Throughout her vivid life, Elizabeth I was the centre of a complicated web of political intrigue that made up the Elizabethan constitution. Elizabeth Jenkins, in her classic biography, reveals the woman behind the skilful politician, showing her belief in personal sacrifice to secure peace for the country she loved more than any man.

Elizabeth Jenkins (1905-2010) was a novelist and writer whose biographies, particularly of strong female personalities including Lady Caroline Lamb, Jane Austen, and Queen Elizabeth I, earned her a place among the UK's distinguished writers. She published over twenty books in her career. Miss Jenkins was awarded the Femina Vie Heureuse Prize in 1934 for her novel Harriet and received the OBE in 1981. She was also a founding member of the Jane Austen Society, which in turn led to the Jane Austen Memorial Trust and its purchase of Jane Austen's House in Chawton, Hampshire. Miss Jenkins died in London at the age of 104.