.

England, late 1547. Henry VIII is dead. His 14-year-old daughter Elizabeth is living with the old king”s widow Catherine Parr and her new husband Thomas Seymour. Ambitious, charming and dangerous, Seymour begins an overt flirtation with Elizabeth that ends in her being sent away by Catherine.

When Catherine dies in autumn 1548 and Seymour is arrested for treason soon after, the scandal explodes into the open. Alone and in dreadful danger, Elizabeth is closely questioned by the king”s regency council: Was she still a virgin? Was there a child? Had she promised to marry Seymour? In her replies, she shows the shrewdness and spirit she would later be famous for. She survives the scandal. Thomas Seymour is not so lucky.

The Seymour Scandal led to the creation of the Virgin Queen. On hearing of Seymour”s beheading, Elizabeth observed ”This day died a man of much wit, and very little judgement”. His fate remained with her. She would never allow her heart to rule her head again.

Review quote:
This is how historical writing should be… the best history book I”ve read in a long time”

Review quote:
Many readers will find much to enjoy in this lively and detailed account of the politics and personalities of the early Edwardian years

Review quote:
A lively and detailed account… Norton”s narrative is pacy and colourful”

Review quote:
Absolutely stunning. A forensic analysis of an intriguing and disturbing episode in Elizabeth I”s early life which casts fresh light onto our most fascinating monarch

Review quote:
Soundly researched and very readable history, and Ms Norton vividly conveys the atmosphere of intrigue between member of the power-hungry families

Review quote:
Riveting

Biographical note:
Elizabeth Norton is a historian of the queens of England and the Tudor period. She is the author of biographies of Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleves and Catherine Parr, and of England”s Queens: The Biography.

Biographical note:
Elizabeth Norton is a historian of the queens of England and the Tudor period. She is the author of biographies of Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleves and Catherine Parr, and of England”s Queens: The Biography.

Promotional headline:
The riveting story of the sex scandal that threatened the life of the young Elizabeth Tudor, and whose outcome was pivotal to the creation of the public persona of Elizabeth I.

Feature:
Racy but authorative telling of a Tudor sex scandal.

Feature:
Anatomises the moment that made the Virgin Queen.

Feature:
Closes the case on the 500-year-old mystery surrounding the Seymour Scandal.