Rival to the Queen by Carolly Erickson
Yes, my friends, it is another historical fiction. Can you see the trend here?
This book is about Queen Elizabeth I’s cousin Lettice Knollys and her tumultuous relationship with the queen. The novel starts off with Lettice as a young girl and shows her starting life at the court of her cousin Queen Elizabeth I. Elizabeth never really grew to like Lettice because she was much more attractive than the queen. Elizabeth’s jealousy came out in her treatment of Lettice, in how she demanded Lettice go to the house of the newly deceased Amy Dudley, wife of Elizabeth’s favorite Robert Dudley, and get her bed curtains. Robert, after the death of Amy, had intended to marry Elizabeth, but she refused, saying she wanted only to be “married to England.” Elizabeth’s jealousy grew dangerous when Lettice decided to marry Dudley after her first husband died. Robert became the step-father of Elizabeth’s other favorite: Robert Devereaux, the second Earl of Essex. However, Essex did not have the cool head of his step-father and ended up a traitor to the crown, beheaded at the Tower.
Even though this story was clearly heavily fictionalized, I still liked the way that Erickson portrayed Queen Elizabeth. There are a lot of stories and films that show her temper, yet many books are hesitant to show this side of her, preferring instead to see her in a better light. I was surprised, however, that the story did not focus a little bit more on Elizabeth’s worries about Mary, Queen of Scots. It was such a big part of her life and could have been such an interesting dynamic to see through Lettice’s eyes. After all, if rumors were true, then Mary was also cousin to Lettice as well as Elizabeth. While I understand Erickson’s primary focus of the novel was Elizabeth’s relationships with Dudley and Lettice, I would have liked to see how her relationship with Lettice changed as she dealt with the beautiful Mary and her eventual execution.
As far as Lettice goes, I much prefer Margaret George’s interpretation of her in her novel Elizabeth I. George seems to have a more rounded out character, which is always a good thing, but with a character as exciting as Lettice Knollys, it’s even more important. I also liked how George’s Lettice seemed to be more connected to her grandmother, Mary Boleyn. However, Erickson did a good job of portraying Lettice’s attraction to Robert Dudley. He has many times been referred to as “the gypsy,” and Erickson’s depiction of him made him seem very attractive.
I really just wish that Erickson had hashed things out a little bit better. The story seemed to skip many important times, like Lettice’s late life and Elizabeth’s relationship with Mary, Queen of Scots. I think this novel was a little bit rushed, as it seemed like Erickson wanted to get certain points across and ignore other, almost more important, times of Lettice and Elizabeth’s life. However, it’s always nice to see a novel that isn’t from Elizabeth’s point of view, which seems like it would be very skewed. In that aspect, this novel was very well done.
If you wish to get yourself a copy of Rival to the Queen by Carolly Erickson, you can get it here. If you wish to read Margaret George’s Elizabeth I, you can get it here.
Earl of Essex, Elizabeth I, England, historical fiction, Lettice Knollys, Mary Boleyn, Mary Queen of Scots, Robert Devereux, Robert Dudley, tudor
