After Elizabeth - by Leanda de Lisle (Paperback)

About the Book

This debut work from a promising young historian offers a unique, close focus on the fascinating, troubled end of the Elizabethan era and the union under one crown of two ancient enemies: Scotland and England.

Book Synopsis

"[Leanda] De Lisle brilliantly captures the atmosphere of dangerous uncertainty and furtive intrigue that characterized the last years of Elizabeth's reign."--The Sunday Telegraph (London)

"Exciting and exacting . . . No fictional characters, of film or novel, can match the reality of the participants in this fascinating historical drama."--The Wall Street Journal

December 1602. After forty-four years on the throne, Queen Elizabeth is in decline. The kingdom is also waning, weakened by the cost of war with Spain and the simmering discontent of both the rich and the poor. The stage has been set, at long last, for succession. But the Queen who famously never married has no heir.

Elizabeth's senior relative is James VI of Scotland, Protestant son of Elizabeth's cousin Mary Queen of Scots. But as a foreigner and a Stuart, he is excluded under English law from the throne. The road to and beyond his coronation will be filled with conspiracy and duplicity, personal betrayals, and political upheavals.

Bringing history vibrantly to life, Leanda de Lisle unfurls a rich tapestry of scenes and players: As the Queen nears the end, we witness the scheming of her courtiers for the candidates of their choice; blood-soaked infighting among the Catholic clergy as they struggle to survive in the face of persecution; the widespread fear that civil war, invasion, or revolution will follow the monarch's death; and the signs, portents, and ghosts that seem to mark her end. Here, too, are the surprising and, to some, dismaying results of James's ascension and the lasting historical implications of this crucial period in British history.

Leanda de Lisle's keenly modern view of this tumultuous time gives us intimate insights into the political power plays and psychological portraits relevant to our own era. After Elizabeth is a unique look at a pivotal year, and a dazzling debut by an exciting new historian.

Review Quotes

Advance praise for After Elizabeth

"Leanda de Lisle has done what historians, to date, have overlooked. She spots the story in the seemingly uneventful handover of power to James I after Elizabeth's death and rediscovers its thrilling drama. James's accession was far from inevitable-de Lisle vividly recounts the uncertainty, greed, intrigue, and hypocrisy that defined the new age. We enter a slippery, twilight world where legitimacy is debased and conspiracy and corruption thrive. This is an original, informative, absorbing account, written with verve and style."
-John Guy, author of Queen of Scots: The True Life of Mary Stuart

"A deep and fascinating account of this transformative year. Leanda de Lisle's close focus draws us into palace corridors, country houses, and city streets where the excitement, intrigue, and danger are palpable."
-Jane Dunn, author of Elizabeth & Mary: Cousins, Rivals, Queens

"This masterly account recaptures superbly the edgy, wary feel of court and country at the key moment when Tudor England was transformed into Stuart Britain. In emphasizing the faults of Queen Elizabeth I and the acuity of her successor, King James I, Leanda de Lisle has brilliantly subverted the traditional story."
-Andrew Roberts, author of Napoleon and Wellington: The Long Duel

About the Author

Leanda de Lisle earned a master's degree in history at Oxford University before embarking on a highly successful career as a journalist and writer. After having three sons, she went on to graduate school and received a master's degree in business administration. She has since held positions as the first columnist for Country Life magazine and as a columnist for The Spectator magazine and The Guardian newspaper. She returned to her first love, history, to write After Elizabeth, her debut book.