The First Elizabeth

De: Carolly Erickson

Narrado por: Nelson Runger

Elizabeth was not just Queen, she was ruler. In an age of male supremacy she, by sheer force of character, became not only the unchallenged leader of the English but also the first leader of an empire upon which the sun never set. Erickson’s biography tells the truth about this extraordinary woman and profiles some amazing people - their personalities and culture.

©1983 Carolly Erickson (P)1986 Recorded Books, LLC

Subpar history and horrid production

The history is a malaise of superficially thrown together obtuse facts, told in such a way as to make one feel like they are sinking in a pool of glutenous quicksand.

And the awful production failed to even edit the constant throatal sounds of swallowing and the salivic noises between words uttered and the pasty lips smacking after every other utterance- AWFUL.

Listened more than once

Good historical evidence giving more about E1 personality and how past may have influenced her than other historical accounts I’ve listened to. Very enjoyable.

The real queen

I enjoyed this book so much. It not only told about Queen Elizabeth, but it gave a lot of background and history of England and what was going on in the world. I loved it and will probably listen to it again.

Nice Detail

I enjoyed how the author focused more than most on Elizabeth’s upbringing and her relationship with those around her. I think the narrator has a pleasant voice and excellent pacing, but the sound quality is very distracting. I could only listen in small bursts and never with my earphones because the mouth noises and strange bass-like thumping is very off-putting. At one point there is a group of people talking and a loud woman’s voice made me think there was someone in my house! I don’t blame the narrator, however, as this is probably bad sound engineering. This would make an excellent choice for people who enjoy mouth sound-ASMR.

Good story bad narrator

The smacking lips and mouth noises of the reader made it difficult to listen to

Somewhat Spoiled by Narration

Any additional comments?

This was a good historical yarn with Erickson creating a rich tapestry of the world of Elizabeth I. It was not quite as good as the previous historical narrrative of hers that I had listened to (which was about the life of Henry the 8th), but a worthy listen nonetheless. The narrator was the same in both cases and I thought he was generally very good. BUT, unfortunately in this case I was somewhat put off by the frequent noisy (and moist) swallowing sounds caught in the recording. This was no fault of the narrator (we all produce saliver and swallow regularly) but of the sound engineer (or equipment) I think, as I have never experienced this on any audiobook I have listened to before and I found it a very unpleasant distraction from an otherwise quite good novel.

Unbiased assessment of Queen Victoria

Great summation of her life from conception to death. Emphasizes her strengths and weaknesses. All supporting characters are shown clearly.