2.75 stars

Arbella Stuart was the great-granddaughter of Margaret Tudor (Henry VIII’s oldest sister). She should have been a possibility to be queen, but was bypassed. Both Elizabeth I and James I kept her at bay, and wouldn’t even allow her to marry (in the line of succession, you need permission to marry since they will likely want a politically advantageous marriage). Eventually, she just gave up and chose who she wanted to marry and married in secret (to the great-great-grandson of Mary Tudor (Henry VIII’s youngest sister)). It wasn’t long before they were found out and imprisoned.

This was nonfiction and felt a bit dense through much of it. As I tend to often mention in my reviews of historical biographies of women, even if they were royalty, there often seems to be little information on them, so much of the “action” is actually what’s taking place around them. Arbella’s marriage and attempt to escape the Tower were the most interesting part (and likely where there was the most information to use for this biography). I feel like a fictional account of her life might make things a bit more interesting. ( )

This biography covers a period of history I know far less about than the preceding Tudor period, although as a young girl, Arbella lived in the fading years of Elizabeth's reign. The problem with the book is that little is known of her until her strange attempt in her late teens to break out of her grandmother, Bess of Hardwick's control, by arranging a marriage between herself and a relative, at which point she was interrogated by an emissary of the Queen's council and wrote a series of hysterical and rambling letters. The author puts forward the theory that Arbella suffered from porphyria, the same disease which induced periods of 'madness' in the later George III, and that this is to blame for her irrational behaviour at various times in her life.

After the accession of her cousin James VI of Scotland to the English throne as James I, things improved for Arbella who became a lady-in-weighting to his wife Ann of Denmark. But life in the court had many perils and was also horrendously expensive, a point the author makes well. As time went on, Arbella, ageing especially in 17th century terms, sought to marry but as a near relative to the royal family was thwarted by political concerns, and this eventually lead to tragedy. The book concludes with an epilogue which follows the fortunes of the other actors in the drama, and also more tenuously traces her influence - the character in The Duchess of Malfi may be based upon her and one of the ships taking the colonists to North America was named the Arbella.

The problem I found was that I found the book quite boring in places and a chore to finish. I was interested though that, contrary to a lot of penmanship of the time and preceding, which was done in a very ornate and, for modern readers, difficult to read style, Arbella's was easy by comparison - I could make out nearly every word in a reproduced example. The author comments on this but does not attempt to explain it. So all in all, I would rate this an OK 2 stars only. ( )

I took a second hand copy of this along as a holiday read, and it was much better written than I expected. Well sources, using mainly primary sources, Gristwood tries her best to provide both sides for any speculative theories. I actually found the appendix about Marlowe/Morly the tutor one of the most interesting parts of the book. I did, however, leave it behind at the guest house. ( )

A most enjoyable book on a woman I never heard of. Sarah Gristwood does a remarkable job of bringing Arbella's story to life complete with wonderful illustrations and pictures to really make the story come alive. She has does an enormous amount of research on a painstaking subject and weaves it all together in a terrific story. A nice break from the reading of the traditionally well known people of the Tudor era. ( )

Mostly boring but informative ( )