Elizabeth's Rival

The author constantly state things that she thought might have happened, like "If Lettice and Mary were taken into Elizabeth's service at this time, then they would have been treated with the same warmth that Elizabeth displayed to their mother." How does she know that? I put the book down for a while because Ms Tallis kept telling us that Lettice was devoted to her family, but nowhere does she quote sources to prove it. Or this one about her son while he was in the Tower, "Perhaps he also begged his wife to intercede, but if he did then no trace of it has survived." Then why the hell write that sentence??? This is not a history book of the caliber I can recommend and suggest the author take up writing fiction.

This book is absolutely amazing. It has everything I look for in a biography: background, detail, and a lesser-known subject. Lettice Knollys - Devereux - Leicester - Blount is nearly 400 years overdue for her moment, but Nicola Tallis has somehow made the wait worthwhile. I devoured this book, and I'll read it again. There are so many details from letters, repeated conversations, travels, and inventories that I feel I owe it to Lettice to make sure I didn't miss anything. With apologies to Steel Magnolias, Lettice had more pain and suffering than Elizabeth Taylor! Read this book and let her come back to life.

A well-done book by Nicola Tallis on two extraordinary women. Lettice Knollys is often only a minor character in film or TV adaptations, if she's there at all. She's certainly been a part of written history, but, until now, I'm not aware of a book that really researched her to this extent. Of course, much of the information about Elizabeth I is already known that's included here, but it only make the book more enjoyable -- the juxtaposition between Elizabeth and the kinswoman she would come to hate with a white-hot passion for most of her life. Elizabeth had a track record of moving harshly against her family and kin -- the unfortunate Gray sisters, for example, but few earned the absolute contempt that she held for so long for Lettice. It gives new meaning to "a woman scorned," as she forgave, rather quickly, Lester, her favorite, but never the woman who he got his heart. What a psychological marvel it is to unwind the Tudor mind.

Riveting

I had very high expectations when I ordered this book as the subject matter is after my own heart. I was captivated by the first few pages that I had read on the Amazon sample on the internet. However as I went along I found that the narrative had a lot of repetitions and the style lacked the depth of more established historians. Of course Nicola Tallis is new to this sort of thing so she can only improve. I was also disappointed by the lack of historical material which could back up aspects of Lettice Knollys' life but that is not the author's fault. In fact Ms Tallis managed to work with what she had available. There is much concentration on the life of Elizabeth I of course, as her life was intertwined with Lettice's. So for those who are not so familiar with the Virgin Queen's life and times, this book can be an ideal introduction to it as it describes in detail the relationships she had with two of her favourites, Robert Dudley who was Lettice Knollys' second husband and Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex who turns out to be Lettice's eldest son by her first marriage. The strength of Lettice's character in the face of unbelievable adversity comes out very strongly in the book and it is clear that Nicola Tallis has a special attachment to this period of Tudor history as she displays much enthusiasm for her subject. I recommend this book especially for those who are starting out on their historical research as it makes for light reading and easily understood subject matter.

Three little words.  When separate or combined with nearly any other words in the English language, they seem innocuous.  Downright innocent, even. When you string them together, well that’s when they become the hardest words to say: I was wrong.  Yes, you read that right.  I was wrong.  In my defense, this brilliant new biography by Nicola Tallis wasn’t available when I was researching the illusive Lettice Knollys for my novel on her mother.  In fact, there was almost nothing out there on Lettice - or her mother for that matter.  What we did have often amounted to the worst kind of history - the kind that we take as gospel without considering that it has been perverted by the writer’s own opinions and biases.  Which in turn perverted my portrayal of Lettice in the novel.  It’s an easy trap to fall into.  I’m not the first writer to fall prey, and I won’t be the last, but thankfully we have historians out there, like Tallis, who aim to set the record straight.  In her hands, the grime and grit of five centuries of slander is stripped away so that the real Lettice Knollys can finally step out of the shadows. 

Temptress, harridan, she-wolf.  Lettice Knollys has been called those names and worse; oftentimes by her own kinswoman, Queen Elizabeth I.  What horrible acts did she commit to earn such abuse?  Well, nothing really, save dare to capture the attention of the queen’s most entirely beloved, yet always out of reach favorite, Robert Dudley.  At least, that’s the view Tallis takes – and she’s right.  However, just because Lettice turns out to be far less sinister than her reputation implies, it doesn’t mean that her story is any less interesting.   

Tallis begins with the early years Lettice spent, doted upon by loving parents and surrounded by a boisterous brood of brothers and sisters, at Rotherfield Greys.  While exploring how this loving environment shaped Lettice’s relationship with her own children, Tallis also emphasizes the outside influences: her father’s career at court, the family’s exile in Germany, and her mother’s ancestry. Historians have debated Catherine Carey’s paternity for centuries, but Tallis makes it clear from the outset that Henry VIII, and not William Carey, was Catherine’s biological father.  While I wholeheartedly agree with her assessment, this is the one and only place where I caution a light tread.  Though the circumstantial evidence is plentiful, there is nothing conclusive.  This is one instance in which there are no certainties (as much as I desperately wish there were). 

