My Favorite Queen: Elizabeth

Reading List
Written By Rebecca Grabill

Behind the Mask: The Life of Queen Elizabeth

by Jane Resh Thomas. 1998.

Dense, detailed, drenched in history. Jane’s passion comes through every intimate detail. I wonder if it shouldn’t have been YA. I could imagine my 9yr-old son asking, “What’s a lover, Mom?” And the sheer density of information: all the political intrigues, much pre-understanding about the times assumed ... it screams YA to me.

  • As a former student of Jane's, I can see many of JRT’s writing habits: powerful verbs, clear sentences, no improper referents. These (hahahaa!) do make for a forward-moving style. The great complexities of Elizabeth’s story are communicated with stunning clarity and depth.
  • Whine of the day: Not enough pictures, and if a publisher were going to do such a heavy book, why not do the whole thing in color? I used to do graphic design - color doesn't cost that much more. Not these days.
  • Prodigious research both into Elizabeth’s person as well as the times during which she lived. All I can say is Wow.
Rebecca Grabill

Rebecca has been writing since childhood, her first book about a kitten published between homemade cardboard covers in second grade. Although she studied religion and philosophy in university, she continued writing, earning an MFA from Hamline University and publishing multiple picture books (no longer with homemade covers) and a collection of poetry with a variety of New York and independent publishers. She has also published a wide array of fiction, essays, and poetry in magazines and journals and photographs for Getty Images. She balances writing with homeschooling the younger of her six children, launching her young adults, church activities, and overseeing a small flock of chickens in rural West Michigan.

www.rebeccagrabill.com
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Hamline Universtiy MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults: residency, January 2010