No excuses for not reading this time! I finally finished reading I , Elizabeth by Rosalind Miles. I trudged through it, finishing mere hours before my neighborhood book club discussed designer jeans, restaurants, potty training, everything else.... but the book.

In retrospect, I blame the book for depriving me of my daily literary escapism. It was historical fiction of the sort that I usually fall head over heels for... but this one was never able to hook me completely.

The history of this era is fascinating. Elizabeth, the daughter of the disgraced and beheaded Anne Boleyn and the sinister Henry VIII, was considered illegitmate by the English ruling class. She overcame her notorious and bloody family history to become the Queen responsible for the defeat of the Spanish Armada and the English exploration of the New World.

Unlike her sister (Bloody) Mary, and cousin Mary, Queen of Scots, Elizabeth maintained power by resisting the temptation to kill all who dared oppose her. She also resisted being coerced into marriage, knowing that she would be forced to hand her power over to a King. Therefore, happily married to England, she lived and ruled until the old, old age of 70.

There was something kind of, well, creepy about the beloved queen. She was known as the "Virgin Queen". That being said, this book was not as "interesting" as the ones that I usually favor.

She did seem to develop romantic feelings for every Earl, Duke and Count in her Court. Much of the narrative seemed to be the Queen (the most powerful woman in Europe??) pining, whining and weeping over her latest love. She did give in to her libido and "seal the deal" on one occasion with her one great love, Robin, Duke of Leicester. Once in 70 years!!!

The reluctant abstinence made for a somewhat repetitiveand at times disturbing 618 pages.

All that being said, I will take the politics and personality of Hillary Clinton any day over the revered Queen Liz! Thank goodness I live in the 21st century rather than the 16th! I would surely be sent to the Tower of London and beheaded for this subversive blog!

Now that I have finally stuffed that one in my bookshelf, I can get back to reading for pleasure. My book club is discussing Life of Pi by Yann Martel at our March meeting... here's hoping there's more action!

Off to read!