The Pirate Queen: Queen Elizabeth I, Her Pirate Adventurers, and the Dawn of Empire

I love history and I love pirates. Thankfully history never goes away and pirates are more popular than ever. I grew up on stories of Sir Francis Drake, the most prominent of her majesty the queen's privateer, who took his letters of marquee and seized a place in legend for himself. But I never really got into the true story about the man until I was more grown up. By then I was majoring in history in college and found the stories even more interesting because I recognized them as men who had to overcome their fears before they became swashbuckling heroes. I was, however, guilty of not thinking overmuch about the lady that gave men like Drake the chance to become my childhood heroes. Her journey, her decisions, were - upon reflection - even harder and more awe-inspiring than her privateers. Called the Virgin Queen, and that must have been a hard one to deal with back in her day, Elizabeth I rose to the throne a month after she turned 25. She was the daughter of Anne Boleyn, who was beheaded at the order of her husband Henry VIII. A beheading served as a divorce at the time because the Anglican Church hadn't instituted divorce as acceptable. For a while, Elizabeth was declared illegitimate and had no shot at the throne. That struggle was only one of many she faced, as well as religious problems within the nation and war with Spain. Historian Susan Ronald brings all of the adventure and excitement of Elizabeth I's life to the pages of her book. I'm ADHD and even though I love history, I oftentimes find wading through "scholarly" approaches to material I'm interested in very hard reading. My attention span wanders and I lose track in the middle of baroque sentences. This isn't so with Ronald's book. She effectively nailed me to the pages with her engrossing spinning of Elizabeth I's trials and travails. When I first hefted the book, and it is certainly hefty, I have to admit to being somewhat daunted. But then I began turning the pages. And kept turning the pages. Eiizabeth I's struggles to right the English economy, deal with controversy over her lineage and the religious changes she made, all became drama played out in my mind's eye. Ronald painted sets with her words, and the people came to life. Reading this book is effortless, and it provides a splendid study of that time and the people involved. I'd been fascinated by the Spanish Armada and how it was destroyed in 1588, but I hadn't really felt all that was at stake if they'd won against England. The Cold War that played out between Russia and the United States between 1950s-1980s had nothing on the conflict that took place on the Atlantic Ocean during Elizabeth's reign. Although the book focuses a lot on the Queen's privateers - legalized pirates by any other name - much time is spent with her relationship with Robert Dudley, the Earl of Liecester, Thomas Seymore - who was her guardian for a time, as well as those famous pirates, Sir Francis Drake, and Admiral John Ha

The story of Queen Elizabeth and pirate adventurers and the dawn of an empire is a must read for entrepeneurers especially women. The queen built an empire listening to her own intuition after clear headed evaluation. She had courage and vision. She believed in herself. The book was so fascinating; I couldn't put it down and read it in three days. The book sends a powerful lesson of the brilliance of her intuitive thinking. Against all odds, Queen Elizabeth built a powerful empire.

I was at Vroman's Bookstore in Pasadena and heard Susan Ronald speak about her book The Pirate Queen - Queen Elizabeth I, Her Pirate Adventurers and the Dawn of Empire. Frankly, I hadn't intended to buy it until I heard her speak; but she had a way of making Elizabeth, her men and her times come alive like a storyteller of old, so I bought the book. All I can say is that for someone who has done such in-depth research, Ronald has succeeded in creating a book that reads like the most thrilling adventure story. Until I read The Pirate Queen, I thought I knew all there was to know about Elizabeth I, her lovers, and her life. What a treat that Ronald has opened up an entirely fresh perspective for us non-academics who want to understand the "whys" in history! I heartily recommend this to anyone who is not interested in history (as well as those who are)... it has tremendous resonance for the times we live in today! Five stars for Ronald!!

Susan Ronald has written a highly informative but above all entertaining history of Elizabeth I and her adventures that had me riveted to my chair! I had no idea that England was in such a fragile state when this young, single queen we all thought we knew so well had taken the throne. Ronald weaves Elizabeth's (and England's)journey to world power with verve and erudition...but has that unique gift of keeping the reader glued to the page. It's a fabulous fabulous read! Every high school and university library shoud have it: it puts a prespective on the British Empire that few of us knew existed, I suspect.

Normally I would not want to be so effusive with a book, but I have been waiting for a book on Queen Elizabeth that would not praise her on every page but really see her as a fallible human, for about 10 years. And well Susan Ronald has not fallen short of my expectations. Her didactic quality she lends to the book does not diminish or dilute the flow and pace other histotrians would fall foul of at most turns. She offers a tangible sense of the queen as a woman and a cunning naval commander with an eye on the financial and an ear and knowledge that as we know did set her apart from other queens or even kings. Imbued with this Ronald ends on a high note (I won't give it away) but what I thought I knew about the 16th century queen I really did not. Her research is second to none and it was well worth the wait for it. It really did not disapoint.