Tracy Borman’s ‘Elizabeth’s Women’ (published September 24th) is BBC Radio 4’s ‘Book of the Week.’
Radio 4
09.45 (21st-25th September)
Emma Fielding reads from Tracy Borman’s biography of Elizabeth I, which explores the relationships she had with the women in her life. These women brought out the best and the worst of Elizabeth, who could be loyal and kind but also cruel and vindictive. They all influenced Elizabeth’s carefully-cultivated image as Gloriana, The Virgin Queen.
From BBC Radio 4 – Book of the Week
Episode Information
Episode 1 – Anne Boleyn takes centre stage, and the influence of her life and death on Elizabeth’s future.
Episode 2 – Elizabeth’s stepmother Katherine Parr sets an inspiring example, but an ill-judged flirtation threatens all.
Episode 3 – The public world of Elizabeth’s court as she begins her reign, and the more intimate realm of her private apartments, where she is attended by her Ladies in Waiting.
Episode 4 – Elizabeth is compelled to confront that ‘bosom serpent’, Mary Queen of Scots, and much anguish follows.
Episode 5 – In the final years of her reign, Elizabeth begins to lose her grip on matters at court. This state of affairs is reflected in the loosening morals of her newer and younger Ladies-in-Waiting, who she fittingly terms her ‘flouting wenches’.
From BBC Radio 4 – Book of the Week
Listen to Tracy Borman on the BBC History Magazine September Part 2 Podcast and an interview on Woman’s Hour – Elizabeth’s Women.
