BLOG TOUR: Nothing Proved by Janet Wertman

Blurb:

 Danger lined her path, but destiny led her to glory…

Elizabeth Tudor learned resilience young. Declared illegitimate after the execution of her mother Anne Boleyn, she bore her precarious position with unshakable grace. But upon the death of her father, King Henry VIII, the vulnerable fourteen-year-old must learn to navigate a world of shifting loyalties, power plays, and betrayal.

 After narrowly escaping entanglement in Thomas Seymour’s treason, Elizabeth rebuilds her reputation as the perfect Protestant princess – which puts her in mortal danger when her half-sister Mary becomes Queen and imposes Catholicism on a reluctant land. Elizabeth escapes execution, clawing her way from a Tower cell to exoneration. But even a semblance of favor comes with attempts to exclude her from the throne or steal her rights to it through a forced marriage. 

Elizabeth must outwit her enemies time and again to prove herself worthy of power. The making of one of history’s most iconic monarchs is a gripping tale of survival, fortune, and triumph.

Review: 

I received an e-galley of this book from the Coffee Pot Book Club in exchange for an honest review.

I=m a sucker for biographical historical fiction, so I was pleased to receive a review copy of Janet Wertman=s novel, Nothing Proved: Book One of the Regina Series. The novel follows the life of Queen Elizabeth I from childhood to her ascension to the throne at age twenty-five. It was a youth fraught with peril. Although somewhat protected by her royal birth, the fact that she was in line for the succession also made her a target. Given the instability of the kingdom after the death of her father, King Henry VIII, it was never entirely clear that she would live to take the throne.

The political machinations during the rein of her young half-brother left her sometimes central to and sometimes on the fringes of the court. Her older half-sister, Mary, was seen as a danger (to Protestant nobility and to England itself) because of her unwavering loyalty to the Catholic Church and her attachment to Spain, yet she was legally next in line. Elizabeth was burdened by the fact that her mother was Anne Boleyn, and her legitimacy was often questioned, which meant she could be booted from the line of succession if Parliament turned against her. There was no love lost between Mary and Elizabeth, but both knew when to feign sisterly care for one another as a political expedient.

Wertman=s novel is meticulously researched, and she does a wonderful job of presenting the tense atmosphere of the times. Elizabeth learned how to keep a low profile and how to bend rather than break when political winds blew against her. She was able to discern who was truly loyal and who were the opportunists, and how to make use of both.

 It=s not a spoiler to say Elizabeth eventually does inherit the throne. The truly impressive feat of this novel is how it kept me in suspense the whole time. With all the jockeying for power, all the self-serving courtiers, all the ongoing bloody religious strife, I found myself frightened for this future monarch. It was fascinating to watch this young princess navigate her path to the throne.

Highly recommended!

Buy Link:  https://books2read.com/u/bM8Vrk