Elizabeth, a novel

London: Museum Press, 1960. 1st. hardback. Good, 1st edition, missing d/j, green/blue boards (faded and scuffed spine), gilt spine titling bright; text block firm (forward lean, front gutter loosening); pages unmarked with some browning. Provenance: Tenniel Evans, actor and clergyman.. 8vo: crown (200 x 140 / 8"" x 5_""). A historical novel spanning the first thirty years of Elizabeth IÕs reign, telling the intimate story of EnglandÕs greatest sovereign. The sickly Catholic fanatic Mary Tudor has reigned for six years when her half-sister Elizabeth ascends to the throne. After enduring years of exile following the execution of her mother, Anne Boleyn, the twenty-five-year-old Elizabeth inherits a realm divided by religious turmoil and financial collapse. She has already survived her own personal hell, nearly losing her life after her stepfather seduced her at thirteen. The ambitious Lord Admiral left her virginity intact, but took something far more valuableÑher dignity and pride. Elizabeth learned a bitter lesson: ThereÕs no place for love in a royalÕs heart. This novel journeys through the first three decades of the reign of Elizabeth I, including her volatile relationship with Lord Robert Dudley. From bedroom intrigues to affairs of state, Elizabeth brings to life the passion and the power, illuminating the woman who, in spite of herself, still yearned for human connection. She found it with DudleyÕs successor, the wealthy, dazzlingly attractive Earl of Leicester. Award-winner Evelyn Anthony chronicles the monarch's long battle with her cousin Mary, Queen of Scots, for the throne, and advances a fascinating theory about who murdered Lord RobertÕs first wife, Amy Dudley.