Quotessence
Home / Quotes / Quote by Philippa Gregory

Quote by Philippa Gregory

“It’s not his friendship I miss,’ Elizabeth said bluntly. ‘It’s him. The very person of him. His presence. I want his shadow on my wall, I want the smell of him. I can’t eat without him, I can’t do the business of the realm. I can’t read a book without wanting his opinion, I can’t hear a tune without wanting to sing it to him.”

Quote by Philippa Gregory

Book:The Virgin's Lover
Create image

Work

The Virgin's Lover

Set during the early years of Queen Elizabeth I's reign, this historical fiction explores the intense and politically charged relationship between the young queen and her childhood friend, Robert Dudley. The narrative delves into the personal and public challenges they face, including court rivalries, religious tensions, and the queen's struggle to maintain her authority while navigating matters of the heart. The story portrays the complexities of power, loyalty, and love in the Tudor court. more

Author

Philippa Gregory
Philippa Gregory

Philippa Gregory is a celebrated British historical fiction author, recognized for her works that delve into the lives of historical figures and events, particularly during the Wars of the Roses. Born on January 9, 1954, she has gained prominence in the genre, with her novels often adapted for television and film. more

You May Also Like

“In a short six weeks, the “Northern Rebellion,” as it was called, was summarily put down by southern forces loyal to the English crown. Elizabeth exacted a terrible revenge by calling for (specifying the number) seven hundred executions of the common people, even though there had been no uprising of the general populace in support of the rebel earls of the North. (Her sister “Bloody” Mary had burned a total of 284 Protestants at the stake, including two babies; another 400 had died of starvation. So the sisters are somewhat even as to numbers of deaths directly attributable to their decisions, although Mary burned Protestants for reasons of religion, while Elizabeth hanged Catholics for reasons of state security. Mary’s executions still historically defined her half a century later as “Bloody Mary.” Elizabeth remained “Gloriana.”)”

HypocrisyTudorsElizabeth IBloody MaryElizabeth TudorCatholics Vs ProtestantsMary IMary TudorGloriana
Book:When Women Ruled the World: Making the Renaissance in Europe
Create image

“Mary Stuart and Elizabeth both aimed at toleration in an intolerant age, in the same ways that Catherine de’ Medici, the mother-in-law of one and the almost mother-in-law of another English queen, labored her whole life to heal the rift between Catholic and Protestant in France. All three of these queens worked as diligently and as astutely as they might to restrain the fratricidal wars of Christian against Christian. What they had to hold up against that violent seismic shift in human sensibility was the orderly traditions of monarchy. If they did not ultimately succeed, they slowed and tempered the disorder and violence.”

RenaissanceReligious TolerationTudorsElizabeth IMary StuartElizabeth TudorMary Queen Of ScotsCatherine De Médici
Book:When Women Ruled the World: Making the Renaissance in Europe
Create image

“Although these were not necessarily gifts Mary consciously gave to Elizabeth, as the first independent queen of England it was she who established a powerful rhetoric for female rule, which Elizabeth quite literally inherited. Mary’s claims include: (1) the idea the she was the virgin mother of her country; (2) the idea that England’s people were her children; (3) the idea that she was a virgin wedded to her kingdom, her coronation ring being, specifically, her wedding ring.”

TudorsElizabeth IElizabeth TudorMary IMary TudorThe Virgin Queen
Book:When Women Ruled the World: Making the Renaissance in Europe
Create image

“Because [Michel de Castelnau] had been charged with making peace between [Mary Stuart] and her barons, he ignored Mary’s adamant insistence on how anti-monarchal she considered the rebel lords to be; he decided that hers was a profoundly immature political analysis. Yet Elizabeth’s own moral outrage at these same rebels’ affronts to monarchal principles, when, two years later, they refused to obey her commands to release their anointed queen from prison, suggests that Mary was simply being clear-sighted rather than naïve and saw earlier what Elizabeth learned only later. Mary was neither stupid nor ill-educated. She knew what she was talking about.”

MonarchyTudorsElizabeth IMary StuartElizabeth TudorMary Queen Of ScotsAnti Monarchy
Book:When Women Ruled the World: Making the Renaissance in Europe
Create image

“So Elizabeth behaved cautiously as usual and put Mary [Queen of Scots] in prison - nice prison, but she wasn't allowed out. And that's where she stayed for nineteen years. . . . She immediately became the focus of plots and rebellions. In 1569, there was a major Catholic rising in the north which aimed to free Mary, marry her to the Duke of Norfolk and put her on the throne. When it was defeated, Elizabeth had 600 rebels executed (so it wasn't just her sister who could be bloody).”

HypocrisyTudorsElizabeth IBloody MaryMary StuartElizabeth TudorMary Queen Of ScotsMary IMary Tudor
Book:Unruly: The Ridiculous History of England's Kings and Queens
Create image

“Like Jane, Elizabeth was remarkably intelligent, and revelled in her educational pursuits and the praise in which she received as a result. A contemporary remarked that 'her intellect and understanding are wonderful', and that she excelled as a linguist. Elizabeth also shared similar religious views to Jane, and Jane would later praise her cousin for her devotion to God. But that was probably where the similarities between the two girls ended. No correspondence between the cousins survives, but Elizabeth's later treatment of Jane's sisters suggests that the relationship between them was never a close one. There may even have been some jealousy on the part of both girls over the other's academic abilities and relationship with the Queen Dowager [Katherine Parr]. However, if this was the case then for the most part it almost certainly stemmed primarily from the 'proud and haughty' Elizabeth's side. Jane's later comments about her cousin indicate not only an element of praise and respect, but perhaps also admiration and awe for a cousin who was slightly older than her. Roger Ascham, who may have met Jane before, but certainly became more familiarly acquainted with Jane while at Chelsea, later claimed that Jane's abilities were superior to those of his own pupil. If Elizabeth became aware of this then it understandably probably led to some resentment.”

TudorsElizabeth IElizabeth TudorJane GreyTudor History
Book:Crown of Blood: The Deadly Inheritance of Lady Jane Grey
Create image

“He passed over Dor-nu-Fauglith like a wind amid the dust, and all that beheld his onset fled in amaze, thinking that Oromë himself was come: for a great madness of rage was upon him, so that his eyes shone like the eyes of the Valar. Thus he came alone to Angband's gates, and he sounded his horn, and smote once more upon the brazen doors, and challenged Morgoth to come forth to single combat. And Morgoth came.”

Epic FantasyMajesticSilmarillion
Author:J.R.R Tolkien
Create image