This history provides one of the most detailed narratives of the reign of Elizabeth I, making for a long book (my copy was just under 700 pages) and one that felt slow moving at times. Nevertheless, the drama always managed to pick up at the right moment and I appreciated the author's efforts to provide detailed portrayals of not just Elizabeth, but also her family, her courtiers, her advisers, and her rivals. Still, this book does show its age at times, as some of the details about Mary, Queen of Scots, and the characterization of Bess of Hardwick would likely be contested by more recent historians. However, the detailed narrative this book provides is still makes for fascinating reading and one any 16th history fan would enjoy. ( )