Having enjoyed the first Cate Blanchett/Shekhar Kapur Elizabeth film, I was extremely eager to see the sequel Elizabeth: The Golden Age. It was a stunningly beautiful film, expertly acted and photographed. However, the plot was a bit thin and confusing in parts, even for someone familiar with the events, so I was thrilled to discover a movie tie-in novel by Tasha Alexander.
Centering on Elizabeth I under threat from the Spanish Armada and Mary, Queen of Scots, the novel explores her relationships with Walter Raleigh, newly returned from the Americas; Walsingham, her advisor and spy; and Bess, a favorite handmaiden. It follows the screenplay closely, which is its greatest strength and weakness but plumps it out quite a bit and towards the end of the book adds some incidents that weren’t in the film.
Thankfully it clarifies the characters of the political conspiracies, giving names and personalities to the many slim, light-haired men who were so confusing in the movie. By doing so, it added a definite sense of danger. Raleigh is presented in a less mercenary way, as a man who is genuinely in love with 2 very different women. But there is less emphasis on Elizabeth’s longing for him, which was painfully poignant in the film. The interiors and surroundings are described in such vivid detail, that the reader feels swept along in the wake of the Queen as she traverses the grounds and rooms of the palaces.
The novel excels in letting us see the inner dialogues of both royal women, especially Elizabeth’s agonizing conflicts about executing Mary, Queen of Scots. She recognizes the threat, yet she resists due to her own background, her mother’s death and the fact that she and Mary are God’s annointed. As Raleigh reminds her, “Royalty is close to immortality. Kill a queen, and queens are mortal.”
While the novel fulfills it’s duty as a connection to the film, it also stands on its own. The physical aspects of the book are pleasing, larger in size than most paperbacks, with chapter headings done in a font reminiscent of illuminated manuscripts and a faded emblem beginning the first paragraph. Small but nice touches, that, if not fit for a queen, add to the pleasant reading experience, anyways.
HarperCollins 2007 297 pp. ISBN 978-0-06-143123-4
Just saw the film last week and really agree with this “It was a stunningly beautiful film, expertly acted and photographed. However, the plot was a bit thin and confusing in parts,” and I’m very glad to hear that “it clarifies the characters of the political conspiracies, giving names and personalities to the many slim, light-haired men who were so confusing in the movie.”
I was a bit lost in the film, but was carried along on the stunning visuals! Sounds like I need to read this.
I thought the film’s ending was a bit poor, so am intrigued as to how the book tackled it.
Yeah, the ending of the movie was strange. Personally, I thought it ought to have ended after the dream sequence, the first time the screen goes white. The novel seemed to end more naturally. There was also incidents in it that wasn’t in the film, which I liked.
Well, I’m torn. I love Cate Blanchett and I thought the first ‘Elizabeth’ film was beautiful, but historical inaccuracies annoy me so much that I barely have any teeth left from gritting them. No, you can’t even call them ‘inaccuracies’ in cases like this. They take the ‘historical’ out of ‘historical fiction’.
In other words, I haven’t seen this new film
Jackie, do you often read novelisations of films? In fact, are there a lot of them? I remember reading ‘Star Wars’ books when I was younger… oh, and I also read a novelisation of Francis Ford Coppola’s ‘Dracula’ film, which was a bit bizarre. Why didn’t they just release a tie-in edition of Bram Stoker’s book?
Hmm, Leena, yes, I do, which I’d never realized until you mentioned it. I think more accurately, though, I read books that have been made into films, to get more information, I suppose. Sometimes it’s coincidental, that I’ll read a book such as “Jarhead” or “The Reader” months before they make the movie.
As for factual inaccuracies, I understand. But zoological inaccuracies bother me much more than historical ones, probably because animal facts are easier to double-check than something that happened 400 years ago.
As for “Elizabeth”The Golden Age”, see the film for the sheer beauty of it. There’s more about the inner feelings of the characters anyways, (which the book describes well) so the history takes a lesser place.
“As for factual inaccuracies, I understand. But zoological inaccuracies bother me much more ”
This made me laugh out loud you two! Hmm, just wondering what kind of inaccuracies annoy me. Was watching The Tailor of Panama which was pretty good in fact but kept feeling annoyed by Brendan Gleeson’s (much as I love him) ridiculous pretend accent. But then again Highlander is marvellous and would be so much less without the Spaniard played unashamedly with a Scottish accent and a Scot who is unmistakably French.
Mark Kermode’s review of the film was hilarious by the way. All about Clive Owen leaping from ship to ship everytime they weren’t sure what to do next.
All this talk of films and Star Wars (which immediately goes to Startrek) reminds me, though. Wouldn’t it be great to look at the whole fanfic phenomenon on Vulpes at some point? For example all the North and South stuff and people getting published on the back of it. I find it quite interesting from so many points of view.
Apparently there is some eye-watering stuff out there involving Spock and Kirk…Ahem, moving swiftly on!