Elizabeth I ─ The Outcast Who Became England's Queen

No one thought that Elizabeth would live to become Queen of England. Her father, Henry VIII, beheaded her mother, Anne Bolyn, for treason in 1536. He then disowned his daughter, declaring her illegitimate. But in 1544, Parliament reestablished her in the line of succession after her half brother and her half sister. Elizabeth was not even three years old when her mother was executed. Four different royal houses north of London were home to Elizabeth. She moved between them from month to month. She sometimes lived with her siblings. Tutors taught Elizabeth mathematics, astronomy, history, architecture, Latin, and Greek, for she was an intelligent girl who enjoyed her lessons. Elizabeth lived through imprisonment in the Tower of London and turned down several unwanted proposals of marriage. When she succeeded her sister to the throne in 1558 religious strife, a huge government debt, and failures in a war with France had brought England's fortunes to a low ebb. Elizabeth came to the throne with the Tudor concept of strong rule and the realization that effective rule depended upon popular support. At Elizabeth's death 45 years later, England had passed throught one of the greatest periods of its history-a period that produced notable figures in literature and exploration; a period that saw England, united as a nation, become a major European power with a great navy; a period in which English commerce and industry prospered and English colonization was begun. Endowed with immense personal courage and a keen awareness of her responsibility as a ruler, Elizabeth commanded throughout her reign the unwavering respect and allegiance of her subjects.

Simon Adams was born in Bristol, England, and studied at London and Bristol Universities. He then worked as an editor of children's reference books before becoming a full-time writer 15 years ago. Since then, he has written and contributed to more than 60 books on subjects as varied as the Tudors, American history, the sinking of the Titanic, the two World Wars and the history of jazz. He lives in London and is a keen cyclist and walker.