BKMT READING GUIDES
His Last Letter: Elizabeth I and the Earl of Leicester
by Jeane Westin
Paperback : 400 pages
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They were playmates as children, impetuous lovers as adults-and for thirty years were the center of each others' lives. Astute to the dangers of choosing any one man, the ...
Introduction
One of the greatest loves of all time-between Elizabeth I and Robert Dudley-comes to life in this vivid novel.
They were playmates as children, impetuous lovers as adults-and for thirty years were the center of each others' lives. Astute to the dangers of choosing any one man, the Virgin Queen could never give her "Sweet Robin" what he wanted most-marriage- yet she insisted he stay close by her side. Possessive and jealous, their love survived quarrels, his two disastrous marriages to other women, her constant flirtations, and political machinations with foreign princes.
His Last Letter tells the story of this great love... and especially of the last three years Elizabeth and Dudley spent together, the most dangerous of her rule, when their passion was tempered by a bittersweet recognition of all that they shared-and all that would remain unfulfilled.
Excerpt
Elizabeth and her Robin have quarelled. She goes to him secretly:Eagerly, she stepped into her linen closet to its very end. Within the large cabinet was a hidden latch that opened to a narrow corridor. She hesitated, closing her eyes tight. She had resisted Robin all the day, and for all the years of days and nights before that. Surely, there must be a reward for such restraint. Not for Queen Elizabeth, who would never lift the latch. But for Bess, the woman, who would. The woman, whose fondest memory of childhood was of playing games upon the Greenwich greensward with a boy named Robin. That woman would be rewarded. ...
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Discussion Questions
From the Author:1. In your mind, should Elizabeth and Dudley’s love be called one of the great love affairs of all time? Must all great loves remain unfulfilled, or is that just an idea fostered by male writers and mythmakers?
2. Discuss the dynamics of the relationship between Elizabeth and Dudley in His Last Letter. Were they obsessed and emotionally unstable, or do you think their love matured over the years?
3. What particularly interests you about the Tudor period? Why do you think it’s so popular now?
Notes From the Author to the Bookclub
Note from the Author: I could not believe that Leicester after loving Elizabeth for almost 50 years could have left her with only a one page bland letter...although he did say "I kiss your feet." There had to be more since she kept it by her bestside for the rest of her life and labeled it "His Last Letter." I wondered what if there had been a second page, one that would have destroyed the myth of the Virgin Queen. She could not have allowed it to be seen. I was also fascinated when I read that she locked herself in her apartments for several days and would not eat, drink, or come out. The door had to be broken in. This is memorable behavior for any woman, more than unusual for a reigning queen when a subject dies. There were strong emotions there and I wanted to know what they were.Book Club Recommendations
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