After the death of Mary I, Lettice’s story picks up with her debut at Queen Elizabeth’s court, and her marriage to the first of three husbands, Walter Devereaux, the Earl of Essex.  It is here where Tallis picks up speed on her quest to demolish every myth that has dogged Lettice since her death.  Rather than the disastrous marriage popular history would have us believe, Tallis shows us a couple with deep admiration for each other.  Still, one can’t help but feel horrible for poor Essex.  Not because of his marriage to Lettice, but because of his marriage to Ireland.  When the country finally claims the last it can from Essex – his life – Tallis brings us to the heart of her subject:  Lettice as a survivor.  It is this ‘last great Elizabethan survivor’ who manages to outlive husbands, children, and rivals all while ever more retaining her substance and dignity.  Far from being the villainous trope detractors would like her to be, Tallis gives us an indomitable matriarch, who deserves well-earned admiration.   

Jam packed with first-rate research and built upon the strongest of foundations, Elizabeth’s Rival is a tour de force.  Tallis’ style is thorough yet engaging.  She delivers an immense amount of information in a way that is utterly accessible, proving that popular ‘narrative-type’ history need not preclude true academic research.  I fiercely hope more historians follow her lead. My little history-geek heart literally sang at the abundance of detailed footnotes – and from truly impeccable sources.   

I cannot stress enough how much I sincerely enjoyed Elizabeth’s Rival, both as an historian and as someone who has come to adore the entirety of the Knollys family through my own research.  Sometimes we care so deeply for an historical figure, we set our expectations at unreasonably high levels; it can often make reading about them torturous.  I held such expectations for the first true biography of Lettice Knollys, and Nicola Tallis far surpassed every one of them.  Expertly researched and beautifully written, this book was really a treat.  I look forward to more great work from this rising star.  

I found this book perplexing. I have been fascinated by this period of English history for 50 years and have read many, many books on the personages and events of the time. This is the only book of such that distracted me with bad grammar, dangling prepositions, and disagreement between noun and verb.(Pg. 88, "a nursery staff were employed...") as well as frequent unexplained assumptions about events or unsupported or unexplained conclusions. Not accustomed to this from an historian. It could have benefited greatly from a good editor. Still, it is diligently researched and is about a person, Lettuce Knollys Devereaux Dudley, who is usually treated as a throwaway character in the story of Elizabeth I and Robert Dudley, so this is greatly interesting.

Nicola Tallis supplies a long-overdue, first biography of Lettice Knollys, cousin to Elizabeth I. Knollys began as a lady-in-waiting and favorite to the Queen--who would marry the great favorite of the first part of Elizabeth's reign and whose son by her first husband who become the last great favorite. Although a subject of historical fiction, Knollys has never received an in-depth biography. Tallis admirably tackles it and what results is a worthy attempt. Because Knollys left few primary traces in the historical record--although she was certainly the subject of gossip--the reconstruction is necessarily incomplete. Tallis must resort to speculating on what Knollys' reactions or activities probably were. That's not the author's fault; it's the nature of piecing together evidence, particularly for subjects that have been left out of the historical record. The first half of the biography is weaker than the second. Tallis is hesitant to tackle head on the genesis of Knollys and Robert Dudley's relationship. After that, the narrative gets more confident. Disappointingly, the narrative still seems to be about the men (and the sovereign) in Knollys' life, rather than about her. An alternative strategy would have been to use the speculations to bring out more fully what would have been more of the daily and cumulative experiences of a woman like Knollys, particularly one of her standing, in terms of more deeply bringing alive what life would have been like, both at court and in exile. More opportunities to quote more extensive from the letters that do survive, or in their entirety in appendices, would have also been useful. Despite those quibbles, this is a very welcome addition to popular Tudor history and a long-overdue acknowledgment of Lettice Knollys' historical significance.

The books was exhaustively researched and well written. Lettice Knollys really comes to life and the rivalry between her and Elizabeth is fairly described. The power that Robert Dudley had because of his dedication to Elizabeth in no way diminishes the solid marriage he and Lettice had and thoroughly describes the tightrope he and Lettice walked when dealing with Elizabeth. The book also illuminated her other marriages after Dudley dies and puts her long life into perspective as she reaches her nineties. She survived so much of Elizabethan history and the reign of the Stuarts. A fascinating book!

This book should NOT be viewed as a work of history. While the author loosely follows the ebb and flow of events, she does not appear to back up statements with facts (rather, with her suppositions). Where she does cite sources, she appears to either winged it or simply misrepresented reality. One example: on page 47 Tallis states that "It was following the advice of the renowned astrologer John Dee that, on 15 January 1559, Elizabeth was 'with great solemnity crowned'." Footnote 41 is at the end of the sentence. For the source of footnote 41 Tallis cites as her source "Camden, W., The Histoire of the Most Renowned and Victorious Princesse Elizabeth, (London, 1630), p.57. Page 57 does not have any reference to Queen Elizabeth's coronation. Nor is there a single mention in the book of John Dee. And the quoted phrase 'great solemnity crowned' appears nowhere in Camden's book. Moreover, the earliest copy of the book was published in 1625 (not 1630).
In short, enjoy this book as loosely modeled on history. But do not rely on Ms. Tallis for historical accuracy.