Elizabeth and Leicester: The Truth about the Virgin Queen and the Man She Loved(ISBN=9780143114499)

　　Though the story has been told on film—and whispered in historic gossip—this is the first book in almost fifty years to solely explore the great queen’s attachment to her beloved Robert Dudley, the Earl of Leicester. Fueled by scandal and intrigue, their relationship set the explosive connection between public and private life in sixteenth-century England in bold relief. Why did they never marry? How much of what seemed a passionate obsession was actually political convenience? Elizabeth and Leicester reignites this 400- year-old love story in a book for anyone interested in Elizabethan literature.

　　Sarah Gristwood is an Oxford-trained historian who has worked as a journalist specializing in the arts and women’s issues. She was a regular contributor to the Times, Guardian, Independent, and Evening Standard.

　　“ Quite simply one of the most enthralling history books I’ve ever read.”
　　—Alison Weir, author of The Life of Elizabeth I
　　
　　“ Gristwood . . . parses out what we do know about this pair and what information fuels many of the more titillating conclusions people have drawn over the years.”
　　—Chicago Sun-Times
　　
　　“ Vivacious and absorbing . . . Full of intriguing suggestions, stimulating analogies and shrewd connections.”
　　—The Sunday Times (London)