The Queens and the Hive

Book excerpt: In this moving chronicle a modern poet magnificently recaptures the splendid colour and sordid intrigue of the most spectacular period of history in Britain. No hive can tolerate two Queens. In the fatal clash between the Protestant Queen of England and the Catholic Queen of Scots, many were determined that 'The death of Mary is the life of Elizabeth'. In this moving chronicle a modern poet magnificently recaptures the splendid colour and sordid intrigue of the most spectacular period of history in Britain. "Dame Edith Sitwell is the catalyst of poetry and history. She is able in this tired, utility second Elizabethan age to bring freshness to the English language worth of the first." -The Times