Title: Just A Girl
Author: Jane Caro
Publication Date: May 2nd, 2011
Publisher: UQP
Format: Paperback
Pages: 271
Rating: 3.5/5
Blurb: I do not remember when I discovered how my mother died, it seems to be something I always knew, a horror I absorbed through my skin.
Determined, passionate and headstrong, Elizabeth I shaped the destiny of a kingdom.
Her mother; Anne Boleyn, was executed by her father Henry VIII. From that moment on, Elizabeth competed with her two half-siblings for love and for Britain’s throne. In the gilded corridors of the royal palace, enemies she couldn’t see – as well as those bound to her by blood – plotted to destroy her.
Using her courage to survive and her wits to confound those who despised her, this young woman became one of the greatest monarchs the world has ever seen.
Even though she was just a girl, she had already lived a lifetime.
Determined, passionate and headstrong, Elizabeth I shaped the destiny of a kingdom.
Her mother; Anne Boleyn, was executed by her father Henry VIII. From that moment on, Elizabeth competed with her two half-siblings for love and for Britain’s throne. In the gilded corridors of the royal palace, enemies she couldn’t see – as well as those bound to her by blood – plotted to destroy her.
Using her courage to survive and her wits to confound those who despised her, this young woman became one of the greatest monarchs the world has ever seen.
Even though she was just a girl, she had already lived a lifetime.
Review: I think one of the most important thing you should know before picking up this book is that you need to be really interested in History to enjoy it. I don’t mean in the ‘you should enjoy historical fiction’ way, I mean you should seriously be interested in proper History because pretty much this entire book is actual historical facts. That being said, it is by no means boring.
The novel is in first person, told by Elizabeth I as she waits to become Queen of England. However, this is not the story of Elizabeth’s reign- this is the story of Elizabeth before she was Queen, everything from her childhood right up until her coronation. It explores some seriously amazing events but also gives a heart and personality to the story through Elizabeth rather than just cold hard facts. This is what made it interesting for me personally.
That being said, sometimes it seemed like Jane Caro was getting a little bit too wrapped up in the history of it all and didn’t really present too much of a story. However, I would still recommend this book to history lovers especially those obsessed with the Tudors.
