I'm a voracious reader of fiction and non-fiction surround the Tudor monarchs. This period seems to be a favorite of many historical books, probably because the real life events were better than fiction. "The Other Boleyn Girl" is probably one the best-known out there, which I did enjoy reading. However, most of the fiction maintains the same simplified and familiar portrayals that bounce from milestone to milestone. Non-fiction, while interesting and more satisfying to history buffs, lacks the feeling of flesh and blood, of "being there."

I just finished reading "I, Elizabeth" by Rosalind Miles which is told in an autobiographical style with alot of attention to primary sources of information (which there are plenty of written sources from the period surviving today). The author takes great care to reveal how these people and events would have appeared to Elizabeth I as they were happening instead of reporting. The style makes you appreciate the psychological damage to a child who is declared a bastard by an increasingly unstable father, who lives under constant threat of execution during her sister's reign, manages to become Queen after being last in line, and having to defend her crown and escape assassination plots for a 45 year reign that made insignificant England the greatest power in Europe in that time. (Yeah I know that was a long sentence but it's difficult to condense someone who lived enough for 5 lifetimes). She was brilliant, vain, witty, covetous, calculating, prone to black moods and capable of long-term passionate relationships. She was someone who privately absorbed many heartbreaks and set them aside for duty to the state.
I would like to know if anyone else is a historical fiction fan and has any recommendations.

Trish,

I'm going to answer your posting under a different thread: I'll use: "Additional Fiction books discussions", and a sub-thread created by Chris in 2005 about historical fiction.
See you there.