Review by Booklist Review
Historian Skidmore reaches back in time to investigate an unsolved mystery steeped in passion, jealousy, and drama. When Amy Robsart, wife of Robert Dudley, Elizabeth I's rumored paramour, died under questionable circumstances in 1560, suspicion immediately fell upon the unfortunate Dudley. Though Amy's death was eventually ruled an accident, many, believing that it was either suicide or murder, were convinced that a royal cover-up had ensued. Unearthing new evidence, including the original coroner's report, Skidmore revisits the case with a scholar's eye and a detective's intuition. Though he does not entirely solve this intriguing historical whodunit, he does shed new light on the entire episode. Despite the passage of time and the lack of absolute proof, Skidmore still manages to fashion this into a gripping read with an abundance of Tudor appeal.--Flanagan, Margaret Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
In 1560 Amy Robsart, the wife of Robert Dudley, Elizabeth I's favorite courtier, was found dead at the foot of a staircase with a broken neck, resulting in rumors that Robert had killed her in order to marry the queen, rumors that circulated even after a jury voted the death accidental. As Amy was of inferior social rank, the 10-year marriage was likely a love match. The couple were childless and often apart for months, and Amy's constant absence from court fueled speculation she suffered from breast cancer or some other illness. Skidmore (Edward VI) rejects the theory that Amy committed suicide but speculates that she fell from a short flight of stairs because of high levels of calcium in her blood due to cancer. Skidmore even considers the possibility that Dudley's servants, without their master's knowledge, slowly poisoned her, and finally resorted to breaking her neck. As Skidmore mines Robert's correspondence, the coroner's report on Amy, and ambassadors' dispatches, Tudor England in all its rich complexity springs to vivid life in a tantalizing, authoritative, and in-depth analysis of a centuries-old mystery that continues to stir imaginations. (Jan.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Review by Library Journal Review
The relationship between Elizabeth I and her favorite courtier, Lord Robert Dudley, was one of the more infamous aspects of Elizabeth's reign-and it became an even greater controversy when in 1560 Dudley's wife, Amy Robsart, was found dead at the bottom of a staircase, her neck broken. The strange circumstances provided fuel for speculation then and now: Was it an accident? Suicide? Or a murder arranged to leave Dudley free to marry the queen? Drawing extensively on historical documents, including the original coroner's report, only recently uncovered in the UK's National Archives, Skidmore (history, Bristol Univ.; Edward VI: The Lost King of England) not only examines the various theories surrounding these long-standing questions but also provides an in-depth look at how Amy's death and Elizabeth and Dudley's relationship affected the early years of the Virgin Queen's reign. VERDICT Those hoping for an answer to this mystery will be disappointed, as Skidmore affirms that potential solutions rely too heavily on conjecture to be definitive. Nonetheless, owing to the wealth of detail, both academics and general readers with an interest in Tudor history will find much of interest.-Kathleen McCallister, Univ. of South Carolina Lib., Columbia (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
A nicely fleshed-out portrait of Elizabeth I (15331603), with new revelations of the queen in love and the man who sought desperately to marry her.Two years into her reign, Elizabeth was besotted with the dark, athletic Lord Robert Dudley, who was eventually beheaded by Queen Mary for his treasonous backing of the short-lived Lady Jane Grey. Elizabeth and Dudley had known each other since childhood, sharing the same tutors, and he was given the plum job of Master of the Queen's Stable, allowing him daily access to her and an assured rise of his fortune and titles. Elizabeth was expected to marry, wooed by all the princes of Europe, while Dudley, of a lower status, was married to Amy Robsartprobably out of love, though their marriage remained childless. In September 1560, just as rumors about the queen and Dudley were rampant, Amy was found dead at the base of a short stairwell at Cumnor Place. Her neck was broken, though the coroner's report noted several "dyntes" in her skull, which could have resulted from the fall. The death caused a scandal, and suspicion fell on Dudley, although he was absolved of wrongdoing. British author Skidmore (History/Bristol Univ.; Edward VI: The Lost King of England, 2007) moves engagingly back and forth in the story, dwelling on how fresh scrutiny of the evidence may point to the answer of this terrible death. Some of the evidence is well-known: Amy had been acting strangely that morning, praying on her knees, and insisted that the entire household attend a nearby fair, as if she had "an evil toy in her mind." Moreover, there were indications in her correspondence that she might have been suffering from breast cancer. On the other hand, there had been rumors at court that Dudley was planning to poison her. Skidmore revisits a libelous tract that appeared in 1584,Leicester's Commonwealth, as well as other accounts, in his thorough sifting of the historical record.A fresh elucidation of this precarious period of Elizabeth's reign.]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
