Rival to the Queen

Rival to the Queen, Carolly Erickson

★ ★ ★ This wasn't by any stretch of the imagination a great novel or even great writing; but it was enjoyable, light and fast reading. The story follows the life of Leticia Knollys, cousin to Queen Elizabeth I, who had the nerve to secretly marry Robert Dudley (who at one time had ambitions to be King), Elizabeth's favorite sycophant & courtier. The story follows Leticia, her sister Cecily (who seemed quite a nasty piece), her father (a very loyal councilor to the Queen and to Henry VIII & Edward before her), and other members of the family. It was interesting to learn of their time in Germany during the reign of Mary Tudor, the persecution of the Anabaptists by the German Protestants, the strict control that the German Protestants exerted over their community members...... Unlike other works of historical fiction I have read, there were no afterwords citing historical facts and that did disappoint me..... This is good for a light entertaining read.