Cultural Depictions Of Elizabeth I

Elizabeth I of England has inspired artistic and cultural works for over four centuries. The following lists cover various media, enduring works of high art, and recent representations in popular culture, film and fiction. The entries represent portrayals that a reader has a reasonable chance of encountering rather than a complete catalogue.

Art, entertainment, and media

There have been numerous notable portrayals of Queen Elizabeth in a variety of art forms, and she is the most filmed British monarch. George MacDonald Fraser wrote "no historic figure has been represented more honestly in the cinema, or better served by her players".

Anime

* In the anime '' Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion'', which is set in an alternate time line, Elizabeth (who remained single throughout her life even in this alternate history), bears an illegitimate son. The potential fathers— Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester; Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex; and Carl, Duke of Britannia—gain influence and power with this knowledge. After Elizabeth's death in 1603, the Golden Age of the Tudor dynasty begins when her son, who would become Henry IX, ascends to the throne.
* The Phantom Blood arc of ''JoJo's Bizarre Adventure'' tells the story of the fictional knights Tarkus and Bruford, who served Mary, Queen of Scots. In the story, Elizabeth tricks them into accepting execution in return for Mary's safety.

Art

* The Portraiture of Elizabeth I glorified her during her reign and masked her age in their later portraits. Elizabeth was often painted in rich and stylised gowns. Elizabeth is sometimes shown holding a sieve, a symbol of virginity.
* The installation artwork ''The Dinner Party'' features a place setting for Elizabeth.

Comics

There have been numerous depictions of Elizabeth I in satirical drawings. In actual comic books and strips, her appearances include:
* ''Startling Comics'' #5 (February 1, 1941)
* ''Real Life Comics'' #2 (December 1, 1941), #12 (July 1, 1943), #25 (September 1, 1945)
* ''Marvel 1602'' #1, #2, #3
* ''Afterschool Charisma'' #1, #6, #7, #8
* '' Queen Margot'' #1, #2, #3
* '' Avengers West Coast'' #53, #61
* ''House of Mystery'' #290 (March, 1981)
* '' Superman'' #89 (May 1, 1954)
* '' Rip Hunter ... Time Master'' #24 (February 1, 1965)
* ''Look and Learn'' #34 (September 8, 1962)

Film

In the cinema, Elizabeth has been portrayed by:

* Sarah Bernhardt in the French silent short ''Les Amours de la reine Élisabeth'' (1912), dramatising Elizabeth's love affair with the Earl of Essex.
* Gladys Ffolliott in the British silent comedy ''Old Bill Through the Ages'' (1924), featuring the character Old Bill created by Bruce Bairnsfather.
* Athene Seyler in ''Drake of England'' (1935).
* Florence Eldridge in '' Mary of Scotland'' (1936), an adaptation of Maxwell Anderson's play with Katharine Hepburn as Mary, Queen of Scots.
* Gwendolyn Jones in ''The Prince and the Pauper'' (1937).
* Yvette Pienne in the French film ''The Pearls of the Crown'' (1937).
* Flora Robson in ''Fire Over England'' (1937) and '' The Sea Hawk'' (1940).
* Bette Davis in ''The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex'' (1939) and '' The Virgin Queen'' (1955).
* Maria Koppenhöfer in the German film ''Das Herz der Königin'' (1940), about Mary, Queen of Scots.
* Olga Lindo in the British time travel comedy ''Time Flies'' (1944).
* Jean Simmons in ''Young Bess'' (1953), about her early years.
* Agnes Moorehead in ''The Story of Mankind'' (1957).
* Irene Worth in ''Seven Seas to Calais'' (1962).
* Catherine Lacey in ''The Fighting Prince of Donegal'' (1966).
* Glenda Jackson in ''Mary, Queen of Scots'' (1971), with Vanessa Redgrave as Mary.
* Jenny Runacre in Derek Jarman's film ''Jubilee'' (1977).
* Lalla Ward in '' Crossed Swords'' (1977), an adaptation of ''The Prince and the Pauper''.
* Quentin Crisp in ''Orlando'' (1992).
* Cate Blanchett in ''Elizabeth'' (1998), directed by Shekhar Kapur, and its sequel '' Elizabeth: The Golden Age'' (2007), for both of which she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress.
* Judi Dench in ''Shakespeare in Love'' (1998), for which she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.
* Vanessa Redgrave and Joely Richardson both play Elizabeth in the film '' Anonymous'' (2011).
* Helen McCrory in ''Bill'' (2015)
* Margot Robbie in ''Mary Queen of Scots'' (2018)
* Kimberly Stockton in ''Bill & Ted Face the Music'' (2020)

