Elizabeth and Mary

In this dual biography, Jane Dunn explores the intertwined lives of Elizabeth I and Mary Queen of Scots and reveals a story of sex and power and of darkly complex and dangerous times. Elizabeth was the courageous virgin queen, inspired by the decision to rule alone, using her celibacy as a weapon. She inherited a weak and divided country coveted by great powers, and turned it into a major power, presiding over an era of peace and a golden age of English culture. Mary, her cousin, was beautiful and cultured: a captivating but ultimately tragic figure, swayed by her passion, reckless in her sexual liaisons and vulnerable to the conspiracies of the powerful factions that surrounded her. Through their rivalry and the political and sexual intrigues it involved (including the role played by the charming Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester), Dunn corrects many misconceptions about the two, painting Mary as a much more serious contender for power than is otherwise imagined, and Elizabeth as far more vulnerable than her formidable reputation.