History of Queen Elizabeth, Amy Robsart & the Earl of Leicester

History of Queen Elizabeth, Amy Robsart & the Earl of Leicester, being a reprint of "Leycesters Commonwealth"

Despite the title, this book has relatively little to say about Amy Robsart other than to make the first printed accusation of murder against her husband Robert Dudley. Its main thrust is to portray the great danger to England, and to its Queen, of the Earl of Leicester's greed and ambition.

Leicester's character is blackened in every way, with accusations ranging from multiple poisonings to manipulation of the law and of the Queen herself. His father and grandfather are similarly accused, and numerous examples are drawn from history of the dangers of overweening and ambitious favourites.

The book first appeared on the Continent in 1584 as "Copie of a Leter Wryten by a Master of Arte of Cambridge to his friend in London". It rapidly became known in England, and many copies were seized and destroyed. Despite this it was circulated in manuscript and later reprinted under other titles, including "Leycesters Commonwealth".

This Kindle book has been produced from the 1904 print of the 1641 edition. The original spelling is retained, with all the inconsistencies to be expected in Elizabethan writing. As there are no chapter divisions the sidebar captions have been moved and collected to make a "summary", with each caption linked to the appropriate place in the text.


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