content: This is an excellent book and a lively and interesting read. Anne Somerset gives an insight into all sides of the character of Elizabeth. Her moods and feelings, (she was renowned at the time for her short temper), both as a woman and a Queen.The glamour of the Tudor court and what it was like to be in or out of favour in a clique where a careless word could in some cases cost you your life.Elizabeth did not suffer fools gladly and the book examines her religious feelings, her sexuality and the way she dealt with conflicts both at home and abroad in what was essentially a man's world. Elizabeth was nobody's fool and although she would listen to her advisers, she had a mind of her own, shrewd and extremely intelligent, and was quite capable of using her authority as monarch to make important decisions for herself.The book is a delight for anyone with the slightest interest in history.