Bem, este demorou-me meses a acabar. Não sei se este foi o livro errado á hora errada ou se realmente não tinha todos os elementos de que necessito para a historia me "agarrar". Também culpo a minha veia de bookworm, que me faz ter estantes repletas de livros para ler, continuar a comprar e ainda, não chegando isso, ir requisitar livros á biblioteca local.Bom, chega de desculpas!O facto é que este livro, embora passado numa época que me fascina e com uma personagem central que sempre gostei e admirei (Isabel I), o facto é que até mais ou menos meio do livro, a narrativa foi pouco menos que enfadonha: não as partes de Isabel e Dudley, mas sim do outro personagem, principal neste livro e que é o personagem histórico de Arthur Dudley, suposto filho bastardo de Robert Dudley e de Isabel. Para quem não sabe, efectivamente tal personagem existiu - um espião apanhado em Espanha, alegando ser filho bastardo da Rainha e do seu Mestre do Cavalo. Todo o episódio foi misterioso, até porque esse tal Arthur teve um interrogatório privado com o proprio rei Filipe II de Espanha, o que empresta alguma aura de mistério e uma pitada de teoria da conspiração. A autora apenas limitou-se a explorar o que poderia, eventualmente ser uma historia verdadeira (pois são muitos os boatos de que Isabel e Dudley teriam sido amantes durante anos e que teriam tido alguma prole) e deu-lhe alguma credibilidade.Pessoalmente, todo o trajecto de Arthur na Flandres, onde privou (um mero soldado, note-se) com o próprio Guilherme de Orange soou-me a falso; além de que as descrições da estadia dele na Holanda e nos diversos cenários de guerra eram terrivelmente descritivos em termos militares, o que contribuiu certamente para a minha lentidão em acabar.A história ganha ritmo quando ele decide, após o pai adoptivo lhe ter dito a sua proveniencia, ir a Londres, ter com o Duque de Leicester e expor-lhe a verdade: de que aquela criança, que julgavam morta, afinal vivia, graças a uma artimanha entre Kat Ashley, a dama de companhia/ama da Rainha e William Cecil, ministro muito destima e próximo. A partir deste ponto, a historia ganha ritmo e interesse, até porque Arthur é recrutado como espião, por Inglaterra, ao serviço de Francis Walsingham, chefe dos espiões de Isabel.Não vou dizer que adorei, mas estou disposta a dar mais uma hipótese a esta autora.
In this book in which Robin Maxwell draws upon some historic clues to posit that Queen Elizabeth and Robin Dudley had a baby early in their relationship. The pregnancy was hidden through cleverness of dressing and also the Queen's summer "Progress" in which she travels throughout the realm to show her support for the people and gain theirs for herself. I am reading this historical fiction just after reading a history of Catherine de Medici, Queen and Queen Regent of France during the Valois reigns. Catherine and Elizabeth both were dealing with religious factions and wars within their own kingdoms and had some direct dealings with each other. In Robin Maxwell's historical fiction, she makes the idea of this young man, Arthur (Dudley) "Southern," appear as a possible heir to the throne of England but she does not make that a goal for Arthur himself. He, like his birth father, is a lover and trainer of horses and his "assigned father" supports his love of horses and makes sure that he has an appropriate horse for his age. Maxwell allows the preteenage Arthur to have some time with Robin Dudley in which Dudley encourages him in his studies as well as his horsemanship. She also allowed him to have a shorter amount of time with Elizabeth. This occurred when Dudley (later, the Earl of Leicester) and Elizabeth visited the small estate on which Arthur and his assigned family live. His time with Dudley is intimate and personal but his time with Elizabeth is during a hunt in which she finds him a fine fellow hunter. As he grows up and then begins to serve as an cavalryman and then a spy within the English army, we as readers are allowed to follow his motivations and the events of his life. His adult life fits with the real history of the age and Maxwell outlines how she chose to treat Arthur Dudley as the real son of Robin and Elizabeth. I was quite satisfied with this as a piece of historical fiction with a good embedding in actual history.I will stop now rather than give spoilers but the ending of the book was quite satisfactory to me.
What do You think about The Queen's Bastard (2000)?
A very interesting historical novel which develops the story of the romance between Elizabeth I, the Virgin Queen, and her horsemaster, as well as lifelong friend, Robert Dudley, later the Earl of Leicester. The author develops the story of Arthur Dudley who claimed to be their bastard son and actually convinced King Philip of Spain that he was actually their son, resulting in his imprisonment by Philip and the end of any historical record of his life. The story begins shortly after Elizabeth's ascension to the throne in 1558 and ends after the miraculous defeat of the Spanish Armada in the English Channel in 1588 and the subsequent death of Robert Dudley. Elizabeth was to continue her reign for another fifteen years.
—Al
Fun, interesting read, but it made me start to worry about my historical education. I'm a bit too fond of historical fiction, and would be hard-pressed to have to separate fact from the fiction on a test. I guess all history is fictional to a degree, but this fits in the same category as Pope Joan -- an author taking an unsubstantiated rumor from history and running with it. Which is what makes both books so interesting and fun to read. It made me want to learn more about this time period. Warning: Sensual in parts (I found myself skipping over a few places).
—Whitney Archibald
It should be noted that I am not a book reviewer nor did I enjoy English class in school, so those two facts should be kept in mind when reading what I have written.The beginning seemed to have so much promise, but then....I'm not too sure who wanted the book to finish faster me or the author - the ending did seem a bit rushed. It was nice that it was explained where the idea for the story came from - information that I did not know, but I found that it reminded me too much of a harlequin romance or a Phyllis A. Whitney book - which I did enjoy reading once up a time.
—Tasha Cooper
