Description
The permutations of Queen Elizabeth into a mythic, fictional, and satirical figure are explored in this scholarly but accessible volume. The authors, who teach English and theater in England and don't let their use of current theoretical ideas replace their enthusiasm, discuss Elizabeth's transformation in works by Shakespeare, Spenser, Walter Scott, Hollywood, and the BBC, among others. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
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No monarch is more glamorous or more controversial than Elizabeth I. The stories by which successive generations have sought to extol, explain, or excoriate Elizabeth supply a rich index to the cultural history of English nationalism--whether they represent her as Anne Boleyn's sufferingorphan or as the implacable nemesis of Mary, Queen of Scots, as learned stateswoman or as frustrated lover, persecuted princess or triumphant warrior queen. This book examines the many afterlives the Virgin Queen has lived in drama, poetry, fiction, painting, propaganda, and the cinema over the fourcenturies since her death, from the aspiringly epic to the frankly kitsch. Exploring the Elizabeths of Shakespeare and Spenser, of Sophia Lee and Sir Walter Scott, of Bette Davis and of Glenda Jackson, of Shakespeare in Love and Blackadder II, this is a lively, lavishly-illustrated investigation ofEngland's perennial fascination with a queen who is still engaged in a posthumous progress through the collective psyche of her country.
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