Well, it started out as a good idea... but then it got involved & the author lost the time & place and the language changed to modern day rot.

I do enjoy historical fiction, especially about 1500's, but this was so far off base. The author took blatant liberties w/ the personages & the non-fiction accounts in order to make up a fantastical "romance", which rang so far false, that it was a shameful sham.

I'm pretty sure that "sweetheart" just wasn't a part of courtly vocabulary... and much of the dialog had a 20th/21st century style....

In this book she called him "Rob"? Really? No Way in Hell.... She asked him to murder Mary Stuart while he was in his bed? No Way in Hell. That Dudley took Elizabeth's virginity? Ah, ha, ha, ha,ha....

Wow this author has one hell of an active imagination.

Thankfully it was a fast, albeit, boring read and it knocked off one more book from my TBR ( )

His Last Letter opens with the biggest triumph of Elizabeth I's reign: the defeat of the Spanish Armada. They say it could never happen, that the fleet was unsinkable, especially by some fledgling island country led by an unmarried woman who is the daughter of a supposed witch and whore. But they were wrong. Thanks to Elizabeth's less than ethical relationships with pirates, for lack of a better term, such as Sir Francis Drake, she brought England one of its greatest victories and began the decline of the once-great Spanish empire. Everything seemed to be perfect, but it was the furthest thing from for the Queen. The love of her life, the man she was never able to marry, Robert Dudley, was dying.

Through a series of time-jumping flashbacks, author Jeane Westin explores the strange, complex relationship between Queen Elizabeth I, daughter of Henry VIII and the notorious Anne Boleyn, and Robert "Robin" Dudley, the Earl of Leicester. From childhood, all the way through the end of Dudley's life, Elizabeth battles with the tension of her love for Dudley, his need to be with her (his marriage), the complex political webs woven throughout court and the constant issue of Elizabeth's marriage -and her adamant stance that she would never marry and share power, as her father's many marriages had taught her.

Told in compelling, at times nearly poetic prose, Westin paints a believable portrait of forbidden love, genuine romance, political intrigue and the very real difficulties of Elizabeth's reign, ranging from marriage to Mary, Queen of Scots and issues of succession. Weaving together historical details seamlessly with romance, I found myself pulled into the world of Elizabeth and Robin, cheering them on, but always knowing they could never be. I particularly liked how this novel portrayed romance without being too mushy or over the top, but real rather than romanticized.

Apparently, His Last Letter is actually a sequel/follow up to Westin's previous novel, The Virgin's Daughters, which explores the earlier years of Elizabeth I's reign. But even though I haven't read Virgin's Daughters, I had no problem following His Last Letter and being completely drawn into the fascinating, compelling tale of Elizabeth and Robin Dudley. Though sometimes the constant time jumps each chapter got a little confusing, His Last Letter is fabulous historical reading. ( )

http://shelfandstuff.blogspot.com/2010/08/his-last-letter-by-jeane-westin_05.htm... ( )