The Haunted Queen Leah Toole

Leah Toole amazes with her study on the life of Queen Elizabeth, the actual woman, as opposed to the crafted image of Virgin Queen. Toole makes Elizabeth into a real person, showing the attitudes, thoughts and reactions that not only shaped her life, but the effect she left on the world itself. Contrary to all that Elizabeth wanted and tried to clear her mothers name from the Great Whore, Elizabeth also wanted her life and Reign to be see as her own, beautifully achieved here. I love the way Toole makes the flow of Elizabeth's life (without being overwhelming, her birth to age 18 could be a book of its own.) with the necessary views behind the curtains of Privy Councils',the reigns of her siblings and the way she fell in and out of favor within each court before she took the Throne as her own. I've personally always held the belief that the Virgin Queen was as insane as a title (aside from her proclamation of WHY Elizabeth took the moniker as she married her country) as she loved her sweet Robin Dudley from childhood.I will not reveal if Author Leah Toole stood with the traditional or the love story. (I'm a sap) Read it to discover this major part of Queen Lizzie's life. She shows the Queen as real, a person that faced the hideous smallpox, the changes in her behaviors ("Hello there, Henry") and the struggles and joys of her running a country...as a single, female ruler. Before you say anything, please remember that this is a work of HISTORICAL FICTION. Historical fictions always allows for artistic licence and NO ONE was EVER THERE TO PAINSTAKINGLY record every word, mood, though and swish of a dress. This book is meant to show you Elizabeth as a person, known and widely accepted facts about her but with Author Leah Toole's beautiful storytelling, transporting you back to Elizabethan England. I strongly recommend the series, understand the children of Old Henry the 8th and immerse yourself in Elizabeth's life and mind. I know I did...and loved every moment of it. 5/5 story (not saying anything about spice) and a MUST READ.