Bethany Latham
Print ISBN: 978-0-7864-3718-4
EBook ISBN: 978-0-7864-8514-7
11 photos, notes, bibliography, index
298pp. softcover (7 x 10) 2011
Price: $45.00
About the Book
This analysis of how filmmakers have portrayed England’s Queen Elizabeth I (1533-1603), and the audience’s perception of Elizabeth based upon these portrayals, examines key representations of the Tudor monarch in various motion pictures from the Silent era on and in television miniseries.
Actresses who have portrayed Elizabeth include Bette Davis, Glenda Jackson, Judi Dench, Cate Blanchett and Helen Mirren; Quentin Crisp appeared as the Queen in Orlando (1992).
The text focuses on the historical context of the period in which each film or miniseries was made and1the extent of the portrayals of Elizabeth.
Table of Contents
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ix
PREFACE 1
1. Why Elizabeth I? A Look at the Life and Times of the Historical Elizabeth 3
2. The Silent Era: Divas and Aristocrats 16
Les Amours de la Reine Élisabeth (1912): Sarah Bernhardt 16
The Virgin Queen (1923): Diana Manners 34
3. Hollywood’s Golden Age: Bette Davis and Big- Budget Historicals 40
Mary of Scotland (1936): Florence Eldridge 41
Fire Over England (1937): Flora Robson 65
The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (1939): Bette Davis 76
The Sea Hawk (1940): Flora Robson 90
Young Bess (1953): Jean Simmons 101
The Virgin Queen (1955): Bette Davis 113
4. Hollywood, A.D.: Elizabethan Career Woman to Pop Culture 130
Mary, Queen of Scots (1971): Glenda Jackson 130
Elizabeth (1998): Cate Blanchett 148
Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007): Cate Blanchett 165
5. Glimpses of Elizabeth: The Bit Parts 179
Orlando (1992): Quentin Crisp 179
Shakespeare in Love (1998): Judi Dench 183
Alice in Wonderland (2010): Helena Bonham Carter 186
6. Serialized Elizabeth: The Miniseries 191
Elizabeth R (1971): Glenda Jackson 191
Blackadder II (1986): Miranda Richardson 216
Elizabeth I: The Virgin Queen (2005): Anne- Marie Duff 220
Elizabeth I (2005): Helen Mirren 239
7. Semper Eadem: The Evolving Elizabeth 267
CHAPTER NOTES 273
BIBLIOGRAPHY 277
INDEX 283
About the Author
Bethany Latham is an associate professor and electronic resources/documents librarian at Jacksonville State University in Alabama. Her articles have appeared in such publications as Reference Reviews and Library Journal. She is managing editor of The Historical Novels Review.
