Focussing on the reign of Queen Elizabeth I this collection of essays investigates the
relation between the Queen and her subjects which shapes contemporary and future politics and
is actively crucial in the debate upon the divine right of kings. The book explores the ways in
which political power intensely aware of the possibilities of literature encourages
ostracizes or manipulates the production of writing. Through the act of writing the Queen and
her country communicate: the moulding of this act of communication is no minor task for the
Queen no minor privilege for her country. The book investigates the Queen's own writings with
particular attention to her poems and the speeches to the nation the production of literary
culture during her reign including the presence of oppositional voices and the treatment of
her image and memory as well as her political legacy during the reign of James I and Charles
I.