Literature

* Elizabeth's own writings, which were considerable, were collected and published by the University of Chicago Press as ''Elizabeth I: Collected Works''.

Novels and series

* The three-volume 1783-1785 Gothic romance novel, ''The Recess,'' by Sophia Lee.
* Elizabeth is a character in the 1821 novel ''Kenilworth'', by Sir Walter Scott.
* The young Elizabeth is a minor character in Mark Twain's novel ''The Prince and the Pauper''.
* H. C. Bailey wrote ''The Lonely Queen'' (1911), a novel revolving around Elizabeth as a young woman.McGarry, Daniel D., White, Sarah Harriman, ''Historical Fiction Guide: Annotated Chronological, Geographical, and Topical List of Five Thousand Selected Historical Novels''. Scarecrow Press, New York, 1963 (p. 101-2)
* "E. Barrington" ( L. Adams Beck) wrote ''Duel of the Queens'' (1930), revolving around the rivalry between Elizabeth and Mary Queen of Scots.
* Elswyth Thane Beebe wrote ''The Tudor Wench'' (1932), a historical novel covering Elizabeth's life up to her coronation.
* Elizabeth Goudge produced ''Towers in the Mist'' (1938), a novel about Oxford University which features a visit from Queen Elizabeth.
* Margaret Irwin wrote the ''Good Queen Bess'' trilogy based on Elizabeth's youth: ''Young Bess'' (1944), ''Elizabeth, Captive Princess'' (1950), and ''Elizabeth and the Prince of Spain'' (1953).
* Mary M. Luke wrote a definitive Tudor trilogy: ''Catherine the Queen'' (1968), ''A Crown for Elizabeth'' (1970), and ''Gloriana: The Years of Elizabeth I'' (1973), with the latter two books focusing on Elizabeth's youth and reign.
* ''All the Queen's Men'' by Evelyn Anthony (1960)
*''No Great Magic'' by Fritz Leiber (1963): this depicted Elizabeth as a series of time-traveling impostors.
* '' Vivat! Vivat Regina!'' by Robert Bolt (1970)
* ''The Queen and the Gypsy'' by Constance Heaven (1977)
* ''My Enemy the Queen'' by Victoria Holt (1978)
* ''Queen of This Realm'' by Jean Plaidy (1984)
* ''Legacy'' by Susan Kay (1985)
* ''The Armor of Light'' by Melissa Scott & Lisa A. Barnett (1988)
* ''Much Suspected of Me'' by Maureen Peters (1990) on the early life of Elizabeth I.
* ''Proud Bess'' by Maureen Peters (1990) on first years of Elizabeth's reign.
* ''England's Mistress'' by Maureen Peters (1991) Elizabeth Tudor has survived uncertainty and danger in order to ascend the throne vacated by the death of her fanatical half-sister Mary. She has drawn about her men such as Leicester and Cecil, her Minister of State. But her throne is menaced from across the border by the Queen of Scots.
* ''I, Elizabeth'' by Rosalind Miles (1994).
* ''To Shield the Queen'', a series of eight books featuring Ursula Blanchard, Lady in waiting to Elizabeth, by Fiona Buckley (1997–2006).
* Elizabeth's story is told for children in ''Elizabeth I: Red Rose of the House of Tudor'', a book by Kathryn Lasky in the ''Royal Diaries'' series published by Scholastic (1999).
* Author Karen Harper has written a mystery series about Elizabeth. Included in this series are nine fictional novels. They are: ''The Poyson Garden'' (2000), ''The Tidal Poole'' (2000), ''The Twylight Tower'' (2002), ''The Queene's Cure'' (2003), ''The Thorne Maze'' (2003), ''The Queene's Christmas'' (2004), ''The Fyre Mirror'' (2006), ''The Fatal Fashione'' (2006), and ''The Hooded Hawke'' (2007).
* ''Beware, Princess Elizabeth'' is a novel for children by Carolyn Meyer (2001).
