Portrait of a lady – Episode 25 – The Oxford Comment

Much mystery surrounds Elizabeth I, the last monarch of the Tudor dynasty. It’s said that the beloved Queen, for centuries immortalized in private letters and state papers, portraits and poetry, remains more myth than memory in the canon of British history. How, then, can we begin to uncover the personal and political dimensions that made up Elizabeth’s life? And what is it like—as writers, students, and scholars of history—to attempt to understand a legend of the royal kind? Estelle Hallick, an Associate Publicist in our New York Office, sat down to chat with Susan Doran, author of Elizabeth I and Her Circle, and her daughter, playwright Bathsheba Doran, about the bravery of navigating the past, the difficulties of the writing process, and the desire to understand something bigger than ourselves.

Image Credit: “Queen Elizabeth” by Sara Levine. Used with permission.