* Author Robin Maxwell wrote three novels figuring Elizabeth: ''Virgin: Prelude to the Throne'' (2001); Elizabeth's story is spliced with her mother's in ''The Secret Diary of Anne Boleyn''. The story of the historic Arthur Dudley, who pretended to be a son of Elizabeth and Lord Robert Dudley, is embellished in ''The Queen's Bastard'' (1999).
* Author Philippa Gregory portrayed Elizabeth as a character in five out of her six books on the Tudors. She is seen as a baby and a child in ''The Other Boleyn Girl'' (2001), a child in ''The Boleyn Inheritance'' (2006), a young woman in ''The Queen's Fool'' (2003), a young queen in '' The Virgin's Lover'' (2004)and as an older queen in '' The Other Queen'' (2008).
* An alternate history novel by Harry Turtledove featuring Elizabeth is entitled Ruled Britannia was published in 2002.
* A historical fantasy of Elizabeth's life, featuring elven guardians, is recounted in ''This Scepter'd Isle'' (2004), ''Ill Met by Moonlight'' (2005), and ''By Slanderous Tongues'' (2007) by Mercedes Lackey and Roberta Gellis.
* ''Queen Elizabeth I: A Children's Picture Book'' by Richard Brassey (2005)
* ''Queen Elizabeth I and Her Conquests'' by Margret Simpson (2006)
* The 2007 book ''Innocent Traitor'' by Alison Weir about Lady Jane Grey features Elizabeth as a young woman.
* The 2008 book ''The Lady Elizabeth'' by Alison Weir features Elizabeth as a young girl from the death of her mother to her coronation and her relationships with her half siblings and her father.
* Elizabeth Bear's Promethean Age books ''Ink & Steel'' and ''Hell & Earth'' are set in the final decade of Elizabeth's reign and feature her prominently.
* ''The Princeling'', Volume 3 of The Morland Dynasty, a series of historical novels by author Cynthia Harrod-Eagles. The fictional Nanette Morland is her servant and mentor, having previously been a close friend, servant and confidante of Elizabeth's mother, Anne Boleyn.
* ''Virgin and the Crab - Sketches, Fables and Mysteries from the Early Life of John Dee and Elizabeth Tudor'', a novel by Robert Parry (2009) speculates on the early relationship between the young Elizabeth and her 'noble intelligencer.'
* The novel ''The Bones of Avalon'' (2010) by Phil Rickman describes Elizabeth visiting John Dee. It is also about her entourage and about a plot to undermine her reputation and power in order to prepare to have her eventually replaced by Mary, Queen of Scots. John Dee as the book's hero is assigned to prevent all that.
* ''Elizabeth I'' (2011) by Margaret George is a novel that tracks the latter years of Elizabeth's life from 1588 until her death.
*'' The Tournament'' (2013) by Matthew Reilly, depicts a fictional visit by a 13-year old Elizabeth to the Ottoman Empire with Roger Ascham. Here Elizabeth witnesses a chess tournament, becomes involved in a murder mystery, and meets Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent.
* ''A Column of Fire'' (2017) by Ken Follett is the last of a trilogy of books and sees the main protagonist working for Elizabeth, helping her ascend the throne and keeping her safe throughout her reign.

Plays

* The birth of Elizabeth is proclaimed and her baptism is shown in scenes of William Shakespeare's play '' King Henry VIII'' (First Folio 1623).
* Elizabeth is a principal character in the play '' Mary Stuart'' (1800) by Friedrich Schiller .
* 20th century American Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Maxwell Anderson dramatized episodes of Elizabeth's life in two of his most popular plays, '' Elizabeth the Queen'' (1930), starring Lynn Fontanne, and '' Mary of Scotland'' (1933), starring Helen Menken as Elizabeth.
* '' Elizabeth Rex'' (2000), by Timothy Findley